Chapter 1154
She saw it first when they reached the clearing.
A small circle of stones. Bones arranged in spiral lines. Leaves blackened by some burn that hadn’t come from fire. And at the center of it all: Susan, Grace, and Natalie. Kneeling.
Zoey’s heart caught in her throat.
They weren’t moving.
They weren’t praying.
They were waiting.
Rose stepped into the circle without hesitation. Layla followed. And then Zoey saw it, Rose reaching out her hand. Not to the others. To the ground. To something beneath it. And when she whispered, the stones pulsed with light, not golden, not watcher-light. A deep, sickly crimson.
Layla stepped beside her, lifted her hand, and began to speak. The words were not in any language Zoey understood. They were soft, melodic, almost like watchersong, but wrong. It wasn’t calling something. It was inviting. Welcoming. Opening.
The roots around the clearing began to stir. And Susan looked up. Her eyes were wet. But she was smiling. Grace lifted her hands to the sky. Natalie let out a soft moan, like something inside her had finally stopped hurting. Zoey’s body moved before her mind could stop it, she stepped forward, breath held, heart racing.
She stumbled on a branch.
Rose’s eyes snapped toward her.