Chapter 1134
Jude didn’t rise at first. His breath stayed caught in his throat as he stared at the watchersign above. The word Hurt bled slowly down the stone like it had been etched into flesh instead of rock. The lines shimmered deep red, not the enchanted blue of watcherscript, not the golden light of their rituals. This was something older. Angrier.
Sophie crouched beside him, hand firm on his back. "She’s wounded."
Emma exhaled behind them. "Good."
"No," Rose said quietly. "It means she’s not gone. And now she’s bleeding."
The women gathered around the base of the cliff as the sky began to shift, sunset giving way to that eerie, violet hour that made everything on the island blur. The trees whispered like they were murmuring to each other, passing secrets through leaves.
Susan stepped forward, her fingers brushing one of the bleeding lines. She pulled her hand back sharply, staring at her skin. "It’s real," she said. "Not just markings. Whatever she is... she’s alive now."
"Or dying," Zoey offered.
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Can something like her die?"
Sophie rose slowly, helping Jude to his feet. His shirt stuck to the ash lines still glowing on his chest, watcherscript faint but unbroken.
"She’s not dead," he said. "She’s hurt. And that makes her dangerous."
Natalie moved closer, her bare feet whispering over the mossy ground. "So now what? We keep hunting her? Or wait until she heals and tries again?"