Chapter 1384

Jude lay on the moss-covered bed in the center, tangled between Lucy and Emma, their legs draped over his, their hands resting across his stomach and chest. Their skin was flushed and soft, marked with faint spirals of gold and black that had become permanent - not tattoos, not burns, but living echoes of their awakening. Lucy had fallen asleep, lips parted against Jude's neck, her breath hot and steady. Emma was awake still, tracing slow circles over his ribs with her fingertip.

"They'll never find us, will they?" she whispered.

Jude blinked slowly, staring up at the arching ceiling above them. "Who?"

"The world. The life we left. Whoever we were before." She shifted closer, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. "I can't even remember what we were escaping anymore."

He turned to look at her, brushing a curl from her cheek. "Maybe we weren't escaping. Maybe we were being summoned."

Emma smiled faintly. "You sound like Rose."

He didn't deny it.