Chapter 1392

The light faded gently, not vanishing, but folding itself into the city around them - as if absorbed into the walls, the stones, even the air they breathed. Jude lay at the center of the dais, surrounded by the slow, sleeping forms of his wives. Their skin glistened in the soft gold glow, limbs entwined in a perfect chaos of love and flesh. The heat from their bodies still lingered against him, each breath a soft kiss against his ribs, neck, thighs.

He didn't want to move.

But the city stirred.

He felt it in his bones first - like a subtle vibration in the marrow, a low, soothing purr that matched the rhythm of their joined pulse. When he sat up slowly, careful not to wake Lucy, who lay draped across his chest, he saw it clearly. The city wasn't finished.

It was growing.