The platform beneath them glowed with runes that hadn't been visible before. They spun slowly, patterns of light and language lost to time.
Each woman stepped into the circle, forming a ring around Jude.
Lucy, Rose, Sophie, Emma, Zoey, Grace, Stella, Natalie, Susan, Scarlet, and Layla.
The moment the circle was complete, the light intensified.
And then it poured upward into the heavens.
For a heartbeat, everything went still.
And then the sky opened.
It wasn't clouds.
It wasn't stars.
It was another island.
Floating.
Above them.
Alive.
Golden.
A second land.
A reflection.
A promise.
Jude felt his knees buckle, but Lucy caught him.
Rose touched his heart.
Alara's voice echoed in their minds. You have awakened the twin.
Emma whispered, "What is it?"
Sophie reached up toward the glowing island. "A mirror."
