Chapter 1208
"No," Jude said firmly. "Not yet."
Rose’s voice rose again, spreading like oil across the water’s surface. "We’ve touched something older than memory. It doesn’t hurt - it evolves . Isn’t that what we’ve been doing since we landed here? Changing?"
Sophie gripped his hand. "She’s preaching."
"She’s recruiting," Lucy muttered.
"You’re afraid because it’s real ," Layla said. "But when you surrender, the fear goes away."
"No one’s surrendering," Jude growled, stepping out from the shadows.
Gasps behind him.
Sophie reached for him - "Jude, wait - "
But he stepped into the pale spiral glow, standing tall, shoulders squared.
"Whatever you think this is," he said calmly, "it’s not truth. It’s infection. You were changed when you came out of that river, Rose. We all saw it."
Rose’s face softened, just a little. "You always did try to fix what you didn’t understand."