<h4>Chapter 1157: Chapter 1157</h4>


    Zoey stepped forward beside her. "We wanted you to choose. But she’s growing stronger now. She won’t wait much longer."


    La added, "You feel her, don’t you? In your dreams. In your skin."


    Ste’s breath shook. "We have to go. Now."


    Jude turned to the forest, gripping Sophie’s hand. "Run."


    They did.


    They ran.


    Branches tore at their clothes. Roots wed at their ankles. The forest didn’t want them to leave. It moved. Trails that had been clear minutes ago were now twisted and veiled in creeping vines. The sky above had darkened, clouding fast, casting them into a dusk that didn’t belong.


    Behind them, no footsteps.


    Only the soft, echoing hum of Rose’s voice... calling his name.


    Not shouting.


    Not chasing.


    Calling.


    "Jude..."


    They didn’t stop until the trees thinned and the sound of the river met their ears.


    They stumbled into the clearing near their shelters, breath ragged, hearts pounding.


    Lucy copsed onto the sand, pressing her hands into the earth as if to feel whether it was still real. Ste knelt beside her. Sophie dropped beside Jude, her forehead against his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around her.


    No one spoke.


    And then...


    A soft sound behind them.


    Jude turned.


    Emma stood at the edge of the trees.


    Alone.


    Soaked to the skin.


    Her dress clung to her body, her hair loose and wild, dripping with river water. Her feet were bare, bleeding at the toes. She took a step forward and copsed to her knees.


    "Help... me," she whispered.


    Sophie rushed forward, catching her before she hit the ground.


    Emma’s lips trembled. "I ran. I tried. But she’s inside everything now. Even me."


    Jude crouched beside them, brushing Emma’s wet hair from her cheek. "What happened?"


    "She... she’s feeding off us," Emma said. "Off our feelings. Our desires. Our touch. That’s how she spreads. That’s how she breeds."


    Sophie froze. "What do you mean?"


    Emma lifted her eyes, tears streaming.


    "She wants you next."


    And from the woods behind her...


    Rose appeared.


    Rose didn’t speak.


    She didn’t need to.


    The look in her eyes said everything, gentle and terrifying, soft like a lover, sharp like a knife. Her bare feet moved soundlessly across the sand as she stepped from the tree line, the shadows clinging to her skin like smoke. Behind her, the forest pulsed once, a tremor running through leaves and soil like a heartbeat.


    Sophie rose quickly, cing herself between Emma and Rose. Jude stood too, but Rose’s eyes never left him. Her body was lit by the pale sheen of moonlight, and the way she moved, swaying slightly, hips loose, fingers trailing the air, it was like she was performing for him. Or summoning him.


    "She’s not safe," Lucy whispered.


    Rose tilted her head. "I’m not here to hurt you."


    Emma flinched behind Sophie. "Don’t believe her."


    "I never lied," Rose replied calmly. "I just showed you what you didn’t want to see."


    Jude took a slow step forward. "What did you show us?"


    "The truth," she said, her voice like silk sliding over stone. "That we are not alone. That we never were. That the ind is not a prison, it’s a womb. And she’s almost ready to be born."


    Ste scoffed. "Born? Through what? Us?"


    Rose smiled.


    "That’s insane," Sophie said.


    "No," Rose said. "It’s perfect. Through us, through our love, our pleasure, our pain, she takes form. We give her body. She gives us forever."


    Emma cried out. "Don’t let her touch you again!"


    Rose’s gaze flicked toward her. "You came to her willingly. Don’t pretend now."


    "I resisted," Emma said, shaking. "I broke free."


    Rose’s smile faded, just for a second, and the tension in her eyes deepened. "Only because she allowed it."


    Lucy pulled a knife from her belt. "Back away, Rose."


    Rose turned her attention back to Jude. "You’re afraid. Not of me. Of how much you want this. Want me. Even now."


    Sophie’s hand shot out to his chest, stopping him from moving. He hadn’t realized he’d taken another step toward her.


    "You’re manipting them," Sophie said. "You’ve taken everything that made them who they were."


    "I freed them," Rose said, her voice quiet and lethal. "I took their fears, their limits, and gave them rity."


    "You took their souls," Lucy snapped.


    "No," Rose replied, lifting her hands slowly. "I gave them purpose."


    And behind her, more figures stepped from the trees.


    La.


    Zoey.


    Susan.


    Grace.


    Natalie.


    Scarlet.


    They came forward slowly, like dancers in a ritual, their eyes glowing faintly in the dark, their bodies swaying with unnatural calm. The firelight caught on their skin, painting them in gold and shadow. Not one of them looked hostile. Not angry. Just... serene. As if they were walking toward their lover.


    "You can fight," Rose said gently. "Or you can join us."


    "We’ll never join you," Ste snapped.


    Rose met her gaze. "You already are."


    Then she turned to Jude.


    And reached out her hand.


    "Come to me," she said.


    Jude stood frozen.


    Something in his chest pulsed, want, fear, memory. He remembered the curve of her smile when they first met, the way she kissed his neck after swimming in the river, how herughter once felt like sunlight. Now it felt like a trap. A song with no end.


    Emma grabbed his wrist. "Don’t."


    Rose stepped closer. "You know it, don’t you? The others, they weren’t taken. They chose. And so will you."


    Jude didn’t move.


    He couldn’t look away from her.


    But he didn’t reach out.


    Behind him, Sophie’s voice broke the silence. "You forgot one thing, Rose."


    Rose turned slightly, her expression curious.


    Sophie stepped forward. "We loved you before all of this. And we still do. But love means choosing each other. Not taking."


    Rose blinked.


    And something flickered in her expression.


    A tremble.


    A crack.


    Then her smile returned, but colder now. "Then I guess I’ll have to help you choose."


    She stepped back.


    And the others moved forward.


    The circle tightened.


    Jude grabbed Sophie’s hand. Lucy and Ste closed in on Emma. The air turned heavy, thick with heat and pressure, as if the very ind was holding its breath.


    And then, Rose raised her hands.


    And the ground split open.