Chapter 941
Rose frowned. "A gate to what?"
"To the true will of the island," Ashra said. "It’s not just a creature or a force. It’s a story. One that loops. One that punishes."
Jude stared into the flames. "A loop that always ends in forgetting."
Ashra nodded. "Until now."
The next morning, they returned to the central settlement. The house still stood, untouched. The fog was gone. The birds had returned. Natalie wept softly when she saw the garden intact, untouched by beasts. The herbs had even grown fuller, as if the soil itself had become richer. The goats, surprisingly, were all alive, though a bit skittish. Emma dropped to her knees and laughed when one nudged her hand.
Life, it seemed, was reasserting itself.
But the air was not entirely calm. Jude could feel it, like a hum under his skin. The island’s story was still spinning, trying to make sense of the disruption they’d caused.
The wives spread out across the area, checking for changes, gathering notes, collecting samples. Jude entered the house and paused in the doorway. Everything was exactly where they left it. The long table. The piles of journals. The woven rugs. Even the faint scent of ash in the fireplace lingered.
But something small had changed.
A flower.
A single white flower rested on the windowsill. It hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t one they’d planted.