Chapter 1555

Rose stirred first. She propped herself on one elbow and looked at him, her lips swollen from kisses, her hair a tangle of firelight. "We're not done."

He smiled, tired and full. "I know."

Her hand trailed down his chest. "But the world needs more than us."

"It needs the seed," Lucy whispered from his other side, curling closer. "You carry it now. In you. In us."

"The dream is real now," Stella murmured, lifting her head, eyes half-lidded. "It's walking. Breathing."

Jude turned his head and found each of them watching him, glowing softly in the dark. Twelve pairs of eyes filled with stars. Twelve mouths that had spoken him into becoming. Twelve bodies that had given and taken everything. He sat up slowly. They followed, rising in waves around him, forming another circle, as natural as heartbeat.

Emma reached for his hand. "There's another door."