Chapter 1466
They didn’t dream of fire.
They dreamed of roots.
Not crawling, not strangling - but expanding. Blooming. A web of light beneath the island that pulsed in rhythm with their breaths, their hearts, their bodies.
Each of them saw the same vision in different ways: Rose walking barefoot on glowing soil, Lucy kissing Jude beneath a sky of burning stars, Zoey leading the others through a forest of mirrored trees that reflected their past and future at once. And at the center of it all, Jude - naked, radiant, standing in a ring of stone with golden vines winding up his legs, his chest open like a book.
They awoke as one.
Not with panic.
With purpose.
Lucy stirred first, her body curled tightly against Jude’s, her breath still hot against his chest. "It’s calling again," she murmured, her hand tracing lazy circles along his side. "The mountain."
Sophie blinked slowly, lifting her head. "It’s louder now."
The others roused around them, stretching like cats after a night of pleasure. The treehouse smelled of sex and sunlight, sweat and something floral - pollen, maybe, or the perfume of whatever the heart-tree had laced into their skin. They didn’t needed blankets. Their bodies had been enough.
Rose sat up last, her dark hair tangled like a halo, her lips parted in a lazy smile. "It’s time."