Chapter 1658

Jude turned slowly, sensing rather than knowing, and looked to the north. The forest there seemed darker - less touched by gold, more shadowed - but not threatening. Just waiting. "That way."

The spiral platform unfurled behind them like a tongue of light as they stepped forward, one by one. Lucy took his hand. Zoey followed close behind. Grace and Natalie walked arm in arm. Emma and Sophie flanked Stella. Susan lingered with Scarlet, the two of them still flushed and soft from their shared climax. And Rose walked slightly ahead, barefoot and gleaming, her body moving like a flame.

The spiral did not disappear as they left it. It remained, pulsing, buried beneath the moss and trees now - an eternal mark on the island, proof of what they had become. But the path ahead shifted. The forest changed again.