Susan clapped to the beat. Grace poured drinks. The others smiled and moved with the music, giving in to the softness of the mont.
Sophie ca up behind him. "They look happy."
Jude nodded, watching Rose spin, her hair catching firelight like silk. "Too happy."
Sophie slipped her arm around his waist, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You’re scared."
"I should be."
" too." She kissed his neck. "But I still want to be close to you."
He turned to her and kissed her lips, slow and searching. Her mouth tasted like salt and wildberries. Her arms wrapped around him and held tight, grounding him again. Even here, even with so much changed, this, this between them, still felt real.
Later that night, he lay tangled with her in the treehouse. She was asleep, breath soft against his chest, one leg slung over his waist. Jude stared at the ceiling and felt the shard pulsing faintly from the pouch tied beside their bed.
He thought of the gate.
He thought of Rose’s smile.
He thought of what might be waiting.
The next morning brought a rare storm. It ca fast, gray clouds, heavy winds, and sharp rain. The won scrambled to secure baskets and tools, their half-built canopy blown to the side. Jude worked quickly, tying down shelters, reinforcing the hut walls.
By afternoon, the worst passed. Only drizzle remained, the forest steaming with heat and damp air.
Rose ca to him then, wearing nothing but a wet cloth around her waist, droplets sliding down her back. She leaned against a tree near him and smiled.
"Storms always leave sothing behind."
Jude looked up from the knot he was tying. "Like what?"
"A new beginning." She walked toward him. "Or maybe an ending."
He stood up. "What do you want from ?"
Her eyes glead. "Everything. But you already knew that."
She leaned in to kiss him, and for a second, he didn’t move. But before her lips touched his, Sophie appeared behind her.
"Jude," she called gently, as if nothing was amiss.
Rose smiled and turned. "Sophie. I was just thanking him for saving our shelter."
"I’m sure." Sophie walked up beside her, brushing her shoulder against Jude’s as she passed.
Rose left with a playful laugh, her hand dragging along Jude’s waist.
Sophie watched her go, then turned to Jude. "She’s trying to divide us."
"I won’t let her."
"I know." She touched his chest. "But you want her."
"I always have." He sighed. "But now... it’s different."
They shared a long look.
That night, as the rain finally stopped, they gathered around the fire again. Music rose, no one sure where it started, but soon, hips moved, hands wandered. Jude and Sophie stayed close, arms around each other, watching. Rose danced with Layla and Grace. Susan kissed Zoey softly, and Zoey giggled like a girl drunk on sunlight.
Stella leaned close to Jude. "I feel like we’re all dreaming."
Emma agreed. "A hot, wet dream."
They all laughed.
But deep inside, Jude felt the pressure again. The gate. The shard. The monster. The smiles.
Later, while everyone slept in piles of arms and legs and breathless kisses, he crept out with Sophie. The shard was pulsing stronger again. Leading him toward sothing.
They followed the rhythm of it through the trees, back toward the place where the gate had opened.
But when they arrived,
The clearing was gone.
No gate. No runes. Just trees and moss.
Sophie touched his arm. "We’re not going crazy, are we?"
"I hope not." He pulled the shard from the pouch.
It pulsed violently.
And then, branches cracked behind them.
They spun around.
At the edge of the trees, another figure.
It stood still. Watching.
Not a woman.
Not a man.
Sothing wrong.
Sothing tall.
And smiling.
Just like Rose.
The figure didn’t move. It stood partially veiled by shadow, tall and thin, its skin pale and glistening like wet bone. Its face was long, unfamiliar, almost human but stretched in ways that made the mind reject it. The smile, wide and stiff, never faltered. Jude felt Sophie press into his side, her fingers clutching his wrist tight enough to hurt. The shard in his hand throbbed in sync with sothing deeper, so pulse beneath the forest itself, ancient and waiting.
Jude didn’t breathe. Neither did Sophie. The forest, for once, was silent. No birds. No leaves rustling. Just that thing, watching them. Its head tilted slowly, the smile widening, and it took one small step forward.
Jude jerked Sophie’s hand and they backed away, not running, not yet. Running would an it was real. Running would make it chase. Instead, they stepped back into the thick of the trees, one slow foot at a ti, keeping their eyes on it. When the distance finally blurred the creature into shadow, they turned and walked faster, then broke into a run once the silence broke and the forest breathed again.
They didn’t speak until the familiar lights of camp ca into view. The fires were low, the won sleeping, their forms scattered across the shelter and hammocks. Jude held Sophie’s hand tightly, their breaths short and fast. He wanted to tell her it wasn’t real. He wanted to tell her they were seeing things. But Sophie’s face said it all, she had seen it too. Whatever it was, it was real.
They didn’t sleep that night.
By morning, the fear was hidden behind tired smiles and morning kisses. Emma teased Jude about sneaking off for secret romance, and Stella winked at Sophie like they’d gotten up to sothing naughty. No one suspected. No one ntioned the shadow in the woods. Not yet.
Breakfast was full of laughter, and Rose was once again the center of it. She pressed against Jude while helping him gut the fish, whispering little nothings in his ear. Her fingers lingered longer than necessary on his arms, her eyes heavy with invitation. Layla and Zoey sat close beside each other, whispering things that made them both giggle and glance at Grace.
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