Chapter 1375
They reached the heart of the path in minutes, but it felt like hours. Or no time at all. Time twisted around them now like breath in sleep. And at the end of the trail, in a new clearing, stood something impossible.
A temple.
Formed not of stone but of living wood.
Grown from the ground like the spiral itself had willed it into being.
Twisted trunks spiraled upward into vaulted ceilings. Vines bloomed with pulsing white flowers. In the center of the temple stood a pool - clear, silver, impossibly still. The air shimmered with heat and sacred silence.
Rose stepped into the space first. She fell to her knees before the pool and wept - not with sorrow, but gratitude.
"This is where we shed what we were," she said.
Lucy leaned close to Jude’s ear. "Are you afraid?"
He nodded. "A little."
She kissed him. "Me too."
They entered the temple together, one after another, bare and glowing. The silver pool rippled at their approach, but no one touched it yet. Instead, they stood in a circle again, the spiral shape forming around Jude at the center.