I think you already know who the foolish woman is, small one.

❂❂❂

Shadow Weaver walked into Hordak's sanctum with her eyes averted. She bowed, wearing a simple velvet dress with a pink overcoat. "Lord Hordak?" She felt nothing – all Shadow Weaver wanted was to obtain more power, so she could repeat the pleasure she felt on the coast.

"Shadow Weaver," the dark lord said. "Here you stand."

"Yes," she replied, as though it wasn't a miracle. "What is your bidding?"

"Come out," Hordak called to someone behind him. To Shadow Weaver's surprise, Catra and Adora stepped out nervously, gripping one another. Catra's eyes were red – she must have heard her mother was dead.

Shadow Weaver didn't regret a thing – she gave Carmen grace. However, the servant's little brat would not receive the same kindness. "You were wise to keep them from me," she said.

"Mama?" Adora whispered, her voice barely audible.

Hordak tilted his head. "You will raise them both as your wards. Then, should one of them prove herself worthy, she will keep you here by her grace. Thus, you will condition them properly. This is your last chance, for I know you're a formidable teacher, despite your incompetence elsewhere."

Shadow Weaver barked a laugh. "What an elementary task, Lord Hordak. Surely –"

He growled. "And in return," he said, "I will never permit you to leave the Fright Zone again. I am not above grace, but I am above foolishness. You are a traitor, Shadow Weaver. And a traitor is how everyone will remember you."

"I understand. There is nothing left to lose." She gave a grin from beneath her mask. Wait until the day I sit on that throne. "I will not fail you again, Lord Hordak."

"A promise you have made time and again. Prove it – place yourself on the line and train these to be your successors. You will be stripped of power if you cannot, and I will send you to Beast Island."

Shadow Weaver locked eyes with sweet, determined Adora; the girl would make a fine Force Captain someday. But Catra, on the other hand...

Shadow Weaver would make Catra strong one way or another, worthy of the title Force Captain. Because now, Shadow Weaver would always get what she wanted.

"Of course, Lord Hordak," she said in a saccharine voice. "Come, children. We must prepare for your first day of training. From now on, you must address me by my full name. I am your teacher, and you are my students."

Catra refused eye contact; Shadow Weaver curled her lip at the ugly felinetta. This was strength. This was brutality.

Without anyone else to remind her of her failures...Shadow Weaver was invincible.

✧✧✧

After three weeks of carriage riding, Nell arrived in Fernosia.

Warm air and spring-green grass were customary in the far west. He wheeled the dolly that had his belongings as his heart pumped. Nell hadn't been here in decades; with each step, memories pounded through his head.

Escape from his father to a remote place while the man had a caretaker. Canoe-riding with his mother, Sember of Plumeria. Horseback riding with Alura, his first and only love.

Nell couldn't cry. But numbness weighed him down – he had nowhere to go but back to his past. He'd contacted Sember with news of his exile, telling her he would return to serve as a doctor in the capital.

She didn't write back.

Nell traversed the landscape, feeling out of place compared to the Vernish. Their skin varied from Southern to Western, and their lacy robes fluttered and mocked Nell's stiff Del attire. Everyone wore makeup and face paint, and the women's midsections showed beneath their garments.

This place was beautiful. But Nell never felt at home here – he had grown up with his feet in two worlds. Meya was where he, a bicultural Del scorned by Mystacor, could find acceptance.

Now, refuge was gone. Nell's home for the last twenty-four years had rejected him too. But there was one more place he could go.

He reached Sember's commune building and opened the door. A bonfire belched smoke into the mess hall, carried up to the roof and out the building. People roasted bananas by the fire; without fail, they smiled at him as he passed by and searched for Sember. It was dinnertime; she would be here, somewhere...

There.

In the corner, away from the other people, Nell's mother sat cross-legged. She wore a hot-pink sari and held a dish of peas and rice. Her eyes regarded it listlessly as he approached.

Nell sat down beside her and spoke. "Hello, Mum."

Sember looked over at him, her dark face bearing an unreadable expression. She was almost sixty now. "Nell?" she whispered.

Nell nodded. "I'm here, and I'm not going to leave."

"I hope," she said, "that you were exiled for a good reason."

"I was. I tried to save the king." Nell felt so small next to the comforting figure of Mum. "I failed, and he's gone."

"Why would you be exiled for trying to help the king?" Sember asked.

"Because I helped Alura."

His mother gasped. "The Delvalian? You...how..."

"She's alive," Nell interrupted, pain crushing him. "Or she was – I haven't a clue whether she is now. She's Shadow Weaver, Mum."

Sember, for some reason, didn't seem surprised. "You...became brave."

Nell bit his lip. "Mum, I was always brave in my own way. I had to overcome so much to be able to save him. But it wasn't my fault. None of it was – I have friends. Even if I lost them, they..." Tears blurred in his vision. "They taught me I was worth loving."

Sember reached over and grabbed him in a hug. "My sweet boy. My child... you've finally come home. Nell...oh, Nell..."

Nell gripped her back with a smile. "I love you, Mum. And I'm here to stay. I won't leave you alone again."

"I know," she said, weeping as she held him. "I know."

✧✧✧

Who am I? Micah wondered as the manacles were unlatched from his hands. Black glass dug into his feet as he stepped onto Beast Island.

He endured the pain until he made it to the white sand. Then Micah sat down, shuddering as blood mixed with sediment grains. He always loved Light Spinner. And even if she'd never loved him, Micah made a promise. He couldn't go back on that oath now, no matter what. Of course, it would change how he interacted with her when he returned, but...

Wait. When he returned?

Micah gazed at the setting moons, realizing he wanted to return. He had to reunite with Angella and little Glimmer – and not just so he could stop Shadow Weaver. He loved his family, and his little girl needed a dad.

And Shadow Weaver still had to pay for her sins. Micah would contest with her again when he got back – not because he was guilty of the Spell or because there was something to prove to the world.

No. Micah would stop her because it was the right thing to do.

This filled him with a fierce burning sensation, the force of will incarnate. Micah rose, clenching his jaw as he found a large piece of driftwood on the shore. With kinesis magic, he squeezed it into the shape of a staff, then enchanted it to function as his scepter would. The Boundary of Horizons wouldn't allow him to communicate or call for help. But the alternative existed.

Light Spinner taught him to survive in her own way. And he would seize that training to return home and hold Angella again. To get to know the child he'd fathered. To incite a reckoning for Shadow Weaver's actions.

No matter what it takes, Micah thought, taking up his new weapon.

❂❂❂

Did you know...

- This marks the last chapter of Starwalker! Next chapter will be the epilogue, and then "Sage" will begin releasing in the fall. I hope you all enjoyed this story.

Tell me what you think...

- What's the best thing about this book?

- What do you think I could improve on the most?