Sophie's gaze remained sharp, searching. But even she couldn't deny the feeling of calm blooming inside her, tethered to Jude's presence, to the bond now sewn into the marrow of all of them.
The passage opened into a vast chamber.
Circular.
Cathedral-like.
But it wasn't built. It had grown. Root columns twisted upward in wide arches. Glowing vines draped like veils from the ceiling. And at the center: a pool.
Not like the one before.
This one wasn't water or blood.
It was light.
Liquid light, swirling gold and rose and white, thick and luminous, and whispering to themnot with words, but with pull. A gentle, aching need.
Rose stepped beside Jude, her breath catching. "This is the womb."
Lucy whispered, "It's where the first dreamers were born."
"No," Natalie said, awe in her voice. "It's where they became."
