Chapter 1491
They walked back to camp in the morning hush. Birds chirped somewhere far off, the first sounds of the waking jungle. The sky above remained streaked with purple and gold, the stars not yet vanished. It was like they were caught between night and day, between dream and waking.
At the treehouse, they took turns bathing in the river. Not just to clean, but as ritual. Emma poured water over Sophie’s shoulders, who didn’t flinch. Grace sat beside Zoey, quietly combing her fingers through her hair. Jude washed Lucy’s back, slow and tender, and she leaned into him with a soft sigh.
No one spoke of what had passed.
It didn’t need words.
By midday, they gathered near the central fire again. Stella and Layla cooked while Natalie sharpened blades nearby. It felt almost like normal again, except for the occasional flicker of light beneath their skin, and the way their eyes lingered on one another - longer, softer, hungrier.
Jude sat with Sophie, Emma, and Lucy while Rose approached from the edge of the clearing.
"There’s more," she said. "Beneath the altar. Beneath the tree."
"More what?" Emma asked.
"A chamber. Sealed. But it’s opening."
"You saw it?" Sophie asked.
"I felt it. Like it was breathing last night. We fed it."