Chapter 1708 - 1707
The forest pulsed in quiet rhythm, the island alive beneath their bodies, its breath mingling with theirs in the golden afterglow.
The air shimmered with heat and pollen, a heady blend of nature and intimacy that settled into every inch of Jude’s skin.
He lay there among them, not just loved but worshiped, not just needed but essential - no longer a visitor or a question, but the answer they’d all grown into.
Lucy stirred first. Her hand slid along his ribs, fingertips featherlight. "There’s something beneath us," she murmured, her voice drowsy but curious. "Not just roots. It’s deeper."
Rose was already sitting up, her body draped in gold light like a goddess reborn. "I felt it too. While you were inside me," she said, her voice low and warm. "It hummed louder when we touched."
Jude pushed up onto his elbows, muscles trembling with satisfaction and something more primal. "Like the ground was singing?"
"No." Emma’s voice was sharp, alert. "Like it was calling."
They sat up, one by one. The air hadn’t cooled, but it thickened. The trees nearby had leaned in again, not menacing but expectant, their leaves rustling without wind. Jude stood slowly, helping Lucy up, then reaching for Rose, his skin still coated with the faint sheen of golden sweat.
"What does it want now?" Grace asked, wrapping her arms around her knees as if she were bracing for another wave.
"It doesn’t want," Rose replied. "It needs."
Zoey rolled onto her stomach, grinning lazily. "We just gave it everything. What else could it possibly need?"