Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women

Sophie stepped forward, her body tense. "We never agreed to this."

Rose smiled wider. "That’s because you haven’t seen how beautiful it is yet."

Her voice was like honey and smoke, soft but wrapping around their ears and sinking deep. Grace stepped forward, her feet moving slowly, like in a dream. Her eyes fluttered.

"Grace," Susan called, "stay where you are."

But she didn’t stop. Not until she was inside the circle, hands brushing against Layla’s. Then her smile bloomed, and she turned toward the others with that same eerie tilt of the head.

"No," Jude said quietly. "We’re losing them."

Sophie grabbed his arm. "We need to do something."

Susan stepped beside them and began to hum again, low, slow. The same song she’d used to pull Zoey and Layla out before. But this time, it didn’t seem to work. Grace merely smiled at her. Zoey opened her eyes and laughed softly.

"That doesn’t work anymore," she said. "You’re too late."

Susan’s voice wavered and stopped.

Emma, fists clenched, turned to Sophie. "We wait until they sleep. Then we try again. One by one, if we have to."