Chapter 1504

The silver-grass path wound deeper into a part of the island they had never seen, the air thicker, warmer, heady with the scent of wild orchids and wet stone. The light was strange here - neither day nor night, a perpetual twilight that shimmered through the foliage like gold dust caught in a dream. Jude walked at the center of them, surrounded on all sides by the women who had surrendered to something far larger than themselves. And yet none of them looked lost. They walked with purpose. With grace. With desire still humming in their veins like electricity that had no off switch.

The path widened into a clearing so circular it could only have been formed with intention. At its center stood a stone plinth, barely waist-high, smooth as riverglass and wet with dew that never dried. As they stepped into the circle, the trees behind them shivered - and closed. No going back.

"I feel…" Lucy whispered, but her voice trailed off.