The air stilled. The figure's eyes met Jude's. "If you open it, you will see everything. The source of the island. The origin of dreaming. But once opened, it cannot be closed. And the hunger beyond may reach through."
"Why would we ever risk that?" Sophie asked.
"Because truth lies there," the figure replied. "And sometimes… truth is worth the danger."
Jude's pulse hammered in his ears. Around him, the others waited. Rose touched his arm.
"This is your choice," she said. "You carry the root."
He looked around at them - his wives, his bondmates, his circle.
Lucy.
Sophie.
Zoey.
Rose.
Scarlet.
Stella.
Natalie.
Susan.
Emma.
Grace.
Layla.
Each of them glowing. Changed. Whole.
Each of them waiting.
Jude stepped forward and reached for the lights in the figure's hands. The dark one pulsed cold. The golden one thrummed in time with his heartbeat.
He hesitated.
Then he whispered, "Can we choose together?"
