<h4>Chapter 1166: Chapter 1166</h4>


    Rose’s eyes flickered with that soft, eerie light, and she tilted her head, her smile gentle, almost wistful. "Why do you fight it?" she asked, and her voice was like music, like the memory of better days. "We could be whole again. This ind, it chose us. We don’t have to be afraid anymore. We don’t have to be , alone., "


    Lucy stepped forward, her de glinting in the pale light. Her voice was steady, but her knuckles were white where they gripped the hilt. "We’re not alone. We have each other. We don’t need , this., We don’t need , you., "


    For the first time, Rose’s smile faltered, just slightly. The glow beneath her skin pulsed, and for a breath, Jude thought he saw something behind her eyes, sorrow, maybe, or longing. But then the light red brighter, and the look was gone, reced by something colder, harder.


    "You don’t understand," Rose said softly. "But you will. Soon."


    The river behind her roared louder, as if responding to her will. The stones beneath their feet vibrated with its power, the symbols carved into them seeming to shimmer in the strange light. The air was thick, heavy, charged with energy that made the hair on Jude’s arms stand on end.


    Zoey’s voice broke the tension, sharp and desperate. "What do you want from us, Rose? What do you , really, want?"


    Rose’s eyes softened again, and for a moment, she looked like herself, like the woman they hadughed with, dreamed with, loved. "I want to save you," she whispered. "I want to save , us., "


    And then she raised her hands, and the river surged forward, the water rising, swirling around the stones, the clearing filling with its roar. The light from Rose’s body spread, weaving into the current, turning the water into a stream of molten silver that coiled around them like a living thing.


    Jude braced himself, pulling Sophie behind him, his heart hammering in his chest. The others did the same, forming a tight circle, their faces pale but their eyes fierce. They would not run. They would not give in.


    The water spun faster, the light grew brighter, and Rose’s voice echoed through the clearing, soft and terrible.


    "You’ll see," she said. "You’ll see there’s no other way."


    And with that, the light exploded outward, blinding them, swallowing the world in a wash of silver and white. The roar of the river became a deafening silence, and Jude felt himself falling, weightless, lost in the glow.


    And then, as suddenly as it began, it was gone.


    The clearing was empty.


    The river was calm.


    The stones were cold and still beneath their feet.


    And Rose was nowhere to be seen.


    Jude gasped for breath, his chest tight as if the weight of that light still pressed down on him. Around him, the others stood silent, their faces pale and stunned, their eyes wide with the shock of what had just passed. The clearing felt hollow now, the energy drained from it, as if the very air had copsed under the force of Rose’s presence and nowy lifeless at their feet.


    Sophie clutched his hand, her fingers trembling. He turned to her, saw the fear there, but also the strength that had kept him from stepping into that swirling silver tide. He squeezed her hand, grounding them both.


    Lucy was the first to speak, her voice hoarse. "What... what was that? What did she do?"


    No one answered, because no one knew. The river, once raging and wild, now flowed quiet and steady as if nothing had disturbed it. The stones, marked with their ancient symbols, sat silent and cold. But the memory of that light, of Rose’s voice, lingered like a wound that wouldn’t close.


    Zoey shook her head, wiping tears from her cheeks that she hadn’t realized had fallen. "She’s getting stronger. And we’re running out of time."


    "She wants us to follow her," Jude said, his voice low. "She wants us to believe she can save us. That this is the only way."


    "But it isn’t her," Sophie whispered. "It’s , using, her. Whatever she let in... it’s wearing her face, her voice. But it’s not her anymore."


    Scarlet hugged herself, ncing around as if expecting Rose to emerge from the trees again. "Then what do we do? We can’t fight her like this. Not when she can make the ind itself rise up against us."


    "We don’t give her what she wants," Lucy said, fierce and certain. "We stay together. We don’t listen when she calls. We don’t follow. We don’t break."


    The words gave them strength, a fragile hope in the face of so much uncertainty. Together they turned from the clearing, retracing their steps through the dense forest. The shadows seemed deeper now, the path harder to find, as if the ind itself conspired to keep them lost. But they pressed on, driven by the need to stay ahead of whatever waited in those dark ces where Rose now walked.


    As they moved, Jude felt Sophie’s arm around his waist, steadying him when he stumbled, offering him the warmth of her presence when the cold seeped deeper into his bones. And he offered her the same, their connection a small, defiant me against the encroaching dark. There were no words between them, none were needed. Every nce, every touch spoke of the love that still bound them, the love they would not surrender.


    The forest opened atst, revealing the familiar curve of the beach, the endless sea beyond. The sight of it brought a small measure of relief, but the tension did not ease. They knew she was still out there, watching, waiting, nning. And the next time she came, she would note alone.


    Night fell swiftly, the sky deepening to indigo, stars emerging one by one. They gathered close around their fire, the warmth and light a fragile shield against the chill of the unknown. Jude sat with Sophie, his arm around her shoulders, her head resting against him. Lucy kept watch at the edge of the firelight, her de never far from her hand. The others spoke little, the weight of the day too heavy for words.