<h4>Chapter 1260: Chapter 1260</h4>


    "Not yet," Jude said. "We need to be sure. And we need help."


    "Who?"


    "Zoey," they both said in unison.


    They waited untilte afternoon, when the group returned. Rose’s party walked into the clearing with baskets full of wild herbs and glimmering stone fruits. Natalieughed as she ced a heavy bundle into Emma’s arms. La trailed just behind, arm brushing Rose’s with every step. The moment they stepped into the clearing, the atmosphere shifted. Smiles turned softer. Voices dipped. Bodies leaned toward each other.


    Jude watched silently. So did Sophie.


    And Zoey, from her post near the edge of the firewood pile, narrowed her eyes.


    That night, Jude approached Zoey under the veil of darkness. She met him at the edge of camp, where the fire’s glow no longer reached. Sophie followed minutester.


    Zoey didn’t wait for an exnation. "I’ve been watching too."


    "How many?" Jude asked.


    Zoey’s voice was t. "Six. Rose, La, Natalie, Susan, Grace... and now Ste. I saw her touch Rose’s hand and smile that same damn smile."


    Jude’s stomach turned. "That’s half."


    "No," Sophie said. "More than half."


    They looked toward camp. Emma sat beside Lucy near the fire. Rose whispered something to La, who giggled and leaned in, kissing her softly, slowly. Natalie stood just behind them, her arms around both their waists. Susan was feeding Grace pieces of fruit. Stey nearby with her head in Rose’sp.


    Only Jude, Sophie, Zoey, Emma, and Lucy weren’t participating. Yet.


    Zoey’s voice hardened. "If we don’t act soon, we’ll lose them all."


    Sophie nodded, her face tight. "Tomorrow. We follow Rose again."


    Jude looked once more at the fire circle, his heart aching, his blood running cold.


    Because Rose wasn’t just humming anymore.


    Now she was singing.


    The morning came cloaked in a strange calm. Birds chirped just as they always had, the wind danced through the trees with familiar grace, but everything felt off, as though the ind had paused for a breath it didn’t n to exhale. Jude sat beside the fire pit, watching the way the mes licked gently at the twigs Emma had just added. The others bustled around in their usual routines - some cooking, others gathering water or weaving - but beneath the ordinary, something strange simmered. The air was full of unsaid words, stolen nces, and the faint, unsettling echo of Rose’s voice lingering in the leaves.


    Rose wasn’t near the fire. Neither was La or Natalie. Susan had wandered off early with Grace, whispering about finding new herbs deeper in the forest. Ste was helping Lucy with drying fish, and her face was nk, far too serene. Only Emma, Zoey, Sophie, and Jude were sitting close, each of them maintaining a practiced quiet as if anything louder might tip the bnce.


    Sophie leaned toward Jude, her shoulder brushing his. "She’ll go out again soon."


    "I know."


    "I followed her path from yesterday. It leads to a hollow beneath the ridge," Zoey said softly, slicing a fruit in thin pieces. "There are carvings there. Older than anything we’ve found before. The stone’s warm. Humming. You feel it in your bones when you step too close."


    Jude frowned. "Like theke?"


    "No," Zoey said. "Deeper. Darker. More like... something waking up."


    Emma bit her lip and set down the basket she was arranging. "I’m scared we’re already toote."


    Sophie shook her head. "If we were, we’d be humming with them. But we’re not. Not yet."


    Jude stood up, brushing dirt from his pants. "Then we stay close today. Shadow them. Find the root. And if we can - stop it."


    The n was unspoken but agreed. Zoey would follow Rose. Sophie would tail La and Natalie. Jude would watch the others - Susan, Grace, Ste. Emma would guard Lucy, who seemed oblivious but was beginning to drift too often toward Rose’s gravity. They didn’t tell Lucy anything. Not yet.


    When the group split after breakfast, the pattern began again. Rose led a quiet group toward the south cliffs, La and Natalie close behind, walking in lockstep. Zoey slipped after them minutester. Susan, Grace, and Ste wandered east, speaking softly andughing asionally in perfect, eerie harmony. Jude took the long path and met them at a bend by the river, pretending to check traps. When Grace saw him, she smiled - wide, slow, with no emotion behind her eyes.


    "We thought you’d be sleeping," she said gently.


    "Too much to do," Jude replied, forcing ease into his voice. "I saw a patch of mushrooms near here yesterday."


    Ste stepped closer, her fingers grazing his forearm. "We could help you look."


    "I think I’ve got it," he said, retreating slightly. "You girls go ahead. I’ll catch up."


    Grace tilted her head. "Don’t get lost."


    The words felt like a warning.


    They continued upriver, disappearing between the trees. Jude waited until their footsteps faded, then circled around to the ridge path where Zoey had gone. The air grew heavier the closer he got, thicker with humidity and the faint scent of moss and iron. Birds stopped calling. Even the wind seemed to hold back.


    He heard Zoey before he saw her. She was crouched behind a wall of ferns, eyes locked on a clearing below. Jude crept beside her and followed her gaze.


    There they were - Rose, La, Natalie - kneeling around a shallow pool of dark water. Not glowing like theke. This pool pulsed with shadows, slow-moving and oily. The three of them moved in perfect rhythm, arms raised, fingers spread like petals. Their voicesyered into a slow, lilting chant, nonguage Jude recognized, but it made his stomach twist and his vision blur slightly with each repetition.


    The pool responded. It shimmered, then darkened further, and the ground around it cracked ever so slightly outward.


    "They’re feeding it," Zoey whispered. "Not like the bowl. This is... something else."


    Rose opened her eyes mid-chant, and Jude’s breath caught.


    They were ck. Not just the pupils - all of them. No whites, no iris. Just endless dark.