Chapter 1103

Sophie grabbed Emma's arm, pulling her back. Jude stepped forward. "Enough. You want me? Then talk to me."

Rose's expression softened, almost sad. "You still think this is about want?"

Then a whisper came from the trees.

It was a watchersong, but warped, deeper, laced with echoes and fragments of voices they didn't recognize. Jude turned toward the sound, heart pounding.

And just beyond the edge of camp, something moved.

A shadow, huge and formless, slipped between trunks, glowing faintly, its presence felt more than seen. The others didn't react. The nine, Rose and her circle, continued to smile, unmoved.

But Jude, Sophie, and Emma saw it.

The monster was there again.

It flickered in the gaps between trees like an illusion, like a fever dream. It had no shape but felt like hunger, like seduction, like the edge of sleep.

And then it vanished.

Emma gasped. "It was watching us."