Chapter 1192

The soft crunch of their boots on the pebbled shore was the only sound as they stepped from the rafts onto solid ground once more. The lake behind them shimmered beneath the noon sun, the great spire standing silent and tall in its center, its spiral path now a part of them as surely as the air they breathed. Jude paused for a heartbeat, glancing back, the hum still lingering in his bones, a low music only they could hear. Sophie's hand slipped into his, warm and sure, her fingers curling tight as if she felt it too.

"We follow where it leads," she said, her voice quiet, filled with trust.

Jude nodded, turning toward the forest ahead, where the trees waited like sentinels, tall and dark against the light. Rose came up beside him, her eyes bright with resolve, her smile fierce. The others gathered close, their faces touched with weariness but more with hope, with the fire of discovery still burning strong.