Chapter 876 - 878
A faint tendril of blue smoke exited her mouth, curled in the air between them, and vanished into the trees.
Emma gasped and stumbled back.
"Jude?" she asked, voice small. "Where... what were we talking about just now?"
He stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders. "You don’t remember?"
"I followed you here. I was going to say something but... I don’t know what happened. Did I fall?"
He let go of her, heart pounding. "Let’s go back."
That night, after dinner, he called another meeting by the fire. Everyone gathered, though their faces were tense and guarded. Jude could feel their unease like smoke rising between them.
"I need you all to listen carefully," he said. "I’m going to describe something. And if it sounds familiar, anything at all, I want you to speak up."
They watched him. He began to describe the behavior. The way their eyes lost focus. The seductive tones. The way their voices shifted. The lapses in memory. The blue smoke. He told them about Emma. About Stella. About Sophie. He told them that it wasn’t a dream anymore, this was real.
When he finished, silence fell like a stone.
Sophie spoke first. "I... I thought I was just tired. But now that you say it... yes. I’ve felt it too."