Chapter 1675
Lucy shifted in his arms, her eyes fluttering open, lashes heavy with sleep. She smiled against his chest, her fingers tracing slow circles along his ribs. "I dreamt of waves," she murmured, voice still dusted with sleep. "And sails. So many sails."
He nodded slowly, brushing his lips across her temple. "They’re coming."
A breeze rolled through the trees then, fragrant with salt and wildflowers, and every leaf turned in the same direction - the sea. One by one, the others stirred. Rose sat up, her golden hair cascading across her back, eyes focused and alert. Zoey stretched like a feline, her body arching as she opened her eyes and blinked at the dawn.
"They’re closer," Rose said softly.
Emma rose onto one elbow, scanning the horizon through the trees. "Should we be afraid?"
"No," Jude said, his voice calm. "But we should be ready."
Sophie moved beside him, her bare skin glowing in the fire’s soft light. "Ready for what?"
He sat up fully, pulling Lucy with him, then looked around the circle. "For what it means to lead. To welcome. To decide who we are now that it’s not just us anymore."
Stella tilted her head, her fingers weaving through Grace’s. "Do you think they’ll be like us?"
"They’ll be what the island makes them," Rose replied. "What they’re willing to become."
"But they won’t have what we have," Susan said quietly.