Chapter 1214

Jude didn't move. He couldn't. His feet were rooted, his pulse thundering in his ears. Rose stood at the edge of the scorched watcher script circle, her fingers flexing like she could feel the thing writhing beneath her skin. Her eyes glowed faintly, not with the blank white of the spiral's possession but with something darker. Intentional. Awake.

Sophie stepped beside Jude, blade in hand. "Rose," she said cautiously, "whatever it gave you - whatever it showed you - you can still fight it."

Rose tilted her head. "Fight it?" Her voice was soft, airy. "Why would I fight it? I asked to see. And now I do. I understand things none of you ever could."

Susan managed to stand, Jude catching her before she wobbled. "It tricked you," she croaked. "It showed you what you wanted, and you let it in. "