Chapter 986
Scarlet helped Raven across; Susan lifted Laurel. Serena offered steady hands to the wives. One by one, they crossed, watchers echoing each step with light pulses in mist. On the far bank, the forest breathed differently, looser, older, wilder.
Grace let out a small breath. "We’ve left safety behind."
"And found trust," Jude answered.
They moved on, deeper. Hummingbird flashes lit blossoms. Ferns arched overhead. The watchers floated through branches, as though expecting each step, making way. They reached a massive root fallen across the path, wide as their home’s arch. A watcher stood before it. It bent, extending mist to cradle the root’s weight. Jude and wives stepped over. Grace followed, touching the bowed root. "Thank you," she whispered.
They pressed on, climbing slight rise until brushing into the smell of smoke and spices. Voices echoed. Children hushed; wives faltered. Ahead, through trees, they saw smoke curling upward from a stone cairn, carved with glyphs similar to watchers’. Figures stood around it, humans in weathered robes, shapes faint but alive. More watchers drifted among them unfazed, merging as if part of the tradition.
The wives drew close without speaking; Jude raised hand in greeting. A figure turned, skin pale, hair gray beneath hood. It inclined its head slowly. The meeting was without words, echoing deeper understanding.
Grace stepped forward, cheeks flushed. She held up a ribbon and offering bowl. The robed figure responded by placing a stone at feet, etched with watchers’ glyph, and drinking from the bowl.
Another figure knelt, pressing head to ground, bowing. Then it rose, and the group understood: they were welcomed.
Jude exhaled, voice catching. "They still come," he said. "Memory seekers."