Chapter 1058

The morning came with a brittle silence. Not the peaceful kind, but the kind that made the air feel heavy, like every tree and stone was waiting for someone to say what they were all thinking. The monster wasn't just a passing hallucination anymore. They had all seen it. There was no more denying it, no more pretending that they were imagining the same nightmare. Still, no one spoke its name. No one gave it shape in words. Doing so would make it stronger, maybe even more real than it already was.

Jude was the first to rise, stretching beside Layla's sleeping form. The fire had burned low in the night, casting soft embers against her face. She stirred when his fingers brushed her cheek. Her eyes opened slowly, and for a second, there was calm. But then it returned, the same unspoken dread darkening her gaze.

He kissed her forehead and murmured, "We need to figure this out."

She nodded without asking what he meant.