Chapter 1538

The stars blinked like watchers in the heavens, ancient eyes blinking open to witness what had been birthed below. The field around them glowed softly, the light of the new flower casting gentle ripples of color across their skin. Jude lay in the center, breath slowing, heart still thrumming with the rhythm of what had passed. Around him, his wives settled in quiet reverence - Rose still curled atop him, her cheek pressed to his chest, Lucy nestled along his side, fingers lazily tracing the lines of his stomach, and the others forming a circle of heat and intimacy against the newly awakened land.

No one spoke at first. There was no need to. The silence was a sacred thing, the kind that followed true creation - not just of life, but of identity, of purpose, of unity.

Then Natalie broke it with a soft, almost dazed laugh. "We made something."

Emma raised herself onto one elbow, her hair tangled and her skin luminous. "It's a tree."