Chapter 1168
"You don’t have to fight anymore," Rose said, stepping forward, her bare feet silent on the slick stones. "You don’t have to fear me. I can take it all away. I can give you peace."
Sophie moved closer to Jude, her hand sliding into his, her grip fierce and grounding. "Don’t listen," she said, her voice steady despite the storm. "She’s not Rose. Not anymore."
But Rose’s smile deepened, soft and knowing, and for a heartbeat Jude saw the woman he’d loved, the woman he still loved, behind the glow of her skin, behind the hunger in her gaze. His breath caught, torn between memory and fear, between longing and the cold reality of what stood before him.
"You feel it," Rose whispered, her voice barely audible over the storm, but he heard it as clearly as if she spoke into his ear. "We belong to this island. We belong to each other. Let it happen. Let , me, happen."
Lucy stepped forward, blade in hand, rain running down her face like tears. "Enough," she said, her voice low and fierce. "We won’t let you take him. We won’t let you take , us., "
But Rose didn’t flinch. Instead, she raised her hands, palms open, the light from within spilling out, casting strange, dancing patterns on the rocks, on the waves, on the faces of those who stood against her. The ground trembled beneath them, as if the island itself responded to her call, as if it, too, wanted them to surrender.
The wind howled, the storm closing in, and Jude felt the pull again, that irresistible thread that bound him to her, that urged him to step forward, to let go, to fall into her waiting arms. But Sophie’s grip tightened, her warmth a beacon in the cold, and he held on, his feet rooted to the ground.
"We’re stronger than this," Sophie said, her voice rising above the storm. "We’re stronger , together., "
Rose’s smile faltered, just for a breath, just long enough for Jude to see the flicker of something else, loss, regret, a hint of the woman she’d been. But then the light blazed brighter, fierce and blinding, and she took another step forward, the storm seeming to bow to her will.