Chapter 1238
Zoey walked closer, crouching beside her. "Did Rose tell you something?"
Layla looked up at her, eyes glimmering. "She showed me. There’s a difference."
"And what did she show you?" Zoey’s voice was careful, low.
Layla leaned in. "That this island is a gift. That we are its flame. And that we were never meant to resist it."
Zoey stared at her, unsure of how to respond. Then Layla kissed her.
It wasn’t forceful. It wasn’t sudden.
It was soft. Familiar. Warm.
But beneath it, something stirred.
Something in the taste of her lips, in the pressure of her hands on Zoey’s arms - like a tide pulling her under. Zoey tried to pull back, but she couldn’t. Not because Layla held her physically. Because her body didn’t want to. Because part of her wanted to sink into it.
And just before the kiss broke, Layla whispered against her lips, "You’ll see soon."
When they returned to camp, Zoey was silent. She sat close to Layla, their hands occasionally brushing. Her eyes had changed - still sharp, still curious, but distant, distracted.