Chapter 1579
They arrived at dawn, just as the dew clung thick to the moss and the golden mist hovered low between the trees. Three this time - two women and a man - emerging slowly, blinking as though they’d stepped from sleep directly into paradise. Their clothes were tattered. Their bodies lean from travel. But their eyes burned with the unmistakable glow of dreamers.
Jude was already there, waiting beneath the great tree that crowned the Gate. He didn’t move, didn’t speak. He only watched, calm and bare, his skin catching the morning light. Behind him, the others began to stir from their resting place, limbs stretching in lazy pleasure, kisses exchanged, whispers traded between tangled hair and warm skin.
Lucy rose first, silent beside him. Then Rose, brushing moss from her thighs as she approached. The others gathered like petals drawn to the same sun. They stood behind Jude, all twelve wives, quiet and radiant, as the newcomers stepped fully into the clearing.
The man dropped to his knees without a word.
The taller of the two women blinked once, then twice, and whispered, "We dreamed this."
"Yes," Rose said. "And the island listened."
The shorter woman took a step forward, tears slipping down her cheeks. "We thought it wasn’t real."
Jude finally moved, walking slowly toward them. "Most dreams aren’t. But this one waited for you."
The man looked up, eyes wide and stunned. "We saw the heartstone. The light. We followed it."
Lucy knelt beside him, cupping his face in both hands. "You didn’t follow. You were called ."
The taller woman reached out, fingers brushing Rose’s wrist. "What are we supposed to do now?"