Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1234

Chapter 1234: Chapter 1234

Not with fire, but with memory. The branches twisted with voices, and each voice was one of theirs, calling out in strange harmony. He saw each of the wives - not as they were now, but as versions of themselves - carved from light, from fear, from desire. Some beautiful. Some monstrous.

And at the base of the tree, there was something buried.

A thirteenth glyph.

Unknown. Undeciphered.

When he woke, Lucy was already watching him.

"You saw it too," she whispered.

He nodded. "There’s something we haven’t unlocked yet."

She took his hand. "It’s waiting for us. But it’s not just a place, Jude."

"What is it then?"

"It’s a choice."

Before he could ask what she meant, a sound broke the stillness.

A howl.

Far away, echoing through the trees.

Not a monster. Not like before.

But something old.

Something waiting.

The fire flared in the center of the sanctuary.

The wind died.

And each of them, wherever they were, froze.

The island was no longer just reacting.

It was asking.

Calling.

Challenging.

The next morning, they would go to the tree.

But tonight, they lay close.

They touched more softly.

They kissed not only out of lust, but out of love.

Jude made love to Sophie with his forehead pressed to hers, whispering her name like a vow. Rose kissed Susan slowly beside them, their thighs twined as if neither could bear separation. Emma traced a new glyph into Lucy’s hip with her tongue while Natalie and Grace giggled into each other’s mouths in the grass. Stella curled around Zoey and Layla, all three of them pressed skin to skin, tangled in murmured promises.

It was more than a fire.

It was a bond.

And soon, it would be tested.

The morning broke in gold.

The canopy above shimmered with dew like a thousand tiny stars frozen in sunrise. Jude opened his eyes to the sound of soft breathing, the weight of Sophie still curled against his side, her fingers lightly pressing into his chest. Around them, the sanctuary slowly stirred. Rose was already awake, sitting at the firepit, her legs folded beneath her, watching the violet embers pulse as if in meditation. Lucy stood at the edge of the clearing, her arms crossed, her hair swept up by the breeze that seemed to be whispering only to her.

He sat up carefully, not wanting to wake the others just yet. Layla was draped across Zoey’s stomach, both of them in such a tangled, relaxed sprawl it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began. Susan and Grace were still in the high canopy hammock, their legs twined together like ivy. Natalie, Stella, and Emma were wrapped up in the furs beside the fallen tree, their breaths syncing in rhythm like a soft lullaby.

Lucy turned toward him before he could speak, her eyes already wide awake. "It’s time."

He rose and walked to her. "To the tree?"

She nodded. "It’s not going to wait for us anymore."

They woke the others gently, no alarm in their voices, only soft words and knowing looks. It wasn’t just a morning walk. They all felt it. Like something had been promised to them in dreams, and now it was time to claim it.

They dressed with more intention than usual. Some wrapped themselves in woven cloths decorated with symbols they’d traced on each other’s skin the night before. Others bound their hair in vines or painted streaks of earth and ash across their arms. It wasn’t about ritual anymore - it was identity. Expression. A way of saying, we are not who we were.

The path to the great tree had changed. Where before there had been dense forest and hidden passages, now the way was clear - an open slope that wound around glowing pools, beneath trees whose leaves danced with blue-green fire. Small animals watched them pass but didn’t flee. Some even approached, brushing against ankles and hands, eyes gleaming with strange familiarity. The island wasn’t hiding itself anymore. It was revealing.

By the time they reached the lake, the sun was at its peak, suspended above them like a silent witness. The lake itself had become perfectly still, as though the water had thickened into crystal. At its center, the tree waited, its roots suspended just above the surface, its branches now reaching so high they pierced the clouds. Beneath the roots hung the thirteen glowing orbs, swaying gently in place like slow, breathing hearts.

A narrow bridge had appeared.

It hadn’t been there before - thin, made of nothing they recognized, woven from light and shadow. It shimmered faintly beneath their feet as they stepped onto it, and as they moved, each step left behind a footprint of soft white fire that faded in seconds.

Jude led them. Lucy at his side.

Behind them, the twelve women walked as one.

When they reached the base of the tree, the air changed. It wasn’t just warm - it was alive. The space beneath the roots felt like a heartbeat made of sky. The orbs rotated slowly, humming in tones that vibrated through their skin.

Lucy stepped forward and held out her hand.

One of the orbs floated down and hovered in front of her.

"It’s waiting," she whispered.

"For what?" Sophie asked quietly.

"For us to finish becoming what we are."

Rose stepped up beside her. "Then let’s finish it."

Each orb floated down, one by one, until each person stood before one. The thirteenth remained in the center, untouched. It pulsed, slower than the rest.

Lucy turned back to Jude. "That one’s yours."

He looked at it. "What does it do?"

"It asks," she said. "It listens. And it remembers."

He reached out, and the moment his fingers brushed the thirteenth orb, everything changed.

The lake disappeared.

The tree vanished.

He was standing in darkness.

Alone.

But not afraid.

The darkness wasn’t empty. It was potential. He felt the others there too - not physically, but through a connection that was deeper than touch. They were watching him. Not with worry or expectation, but trust.