Luminara Whisperwind's Arc

Chapter 2 of 5

Luminara tucked the heart-link chain into her palm and walked toward the field where Kael trained. Fifteen years had passed since the wand-tree. She was one hundred and fifty-four now. He was twenty. The math sat heavy in her chest as she stepped into the open. A huge oak stood at the edge of the field, twice as tall as she remembered. A goblin trickster perched on a low branch, swinging its legs and grinning at her wings. It pointed at the carved initials in the bark, weathered and stretched by years of growth. The boy who carved them was gone. A man stood beneath the tree now, sword in hand, shoulders wide. Luminara opened her other palm. She had brought a small carved figure of a girl with wings, a thing she had whittled the night before. Her practiced line died in her throat. Instead she said his name. Kael turned. She held out the chain and the carving together. "You gave me this," she said. "I'm giving it back, and myself with it." He did not scream. He did not smile either. He only stared, and the watching was finally over.