Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1102

Chapter 1102: Chapter 1102

Jude didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Because part of him wasn’t sure she was wrong.

The next morning dawned strangely quiet. The air was thick, humid, clinging to their skin as Jude and Emma moved cautiously through the early fog that coiled like breath over the ground. Sophie stirred just behind them, eyes sharp despite the restless sleep none of them truly got. The others, Rose, Layla, Zoey, Lucy, Natalie, Stella, Grace, and Susan, were already up, already moving, already whispering among themselves as they disappeared into the trees.

They didn’t say where they were going. They didn’t need to.

Jude looked back at the fading silhouettes of his wives slipping between the trees, their bodies relaxed, playful, beautiful, but wrong. Unified. Flowing in eerie, silent choreography. That perfect synchronized seduction.

"She’s going to take someone else today," Emma said.

"There’s no one left," Sophie replied, her voice tense.

"There’s still me," Emma said flatly.

Jude reached out, taking Emma’s hand. It was warm, strong, but he could feel the tension beneath her skin. "We won’t let that happen," he said.

But all three of them knew how helpless they’d been. How invisible the corruption was until it bloomed behind their eyes and through their smiles. Rose never took them by force. She seduced, she whispered, she wrapped herself around their fears and made surrender feel like salvation.

They gathered fruit and fish without speaking much, eyes always scanning the woods. Jude could feel Sophie watching him. She didn’t say it, but he could hear the thought: What if Rose came for Emma while they were gone? What if she came for you?

They returned to camp by midmorning. The fire was already lit, surrounded by the others, their laughter bright and infectious. Rose waved as they approached, her expression warm and easy.

"Jude," she called sweetly, "we’ve been waiting."

Emma’s fingers gripped his arm tighter, and Sophie slid between them like a shield.

"For what?" Jude asked, not moving.

Rose stood slowly. Her body shimmered beneath her barely-there dress of twisted vines and river pearls. "For a walk. The spiral path has revealed something. We want you to see it."

"I’m not going anywhere," Emma said.

Rose smiled at her, tilting her head. "No one asked you, love."

Zoey giggled beside her, her hand brushing against Layla’s hip, who responded with a sultry glance. Natalie leaned her head on Lucy’s shoulder, humming a low tune that made Grace sway beside her. Susan kissed Stella’s neck without hesitation, and the entire moment stretched with sensual, unnatural harmony.

Sophie stepped forward. "We’re not joining any more of your rituals."

Rose looked at her calmly. "Then you’ll miss the best part."

Before anyone could answer, Susan stood. "I’ll stay behind," she offered. "You can go with them, Jude. I’ll keep Emma company."

Jude felt a chill crawl over his spine. The Susan he knew would never have offered that. Not with that empty, lovely smile. Not with eyes like glass.

"No," he said. "Emma stays with me."

Rose shrugged, the movement elegant. "Suit yourself."

They disappeared again soon after, disappearing down a path no one else seemed to see. The moment they were gone, Jude turned to Sophie and Emma. "We can’t just watch anymore. We need to find out what’s changing them."

Emma nodded. "And maybe if we find the source, we can stop it."

Sophie glanced down the trail. "If we’re not too late."

They left camp together, keeping to less-trodden ground. Sophie led, ears tuned for any hint of watchers or the others. They passed the singing tree, its bark still scarred with symbols that Rose had etched weeks ago. They avoided the spiral cairn in the glade, which pulsed gently like a sleeping heart. Everything felt like it was watching them now.

By midday, they reached the waterfall. Jude stared at the place where Rose had once fallen, where everything had started. The water still churned violently, but there was no sign of the bone-colored shard, no light beneath the surface.

"She died here," Emma whispered. "Or changed. I think something pulled her back up."

"And sent her back to us," Sophie added. "With something else inside."

They didn’t speak for a long time. The rush of water filled the silence, and something about standing there made Jude feel both closer and farther from the truth than ever. The island was hiding it. Hiding her. Hiding itself.

When they turned to leave, they didn’t realize they’d been followed.

Back at camp, the others were waiting. Rose reclined against a tree, surrounded by her closest ones. Layla, Zoey, and Lucy sprawled in the grass, tangled limbs and soft giggles, eyes glowing in the golden light. Grace ran her fingers through Stella’s hair while Natalie whispered into Susan’s ear.

Jude, Sophie, and Emma stepped into the clearing as if entering a dream. It was too quiet. Too perfect. Rose looked up from where she rested in the center, a slow smile blooming on her lips.

"You’re just in time," she said. "We were about to begin."

Emma stepped closer, trying not to show the tremble in her hands. "Begin what?"

"The offering," Rose replied, voice smooth and honeyed. "You’ve felt it too, haven’t you? The watchers stirring. The island speaking."

Sophie’s lips parted. "You’re not listening to it anymore, Rose. You’re listening to something else."

Rose laughed lightly. "Is there a difference?"

Before they could move, Layla stood. "Come sit, Jude."

"No."

Zoey followed. "You don’t have to fight us."

"I’m not fighting you," Jude said. "I’m trying to save you."

"You don’t need to save anyone," Lucy said softly, standing now too. "We’re already free."

Natalie and Grace moved behind them. Stella stood beside Susan. It was happening again, closing in, surrounding, pressing. The nine of them moving like a tide, perfect and serene. No aggression. Just that seductive invitation that sank into bones and dreams.

Emma raised her spear. "Don’t take another step."

But Rose only held out her hand. "Emma, come see what we’ve become."