Chapter 1427

Lucy paused mid-bite, the ripe flesh of a mango dripping down her chin as her eyes went wide. Scarlet dropped to her knees near the altar, her breath catching as if the air had thickened. Zoey's head snapped toward the woods, her fingers still curled around the grip of a vine-blade she hadn't touched in days.

Stella stood slowly from the altar's shadow, her hands cupped protectively over her stomach.

"She's waking," Rose said quietly, stepping forward with that familiar, reverent expression Jude had come to associate with truth. "The first bloom was pleasure. This one will be power."

Sophie's gaze moved toward the tree - the massive golden one beside the shrine - and her breath hitched. "It's moving."

Jude turned, and his heart stopped.