Chapter 1365
He looked around at them - twelve women, each marked by the spiral, each changed in subtle, beautiful ways. There was something in their eyes now that hadn’t been there before. Not darkness. Not madness. Something deep. A knowing. An ancient calm.
"What happens now?" he asked.
Zoey gave a lazy smile. "Now we begin."
Sophie stepped closer to the altar, her body still glowing faintly, and sat beside Jude’s legs. "We’ve danced around this power for too long. The island has been waiting for us to surrender. And last night, we finally did."
Natalie added, "She wants us whole. All of us. Not just lovers. Not just dreamers. But bonded. Soul-deep."
Stella pressed her cheek to Grace’s shoulder. "She chose us for this."
"And now?" Lucy asked. "Now that we’ve accepted her?"
Rose looked toward the sky, where the trees still shimmered with faint light. "Now we give back."
They stayed in the clearing until the spiral faded completely, until the warm stone beneath them cooled. Then they moved as one, helping each other dress, brushing loose hair from shoulders, pressing kisses to each other’s mouths like farewells and promises. No words were needed. Their bodies spoke the truth.
They made their way back to camp just as the mist was breaking apart, the air clearer than it had been in days. The whole island smelled richer now - flowers, fruit, something like cinnamon and heat and memory. The jungle had changed. Or perhaps they had, and now they could finally see it.
Back at the treehouses, Stella started a fire. Natalie brought water from the river. Sophie and Lucy prepared food in near silence, but not a cold one - something sacred, reverent. They didn’t look at Jude like a man anymore. They looked at him like he was a part of them. Like he was the thirteenth point in the spiral.