<h4>Chapter 1174: Chapter 1174</h4>


    Dawn broke slow and pale, the first light bleeding across the sea, softening the shadows that had clung so tightly to the world through the night. The wind carried the scent of salt and stone, crisp and sharp, filling Jude’s lungs as he rose from where he’d been sitting, sleepless, beside the dying fire. The horizon glowed with hints of gold and pink, but the beauty of it felt fragile, as if it could be shattered by a single wrong step.


    Around him, the others stirred. Sophie was the first to rise, rubbing the chill from her arms, her hair wild from the night air. She moved to him without hesitation, her hand sliding into his, her touch grounding him the way it always did. Her eyes searched his face, seeing the exhaustion there, the worry he could no longer hide.


    "We’ll find her," she said, her voice low and sure. "We’ll find her and we’ll bring her back."


    Jude nodded, though the weight of uncertainty sat heavy on his shoulders. "We have to move. Before the ind tries to trap us here."


    Lucy stood at the cliff’s edge, watching the sea, her de strapped to her side, her posture tense. "The forest," she said without turning. "It’s where she’ll be. Where it’s strongest. We can’t wait for another night. It’s changing her more every hour."


    The others gathered around, quiet but resolute. Zoey, Scarlet, Grace, Susan, Ste, Natalie, Emma-they all bore the marks of sleeplessness, of fear worn into bone. But beneath that, the bond that held them together was unbroken. Stronger, even. The night had tested them, and they had not fractured.


    They packed quickly, taking what little they had: des, rope, carved charms that once had been for luck but now felt like fragile armor against the ind’s dark heart. The path down from the cliffs was steep, the rocks slick with morning dew. They moved carefully, helping one another, hands gripping wrists, boots finding purchase where they could. The sea fell away behind them, the forest rising ahead, dark and waiting.


    The trees seemed taller, their branches woven into a ceiling that blocked the growing light. The air was damp, filled with the scent of moss and earth and the faint, lingering sweetness of the flowers that bloomed unseen. The deeper they walked, the quieter the world became, until it felt as if even the birds had fled this part of the ind.


    They spoke little, words feeling too loud in that hush. Instead, they moved as one, senses sharpened, watching for any sign-any flicker of silver light, any echo of the song that had haunted them in the night.


    It wasn’t long before they found it.


    A clearing, small and hidden, where the trees bent low and the earth was soft beneath their feet. At its center stood a stone formation, ancient and worn, covered in lichen and the strange markings of the ind. And there, at its base,y a single scrap of fabric, torn and stained, the color unmistakable.


    Rose’s dress.


    Jude knelt, his fingers brushing the cloth, his throat tight. The others gathered around, silent, the weight of it settling over them all. It was proof of her passing, of how close she hade-and how close she might still be.


    "She was here," Lucy said, her voice grim. "Recently."


    Sophie scanned the trees, her hand on Jude’s shoulder. "We can’t let her get farther. We keep going."


    They pressed on, deeper into the forest, following signs only their hearts could read: a broken branch, a footprint softened by the earth, the faintest trace of silver on a leaf’s edge. The forest seemed to close around them, the light dimming, the air thickening, every step harder than thest.


    And then, through the trees, they saw it.


    A figure. Still. Waiting.


    Rose.


    She stood at the edge of a stream that cut through the woods, her hair falling in wild waves down her back, the silver light within her flickering like a dying me. Her head was bowed, her hands sped before her, and for a heartbeat she looked so small, so lost, that Jude’s breath caught.


    But when she lifted her head, the smile was there-the smile that no longer belonged to her.


    And behind her, in the water’s dark depths, something moved.


    Jude’s heart raced as the others drew close, their bodies tense, their eyes wide. The stream’s surface rippled, and the thing beneath began to rise, its shape hidden but its malice unmistakable.


    Rose’s voice carried across the water, soft and sad and terrifying. "It’s time to choose, Jude. Come to me... or be lost."


    The stream glowed faintly, the forest holding its breath, the choice hanging between them like a de.


    And Jude, torn between love and fear, took a single step forward as the thing in the water loomed higher, and the world seemed to fall silent around them.


    Jude’s foot touched the edge of the stream, the cold of the water seeping instantly through his boot, as if the ind itself reached for him. The ripple of icy dread slid up his spine, but he didn’t step back. His gaze was locked on Rose-on the woman he’d crossed storms and monsters for, the woman who’d shared his nights and dreams. But now she stood bathed in that eerie silver glow, her eyes shining like twin moons, her smile gentle but hollow, like the memory of something sweet that had long since soured.


    Behind him, Sophie’s voice trembled with urgency. "Jude, no. Don’t. That thing-it’s waiting for you. For us."


    He heard her, felt the truth in her words, but the pull of Rose was stronger. The bond they’d shared wasn’t just love-it was threads of memory, of promises whispered beneath the stars, of shared moments that no force on the ind could erase. Even now, through the shimmer of whatever power held her, he swore he saw the woman he loved still fighting to break free.