Chapter 960

"What happened?"

"We found something," Scarlet said, holding up a cloth-wrapped bundle. Inside was a severed piece of watcher glyph, sharp-edged like crystal bark, with carvings on one side.

"It was in a nest," Sophie added. "A pile of watcher vines, like a bed or altar. And the mist, Jude, it didn't move like it usually does. It watched us."

Jude examined the piece. Cold to the touch. The glyphs seemed burned in rather than carved. He placed it on the table at the center of camp and called everyone to gather.

The wives circled, each peering at the shard in silence. The children stood beside Zoey and Lucy, wide-eyed. Jude touched the edge and said, "They're leaving messages. Maybe warnings."

"Or maps," Emma said quietly. "That shape, it matches part of the grove drawing on the northern stone."

Jude glanced at her. "You remember it?"

"I do. I sketch it sometimes when I can't sleep."