Chapter 1084
Grace seemed calmer than usual, but there was a tension in her shoulders, like she was fighting a pull she couldn’t name.
Sophie watched them all carefully. Jude could feel her mind working, taking in every shift, every smile that didn’t quite reach the eyes.
By afternoon, they went on another foraging trip. Jude, Sophie, Rose, Layla, Zoey, and Grace. They moved deeper into the eastern woods, looking for ripe fruits and new herbs. It was quiet, too quiet, but Rose made up for it with laughter and teasing. She chased Jude around a tree and pressed him against it, kissing his neck while Sophie and the others picked berries nearby.
"You’re tense," she purred.
"I’m cautious," Jude replied, trying to shift away.
Her lips brushed his ear. "Don’t you trust me?"
He forced a smile. "I trust my instincts."
"And do they tell you I’m dangerous?" She tilted her head, her dark hair falling over her shoulder like a curtain. Her smile was soft, seductive, and something else, something unnatural underneath.
"They tell me something changed when you came out of that water."
She didn’t flinch. She only leaned in and whispered, "Everything changes, eventually."
Then she turned and walked away, her hips swaying, calling Layla over to help her pick a strange violet fruit from a high branch.