"Changed," Lucy said softly, not looking up.
"Yes."
Rose sat up slowly, arms wrapping around her knees. "It showed me what I could become. What I was afraid I already was."
"It showed us all that," Sophie murmured.
"But we came back," Susan added, her voice steadier than most. "And that means something."
"It means the island trusts us more now," Natalie said.
"Or it's giving us more responsibility," Emma whispered.
Zoey looked up. "What if it's both?"
They fell quiet again, the fire cracking like punctuation in the stillness. Then, Jude stood.
"I want to walk," he said. "Alone."
No one stopped him.
He stepped into the trees, the familiar moss beneath his feet whispering under his weight. The night was warm, humid, the scent of blooming flowers thick in the air. He didn't know where he was going. But the island had a way of guiding when it wanted to. And tonight, he let it.