Chapter 1405

Sophie gasped. "It's… beautiful."

"It's ancient," Grace whispered.

Jude stepped toward the edge of the pool, and the humming returned - not from the walls this time, but from the water itself. It rippled at his presence, inviting, dark and radiant.

Rose moved beside him. "This is the heart. The source. The island's soul."

"Are we supposed to enter it?" Lucy asked.

"I think we have to," Stella said. "That's what this was always leading to."

Jude reached back, took Lucy's hand. She took Sophie's. Sophie grabbed Emma's. One by one, they linked together again, a single living chain of love and lust, desire and devotion. Together they stepped into the pool, the water warm and silky against their skin. It rose to their thighs, then their waists. When it reached their chests, the humming grew louder, echoing inside their skulls like a song without words but full of meaning.

Jude let go first. Let the water take him under.