Chapter 1428

The air beyond the archway was thick with the scent of wet earth and night-blooming flowers. The tunnel sloped downward, the walls slick with moss that glowed faintly blue, casting eerie shadows that danced over their bare skin. Jude led, his hand finding Lucy's, then Zoey's, drawing them into the dark with him. The rest followed, silent, breath held, as if afraid sound might break the spell woven around them.

The deeper they went, the warmer it became - not oppressive, but intimate, like the island was wrapping them in its embrace. The ground pulsed beneath their feet, steady as a heartbeat. Jude could feel it in his bones, in the throbbing ache between his legs, in the raw places where skin had met skin for hours without rest. The tunnel felt alive. The tunnel was alive.