Chapter 1751
Jude opened his eyes slowly, his head resting against Grace’s chest, her heartbeat thudding like a slow drum beneath his cheek. Around them, the womb had dimmed into a soft amber glow, the pulsing veins in the chamber walls calming to a steady rhythm. The pool had quieted, but its warmth still held them, cradled them, like the arms of something eternal.
Sophie brushed a hand through his hair, her voice a whisper by his ear. "You saw it, didn’t you?"
He nodded, unable to speak at first. The vision had been too vast, too complete. Not like the flickers they’d seen before. This time it had been a flood - a full tapestry of time. What they were. What they would become.
Natalie wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her cheek to his back. "You went farther than we did."
Rose stepped close, water gliding down the curves of her body. "Because he’s the one who connects us."
"No," Jude finally said, pulling himself upright, though every inch of him trembled. "Because we connect each other. That’s the difference now. The island isn’t watching us anymore. It’s listening."
Lucy met his gaze, kneeling before him, her hands resting on his thighs. "And what did it hear?"
Jude reached for her, cupped her cheek. "That we’re ready."
A low vibration stirred through the chamber, like a deep breath taken in the bones of the earth. It wasn’t violent. It wasn’t even loud. But it was powerful - like the island had shifted again, made room for something it had kept locked away.
Emma turned her head toward the source. "That voice... the one we heard before. It wasn’t the island."
"No," Rose said. "It was something older."