<h4>Chapter 1124: Chapter 1124</h4>


    Later, as night fell, and the stars blinked alive overhead, Judey beneath the open sky with Sophie in his arms. The others had spread out across the de in quiet pairs and threes. No more synchronized movements. No eerie smiles.


    Just breathing.


    Just recovery.


    Sophie whispered, "What if shees back?"


    "She might," he answered. "But we’ll be ready."


    She turned to face him. "We won’t let her take us again."


    "No," he said. "We’ll hold on to each other this time. And we won’t forget."


    She kissed him slowly, softly, her fingers sliding into his hair. The kiss deepened, no urgency, no madness, just real, tangible affection. The kind that made him feel human again.


    When they pulled apart, she whispered, "I love you."


    And for the first time in what felt like eternity, he could say it back without fear of who might be listening. "I love you too."


    Somewhere in the jungle, a low wind stirred.


    But it wasn’t her voice this time.


    It was just the ind, breathing with them.


    The morning arrived soft and golden, sunbeams filtering through the canopy like ribbons of silk. Dew clung to the wide leaves surrounding their homes, shimmering with the light of a new beginning. Jude stood barefoot on the damp forest floor, the faint scent of ash and wildflowers mingling in the air. Birds had returned, their calls scattered and tentative, as if the ind itself was testing the silence, unsure of its own peace.


    He took a breath and closed his eyes. For the first time in days, there were no whispers in the trees. No flickers of strange smiles. No phantom touches that made his skin crawl.


    Just wind. Light. And the sound of water trickling in the distance.


    Sophie joined him, sliding her arms around his waist from behind, her cheek against his shoulder. "It feels real again," she said softly.


    He nodded. "It does."


    Their hands stayed joined as they walked toward the main camp, where the others were beginning to stir. The fire pit had been rebuilt, still cold from the night, but the air around it was warm withughter, quiet, uncertain, but real.


    La was the first to notice them. She smiled, not the sultry, too-perfect smile she’d worn during the days of possession, but a small, bashful curve of her lips. She looked tired, yet lighter somehow.


    "Morning," she said.


    "Morning," Jude returned. "How are you feeling?"


    "Like I woke up inside myself again." She rubbed her arms. "It’s weird, but... it’s good."


    Zoey handed La a wooden bowl of sliced fruit, her eyes lingering on Jude for a second longer than usual. "We’re trying to keep busy. Grace and Ste are checking the traps. Susan and Natalie went down to the river."


    Jude felt a flicker of unease at the mention of the river. "They’re not going in, right?"


    "No," Zoey said. "They’re just collecting water."


    He nodded, settling beside the fire pit as Sophie crouched beside him. Rose was across the clearing, seated on a stone with her knees drawn up, sketching lines in the dirt with a twig. Her red hair was pulled into a loose braid, and she looked younger somehow, stripped of the strange allure that had once made her movements feel like spells.


    She looked up, catching his gaze.


    They stared at each other for a long, quiet moment.


    Then she smiled.


    Not wicked. Not seductive.


    Just soft.


    "I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry," Lucy said as she approached, carrying a bundle of berries and nuts. "Like my body’s trying to remember how to be mine again."


    Jude chuckled. "We’ll catch something for lunch."


    "Oh, are we doing teams again?" Natalie asked, walking in from the trees with wet curls and glistening shoulders. "Because if so, I’m iming Jude."


    Sophie raised an eyebrow. "You are not."


    Natalie gave a mock pout, then winked and tossed a handful of berries at Sophie, who gasped and swatted them away,ughing. The sound lifted the camp, eased the tension that still clung like fog. Even Scarlet cracked a smile from where she sat, weaving palm fronds into a rope.


    "Alright," Jude said, standing. "Fishing team. Who’s in?"


    Sophie, Emma, and Ste joined him. Rose stood but paused. "Is it okay if Ie?"


    He hesitated, just a beat, then nodded. "Yeah. It’s okay."


    They left the camp together, winding through the shifting paths toward the river. It took them longer than usual. The ind had changed again overnight, subtly. Trees bent in new directions, roots rising and curling in unfamiliar ways. But the forest didn’t feel hostile. Just... shy. Recovering.


    When they reached the riverbank, they set up quietly. Emma and Ste went upstream with their spears. Sophie gathered stones to form a shallow trap. Jude sat beside Rose at the water’s edge, watching the surface.


    She was quiet for a while, then said, "I didn’t want to hurt anyone."


    "I know," Jude said.


    "But I did."


    "You weren’t alone."


    Rose turned to him. "Do you think we’re clean now?"


    He nced at the current, glinting with morning sun. "I think we’re scarred. But not broken."


    She reached out, brushing her fingers over his hand. "Thank you for saving me."


    He met her eyes. "You saved yourself."


    She leaned in. "That’s not how I remember it."


    There was something in the air between them, soft, intimate, not quite heavy, not quite light. He didn’t pull away, but he didn’t move forward either. Sophie walked over and dropped a into the water, giving them both a quick nce before crouching beside Jude.


    "I saw a big shadow upstream," she said. "Probably a fat fish."


    "Go get it," he grinned.


    She smiled, kissed his cheek, and darted off again.


    Rose leaned back on her elbows. "It’s strange. For a while, I thought she was the only one you really loved."


    "She’s not," Jude said honestly. "But she’s the one I trust the most."


    Rose nodded. "Fair."