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Chapters (80)
  1. Cover
  2. The Rising Storm
  3. PROLOGUE
  4. CHAPTER ONE
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. CHAPTER THREE
  7. CHAPTER FOUR
  8. CHAPTER FIVE
  9. CHAPTER SIX
  10. CHAPTER SEVEN
  11. CHAPTER EIGHT
  12. CHAPTER NINE
  13. CHAPTER TEN
  14. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  15. CHAPTER TWELVE
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  43. CHAPTER FORTY
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  53. CHAPTER FIFTY
  54. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  55. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  63. CHAPTER SIXTY
  64. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  65. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  66. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  67. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  73. CHAPTER SEVENTY
  74. CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
  75. CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
  76. CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
  77. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
  80. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“Yes, even me. Every Jedi, no matter their age or experience, associates meditation with their Master. We are taught the basic principles from our arrival in the temples, but it is only when we become Padawans that our understanding of the process deepens. We spend hours, days, weeks in meditation with our Masters, sitting side by side, exploring the Force together. There’s a connection that is never fully broken. Then suddenly our Master is gone, and we can never experience it again in the same way. It had been many years since I meditated with Rana Kant, and yet I felt her passing deeply. To lose your Master as a Padawan … that is bound to have an impact, especially with a Master like Loden. He was the best of us.”

Bell pursed his lips as if trying not to let them quake. “Yes,” he said, his voice cracking. “Yes, he was.”

Stellan reached out, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It will come back, I promise. That serenity. That peace. Loden is part of the Force now, so in a way the two of you are closer than ever. But in the meantime, you can always come to me.”

Bell shook his head abruptly, wiping a tear from his eye. “No, you … you have duties. I wouldn’t presume …”

“My duty,” Stellan reminded him, “is to the Order, and the last time I looked, Padawan Zettifar, you were part of that Order.”

Bell laughed and cleared his throat. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Then I will hear no more arguments. What is the motto of this fair?”

“The Spirit of Unity.”

“You’ll see it on enough posters over the next few days, but it’s true, not just for the Republic but for the Jedi. For us. No Jedi is ever alone. We are united in the Force.”

The memory of Elzar guiding the finch flashed across his mind again, but this time it was followed by a shadow, a sense of trepidation.

“Master Gios?”

Bell was searching Stellan’s face for answers, concerned at the Council member’s sudden hesitation. Even Ember leapt up, uneasy once more. “Is everything all right?”

Stellan shook his head. “No. Something is very wrong.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The Starlight Pavilion