Chapter 1125

He turned to her. "Do you still hear her? Elyara?"

Rose shook her head. "Not in my head. But I still feel something. Like… echoes."

He didn't ask if it scared her. He already knew the answer.

Later, as the sun climbed higher, they caught two decent-sized fish and returned to the camp. The smell of roasted fruit filled the clearing. Grace had made something that looked vaguely like flatbread, and Lucy was already tearing off pieces and stuffing them in her mouth.

"Looks like you're all back just in time for lunch," Zoey said. "We almost started without you."

"You wouldn't dare," Stella said, grinning.

"Try me."

Everyone laughed.

And just like that, the day passed gently.

There was teasing. Sharing. Food passed from hand to hand. No strange glances. No eerie silences. Just women and their man, resting under the canopy of a forest that no longer pulsed with hidden danger.