Chapter 1325

The water was warm as breath, smooth as silk, cradling every inch of their skin like a lover that had been waiting. Jude stepped in first, his feet sinking into soft, living sand that pulsed faintly beneath him. The pool wasn't deep - just enough to submerge them to their waists when they stood - but it shimmered with golden light rising from its depths, as if the island's heart glowed beneath them.

One by one, his wives followed.

Rose slipped in beside him, her hand immediately finding his. Her eyes shimmered brighter now, gold threaded through her irises like veins of light. She said nothing, but her fingers curled tighter around his with every step deeper. The others moved around them in silence, reverent and slow, as if drawn by instinct rather than command.