Rose stood there, untouched.
She stepped over the scorched earth with slow, deliberate grace. "You thought that would work?" she asked, voice cold.
"Not on you," Jude said. "But Natalie's free now."
Rose tilted her head, smile fading.
Then, slowly, her lips curved again.
"One doesn't matter," she whispered. "We've already claimed the rest."
And one by one, behind her, the others stepped forward, Layla, Zoey, Grace, Susan, Stella, Lucy, Scarlet.
Each with that same smile.
Jude, Sophie, Emma, and Natalie stood together, backs pressed tight, surrounded.
This was no longer a question of who could be saved.
Now it was about who would survive.