Chapter 1596
Around midday, they reached a rise where the trees thinned and the sky opened. Before them stretched a wide, lush field filled with tall golden grass and strange blue flowers. At the far edge of it, nestled against a ring of standing stones, was a pool unlike the others they’d seen - oval, smooth, lined in silvery rock, and filled with water that shimmered like liquid moonlight.
"This is it," Rose whispered.
Zoey let out a breath and flopped onto the grass with a grin. "Good. My feet are killing me."
Scarlet laughed and dropped beside her, stroking her hair. "It’s those hips. They’ve gone goddess-wide."
"Yours aren’t exactly subtle either," Zoey teased.
They all laughed - soft and sweet and full of that strange joy that only came when fear had finally vanished.
Jude stepped into the center of the field and turned slowly, watching his wives spread out across the golden grass, finding places to rest, to sit, to touch one another. They brushed fingers down glowing thighs, kissed round bellies, pressed ears to each other’s skin to listen.
Sophie approached him quietly. "They’re growing fast."
He nodded. "Too fast?"
"No," Rose said, joining them. "Exactly right."
"How do you know?" he asked.