Chapter 1054
The air was thicker that morning, not with mist but with something else, something unseen, like a held breath or a half-whispered warning. Jude woke alone, the space beside him empty but still warm, the faint scent of Sophie’s skin lingering on the pillow. He blinked slowly, sat up, and let his feet dangle over the edge of the platform. The sky outside the canopy was overcast, a dull gray stretched across the horizon like someone had drawn a shroud over the sun. It wasn’t the first cloudy day, but something about this one felt... off.
He descended quietly, barefoot, and wandered toward the fire pit. Susan was already there, crouched and focused, coaxing flames from the coals with careful hands. Her hair was braided today, tight and neat, and the muscles in her arms flexed with every movement.
"You’re up early," Jude murmured, settling beside her.
She didn’t look up immediately. "Couldn’t sleep."
He watched the fire catch and grow, crackling to life. "Bad dreams?"
"No dream at all," she said softly. Then, after a beat, she added, "Thought I saw something last night."
He turned to her. "Where?"
"Just past the edge of the trees. A shape. Big. It was gone when I looked again."
Jude waited, expecting more, but she said nothing else. Just stared into the fire like it might explain things.
He didn’t press. The silence between them felt heavy but not uncomfortable. It was a silence that understood.
One by one, the others emerged. Sophie returned with a small bundle of herbs, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Stella and Grace walked back from the stream, laughing about something neither explained. Zoey and Natalie were preparing to go hunt for shellfish again, giggling as they tied their hair back and splashed water at each other playfully. Jude watched it all, the morning unfolding like any other, but the edge of his mind kept snagging on Susan’s words.