<h4>Chapter 1162: Chapter 1162</h4>


    Lucy staggered closer, staring at the scorched ground. "What the hell just happened?"


    "She took it," Ste said, voice trembling. "Whatever that altar was... she took it into herself."


    Jude wiped the sweat from his brow, though he wasn’t sure if it was sweat or the dampness of fear. His eyes darted to the edge of the clearing. No sign of Rose. No sign of anyone. Just the trees watching in silence.


    Zoey and Grace emerged from where they’d been standing guard, both shaken but unharmed. Scarlet and Natalie followed, faces tight with confusion.


    "She’s getting stronger," Sophie whispered. "That thing inside her, it’s not waiting anymore. It’s feeding. Growing."


    "But what is it feeding on?" Jude asked, his voice hollow.


    "Our fear," Lucy said. "Our love. Our ties to her."


    Sophie shivered. "Then we can’t let it have any of that. We can’t give it anything."


    "But how do we stop loving her?" Jude said, the words bitter on his tongue. "How do we stop wanting to save her?"


    No one had an answer.


    The day passed in uneasy silence as they made their way back toward their shelters. Every step felt heavier than thest, the weight of what they’d seen pressing down on them. The forest seemed to close in tighter, the trees leaning closer, the shadows deeper.


    By the time they reached the beach, the sun hung low, casting the sky in shades of blood and fire. The sea crashed against the rocks with a fury that mirrored the storm in Jude’s chest. He stood there, staring out at the endless water, wishing it could wash away everything, his guilt, his longing, the memory of Rose’s smile before all of this began.


    Sophie joined him, slipping her hand into his. He squeezed it, drawing strength from her presence.


    "We’ll get through this," she said softly.


    Jude didn’t speak. He wasn’t sure he believed it anymore.


    That night, as they huddled together for warmth, the wind carried a sound through the trees, a voice, soft and sweet and so familiar it broke his heart.


    , "Soon.",


    And he knew she was close. Closer than ever.


    The night air was thick, heavy with salt and the scent of rain that hadn’t yet fallen. Judey awake, listening to the soft breathing of the others as they slept in uneasy clusters around the dimming fire. Every crackle of the wood, every whisper of the breeze through the trees, made his skin prickle with anticipation. He knew she was near. He could feel her presence like a heartbeat under the earth.


    He rose silently, careful not to wake Sophie, whose head rested lightly against his chest. The warmth of her was a tether, a reminder of what was real, but the pull of Rose’s nearness was stronger than sleep. He stepped outside, the sand cool beneath his feet, the sea a dark, restless expanse under the sliver of moon.


    And there she was.


    Rose stood at the edge of the trees, where shadow met moonlight, her figure framed by the tangled branches like a paintinge to life. Her hair was loose, wild from the wind, her dress clinging to her form. She didn’t move, didn’t speak. She only watched him, the same soft smile curving her lips, the smile that once meant love, now a mask for something deeper, darker.


    Jude’s heart ached. He took a step toward her before he realized he was doing it. His mind screamed to stop, but his body betrayed him, drawn to her like a moth to me.


    Her voice, when it came, was a whisper on the breeze. "You feel it too, don’t you?"


    He froze. "Feel what?"


    "The longing. The bond we can’t break." She stepped forward, bare feet silent on the sand. "You try so hard to fight it. But the ind chose us. Chose , you., And through you, we can be whole again."


    Jude shook his head, backing away. "No. Whatever this is, it isn’t real. It isn’t , you., "


    Rose’s smile softened, and for a moment, he saw the woman he loved, the woman who hadughed with him beneath the stars, who had whispered secrets in his ear, who had clung to him in the dark. But then the glow returned, faint beneath her skin, and he knew that woman was gone.


    "I can help you see," she said, her voice sweet as honey, deadly as a de. "If you’ll just stop fighting."


    A sound behind him, a soft gasp. Sophie. He turned to see her standing in the doorway, eyes wide, breath caught in her throat. She’d followed him, and now she too stood caught between past and present, between love and fear.


    "Come back," she said, her voice trembling. "Jude, please."


    He hesitated, torn in two. Rose’s hand lifted, palm out, an invitation and amand all at once. The air seemed to pulse between them, charged with memory, desire, despair.


    And then Sophie stepped forward, cing herself between him and Rose.


    "No more," she said, voice steady despite the tears in her eyes. "You can’t have him. You can’t have , us., "


    Rose’s smile faded, reced by something colder, sharper. The glow beneath her skin red brighter, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to hum with energy.


    "Soon," she whispered. And then she was gone, melting into the shadows as if she’d never been there at all.


    Jude stood frozen, his breathing in shallow bursts, the weight of what almost happened crushing him. Sophie wrapped her arms around him, grounding him, pulling him back from the edge.


    "We’ll face her together," she said, voice fierce and soft all at once.


    And as the night deepened around them, they knew the battle was only just beginning.


    The dawn broke slow and gray, casting a pale, cold light over the ind. The storm that had threatened the night before hadn’te, but the air was heavy with it, the promise of rain hanging just out of reach.