Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women

Grace nodded slowly. "Like I’ve always been turning toward this moment without realizing."

Sophie stepped to Jude’s side, her fingers brushing his. "Then the fifth spiral is the one that begins the future."

"No," Rose whispered, stepping forward, her golden eyes darkening slightly. "The fifth spiral is the one that tests it."

The forest shuddered.

Not violently - but with a ripple, like breath held in anticipation. A breeze swept through the trees, carrying a scent none of them had ever known - sweet, smoky, seductive. The sunlight dimmed, not fading, but shifting, as if something had passed in front of the sun that wasn’t a cloud. Shadows lengthened unnaturally. The trees bent inward, forming a dome overhead, darker, deeper. In the center of the spiral-circle, the moss parted.

And revealed a stairway of black stone.

Descending into the earth.

Susan wrapped her arms around herself, eyes wide. "That wasn’t there before."

"It was," Zoey murmured. "We just weren’t meant to see it until now."

Emma stepped toward the stairs, but Jude held out his arm.

"We go together," he said.