The silver light faded from my palm.
"Death would release you, Kaelen. You asked for peace before you asked what peace cost me."
He stopped moving.
I pointed the moonlight scepter at his heart.
"I bind you to life and to memory. Age will pass around you. Illness will pass over you. Blades and falls will leave you standing."
The scepter's light entered his chest. Kaelen pressed both hands over the place it touched. The spell settled around his heart and fixed it to a steady beat.
"You will remember our son's heartbeat under your palm. You will remember the altar and the teleportation rune. Every promise, every order, and every chance you threw away stays with you."
Wind moved around his knees and pulled at his torn coat. A black opening formed behind him.
"You will walk with what yo
