Chapter 1364

They dressed only in thin wraps, leaving most of their bodies bare to the heat. Their skin was kissed with faint symbols - on necks, thighs, spines - marks left behind by the water, glowing only slightly in the morning mist. They walked barefoot, single file, back through the dense trees, the canopy above almost trembling.

The pool was still.

But it was no longer a pool.

In the center, where they had once given themselves to the spiral's rhythm, the water had receded, revealing a stone column rising like a spine from the earth. Its surface was slick, etched with fresh spirals and glowing runes, but it was the top that caught their breath - a smooth stone basin filled with thick, honey-colored liquid that shimmered gold in the filtered light.

Grace stepped forward first. She dipped her fingers in the liquid, lifted it, and let it drip back slowly.

"It's warm," she said softly. "Like skin. Like blood and honey."