Chapter 1390
The echoes circled Jude slowly, brushing hands over his chest, his face, his shoulders. Each one whispered his name in a different voice, the way they used to say it in private moments: moaning, sighing, laughing, crying. Their bodies glided across his, feather-light, intoxicating.
He fell to his knees, overwhelmed. Not by fear. By love.
Lucy and Rose stepped in beside him, holding him, grounding him. "You’re not alone," Rose said softly.
"Never again," Lucy added.
Then the echoes began to dissolve, melting into threads of gold that wrapped around the women’s wrists, ankles, waists. They didn’t resist. They welcomed it, the light sliding along their skin, forming patterns of swirling symbols - runes that pulsed with magic and memory.
One by one, they turned to Jude, radiant and transformed.
And one by one, they knelt.
Not in submission.
In reverence.
Not just for him - but for them. For what they had become. For the bond they had forged. For the world they were about to create.
Sophie rose first, stepping close, her body gleaming with runes, her breath warm against his lips. "It’s time, Jude. Take us. All of us. Not one at a time. Together."