<h4>Chapter 1160: Chapter 1160</h4>


    He forced himself to look away from Rose, to break the spell of her eyes. He turned and walked toward Sophie, feeling the weight of Rose’s stare on his back like heat. Sophie grabbed his hand the moment he was close enough, pulling him into the shelter, into the safety of their circle.


    Rose didn’t follow.


    Not yet.


    Inside, the others stirred. Zoey rubbed her temples, wincing as though waking from a bad dream. Susan blinked at the light, confusion clouding her expression. Grace clung to Natalie, and Scarlet sat apart, arms wrapped around her knees, rocking gently.


    "They’reing back to themselves," Ste whispered.


    "But for how long?" Lucy asked, ncing toward the entrance.


    Jude sank onto a low bench, head in his hands. "She’s not giving up."


    Sophie knelt in front of him, tilting his chin so he had to meet her gaze. "Neither are we."


    Their eyes locked, and for a moment, the world outside fell away. The danger. The ind. The weight of what they’d almost lost. There was only the warmth of her touch, the steadiness of her breath. She kissed him softly, grounding him, reminding him of who he was, who they were, beneath the terror.


    When the kiss broke, Jude exhaled shakily. "I’m sorry."


    "For what?" Sophie said. "For being human? For loving her once?"


    Lucy sat beside him, her voice softer than usual. "We all loved her, Jude. That’s why it’s so hard."


    They spent the morning tending to the others, drying their clothes, sharing the little food they had left. The tension never lifted, but for a while, it eased, wrapped in the smallforts of survival. But always, at the edge of the forest, Rose lingered. Watching. Waiting.


    As the sun climbed higher, the air grew warmer, the storm’s remnants steaming off the ground. Jude couldn’t stop ncing toward the trees, toward that familiar silhouette. And every time, her smile met him like a caress.


    Finally, as dusk neared, she stepped forward again. Closer than before.


    And this time, she spoke, her voice low, melodic, almost kind.


    "You’lle to me soon, Jude. You won’t have a choice."


    And then she turned, disappearing into the forest’s shadow, leaving the promise hanging in the air.


    Her words echoed in his mind long after she was gone.


    Night fell with a hush, the kind that felt unnatural, as if the ind itself was holding its breath. Jude sat by the small fire, staring into the flickering embers, trying to quiet the storm inside him. The others were silent too, gathered close in the dim glow, their faces etched with exhaustion and fear they didn’t want to name. The world felt suspended, the air too still, the shadows too deep.


    Sophie’s head rested on his shoulder, her warmth a fragile anchor. Lucy and Ste sat on either side, their bodies tense, eyes scanning the darkness beyond the firelight. Zoey, Susan, Grace, Natalie, Scarlet, and Emma huddled together, whispering asionally, their words too soft to catch but heavy with worry.


    Jude couldn’t shake Rose’s voice. , You won’t have a choice., It rang in his mind like a curse, a promise, a truth he didn’t want to ept.


    The fire cracked, a small shower of sparks lifting into the night, and Sophie stirred. "She’lle again. We can’t just sit here waiting."


    "I know," Jude said, his voice low. "But what can we do? She’s inside the ind itself now. It’s like fighting the air."


    Lucy leaned forward, elbows on her knees. "We need to understand what she wants. Not the thing inside her, , her., Rose. If any of her is still in there, maybe that’s where we’ll find a way."


    "Or maybe she’s already gone," Ste said, though her voice was filled with regret, not anger.


    Jude closed his eyes, remembering her smile before all of this, the way she’dugh at his jokes, the way she’d trace his jaw with her fingers when she thought no one was watching. He couldn’t believe that was gone forever. He refused.


    A breeze stirred the trees, and all of them stiffened.


    And then they heard it.


    Footsteps. Slow. Unhurried. Bare feet on wet earth.


    Jude rose, his heart thudding, as the firelight caught a figure stepping into the clearing.


    Rose.


    She was alone, or so it seemed. The moonlight painted her hair silver, her skin pale and gleaming. She looked almost as she always had, almost. But there was a stillness to her that didn’t belong, a calm too perfect, a smile too soft to be real.


    "I told you you’de to me," she said, voice sweet as honey.


    "No one’sing to you," Sophie said, stepping protectively beside Jude.


    Rose’s gaze flicked to her, then back to Jude. "But you want to. I feel it. The ind feels it."


    Jude swallowed hard. "What do you want, Rose?"


    Her smile deepened. "To finish what we started. To bring her through. To make us whole."


    "You’re not whole like this," Jude said, his voice breaking. "You’re not even , you, anymore."


    "I’m more myself than ever," Rose said. "And soon, you’ll see. You’ll feel it too. And you’ll thank me."


    She took one slow step forward, and the air seemed to thicken around them.


    Lucy drew her de. "Stay where you are."


    Rose didn’t even nce at it. "You can’t stop this. None of you can. The ind chose. You’ll see."


    And then, with the same eerie grace, she turned and melted into the night, her voice lingering like a song.


    , "Soon.",


    The fire sputtered in the breeze, and Jude felt the weight of her promise settle into his bones.


    The night stretched on, and no one slept.


    The night felt endless. The fire burned low, casting long, trembling shadows across their faces. Every crack of a branch, every rustle of leaves made Jude’s pulse quicken, made Lucy’s hand tighten around her de, made Sophie’s breath catch. The ind felt alive with tension, as if the ground itself was waiting for Rose’s next move. But the forest remained silent, holding its secrets just out of reach.