Chapter 966
"We’ve woven watchers into our life," Jude said. "We’ve carved memories into mountains, ground, and saplings."
Grace kissed his chest. "This land becomes our story."
He stroked her hair, breathing slow. The watchers drifted just beyond. Light mist carried inward.
They slept with arms threaded. In the night, watchers drawn near rearranged stones around the house, gentle wind hammering nothing but the ground.
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Morning came warm. Jude woke to the sound of saws, soft, rhythmic. He followed to find Emma, Serena, Zoey, and Scarlet building something: a lofty wooden frame between two trees, planks and beams topped with woven branches and glyph-carved stones.
Grace joined him. "They’re building a watch tower, for us and watchers."
He nodded. A structure born of cooperation, not separation. Human and watcher in shared purpose.
By midday, the tower was nearly complete. Women climbed up, steadying beams. Children handed tools. They painted watchers’ glyphs on planks. A spiral from the mountain. A root rune from the altar.
At dusk, they held a ceremony at the base of the tower. Jude chanted the mountain ritual again, this time including watchers’ names. Each wife offered a ribbon they’d woven to the tower’s rafters. The children laid stones of gratitude on the steps.
Top of the tower, Serena lit a lantern of oil and petals. It glowed like a lantern in mist. Watchers drifted in, clustering close.