Chapter 1187
The others drew closer as they ate, their circle tight, the fire’s warmth shared. They spoke of small things-where they’d seen game trails, how the river’s bend had shifted, what fruits they might find farther north. But beneath it all was the unspoken: the spire, the spiral, the eye that had opened and watched, the hum that still echoed faintly in their hearts.
When the meal was done, Jude stood, brushing crumbs from his hands. He looked at each of them in turn, his gaze lingering on their faces-the faces of the women he loved, the women who had fought and bled and dreamed beside him.
"We don’t run from this," he said quietly. "Whatever it is the island is trying to show us, we face it. Together."
They nodded, one by one, no hesitation, no doubt.
Lucy sheathed her blade with a decisive snap. "What’s the plan?"
"We map what we saw," Jude said. "Every mark on that spire, every change in the spiral, every symbol beneath the water. We put it all together, see if it tells us where to go next."
Zoey grinned, the tension in her shoulders easing just a little. "That’s the Jude I know. Always with a plan."
Scarlet leaned into Zoey’s side, her voice soft but steady. "And always with us."
They spent the afternoon sketching the spiral’s patterns from memory, each adding what they had seen. The design came together slowly, lines and shapes and runes taking form on a wide flat stone Jude cleared for the task. When they were done, the spiral was unlike any they had encountered before-more intricate, layered with meaning none of them could yet decipher. The central circle, the eye, seemed to stare up at them even in chalk and ash.