Chapter 885 - 887
Jude watched them. He sat with his arms around Lucy and Amelia, letting their warmth settle into him. But his eyes flicked from face to face.
Natalie had been distant all day. Susan had dropped a basket of roots earlier, then stood staring at it for almost a full minute before shaking herself. Sophie had called Zoey by the wrong name twice. These weren’t things they usually did.
He waited until after dinner, until the plates were washed and everyone was wrapped in woven blankets, the circle drawn close around the fire. Then he leaned forward, elbows on knees, and said quietly, "Has anyone blacked out lately?"
The fire cracked. At first, no one responded. Then Zoey laughed softly. "Like... passed out? No. Why?"
Jude’s eyes didn’t leave the flames. "Not passed out. I mean, have you lost time? Like... you’re doing something, and then suddenly it’s later, and you don’t remember what happened in between?"
The laughter stopped. Even the jungle seemed to hush a little. The wives looked at each other. Some frowned. Some blinked. Sophie’s hand tightened around her cup. Stella shifted uncomfortably. Nefertari glanced sideways at the shadows between the trees.
Emma broke the silence. "I thought I was just... tired. It happened near the beach. I blinked, and I was holding fish I didn’t remember grabbing."
"Same here," Grace said quietly. "Up in the banyan tree. I thought I’d zoned out."
Susan swallowed, looking around. "Me too. When I was washing the leaves this morning. I was bent over the pot, and the next thing I knew, everything was clean."