They were changing faster.
Emma had been the last thread of resistance in that group, and now she was gone. Just like Layla. Just like Zoey. Just like Susan, Grace, Natalie, and Scarlet. And Rose… Rose was the beginning of all of it.
Sophie knelt beside him, a hand sliding up his arm. "We have to go. While they're distracted."
He didn't move. "And do what? Run to where? They'll follow."
"We're not running." Lucy's voice came from behind a curtain of vines, low and urgent. "We're searching. The spiral Rose led them to, it wasn't just a ceremony. It was a gateway."
Jude turned to face her. "A gateway to what?"
Stella appeared beside Lucy, her eyes serious. "To the center of it. The real heart. Whatever part of her we didn't burn out of Rose, it's growing again. But maybe we can reach it before she completes whatever she's doing."
Sophie nodded. "And maybe we can undo it."