Chapter 1172
She moved with slow grace, as if the world bent to her pace, as if time itself answered to her now. The light within her pulsed softly, casting her features in shifting silver. Her eyes met Jude’s across the water, and for a heartbeat he saw her, , truly, saw her, the woman who had loved him, who had laughed with him, who had once sworn to stand beside him through everything.
But the light deepened, swallowing that glimpse, and the creature that wore Rose’s face smiled with a hunger that chilled him to his core.
"You followed," she said, her voice soft and terrible, as beautiful and deadly as the storm. "I knew you would. I knew you couldn’t leave me behind."
Jude swallowed, his throat dry. "We came to bring you back. Rose, whatever this is, fight it. Come back to us."
She tilted her head, the smile never faltering. "I , am, back. This is who I was meant to be. You can be part of it too. All of you. We can be , whole., "
Lucy stepped forward, her voice sharp as the edge of her blade. "You’re not whole. You’re not even , you, anymore."
The light flared, the water at Rose’s feet churning as if stirred by an unseen hand. "You don’t understand," Rose said, her voice thick with something between sorrow and fury. "But you will. Soon."
The ground trembled beneath them, subtle at first, then stronger, as if the island itself stirred at her command. The pool’s surface shattered into ripples, reflecting the wild hunger in Rose’s eyes.
Jude reached for Sophie’s hand, for strength, for courage. Around them, the others closed ranks, ready for whatever came next.