Chapter 1120
Her eyes were glazed with tears, but she looked at him, really looked, and for a second he saw her again. Not the influenced version, not the subtle mirroring of Rose’s behavior, but the woman he had come to love on this strange island, brilliant, intense, observant Emma.
"I don’t know," she whispered. "It came from somewhere deeper. Somewhere... old."
Rose stepped forward. "That name was not for you to say."
Jude stood slowly, placing himself between Emma and Rose. "It’s over, Rose. You can’t keep pulling them into this."
Rose only smiled. "It’s not about pulling. They chose. You always think this is happening to them. But you don’t see that they wanted it."
"Then what about Emma?" Sophie demanded.
Rose tilted her head. "Emma’s always had one foot in the flame."
The ground vibrated again, more forceful this time, enough that Jude heard trees cracking in the distance, birds finally screaming and taking flight. A sound unlike anything they’d heard before rose up through the trees, a low, inhuman note, like a growl trapped inside music.
"They’re coming," Emma said. "That name was a key."
Jude turned to Sophie. "We have to get to the watcherscript chamber. The original one. Before the others do."
Sophie nodded. "The one with the tree pillars."