Chapter 1560

Jude looked at the pulsing ground. "We give it a piece of them, to keep them safe?"

Rose nodded. "A single drop of blood from each mother. Nothing more. Enough for the island to know them. To protect them. To love them back."

They formed a circle around the clearing's center. Moss and vine arranged itself beneath them like a woven nest. The women moved with calm, measured intent - no hesitation, only understanding. Each took a small, sharp thorn offered by the forest, its tip pulsing with gentle heat.

Grace went first. She pricked her fingertip and let one drop fall into the center.

The ground drank it greedily.

Susan followed, then Natalie, then Stella and Zoey. Scarlet stepped in next, her baby nestled on her hip, her hand steady as the thorn pierced her skin. Lucy and Sophie, silent and focused, let their blood join the soil. Emma did not flinch. Neither did Grace, again, pressing her palm briefly to the dirt.