Jude stepped forward, but Sol held him back.
"You must go in together," Sol said. "All of you. This place remembers. And it wants to show you what it knows."
Grace looked toward the water. "Is it dangerous?"
"Yes," Sol said without hesitation. "But only if you resist."
Zoey gave a low, amused laugh. "Of course. Isn't everything here?"
Emma took Jude's hand. "Let's go."
They undressed without shame, each movement reverent, ceremonial. The silks fell to the moss in silence. One by one, they stepped into the water—Jude first, then Sophie and Emma, then Rose, Lucy, Susan, Layla, Zoey, Natalie, Grace, Scarlet, Stella, and finally Serena. The water welcomed them without splash or cold. It simply took them in, warm as blood, soft as memory.
They stood shoulder-deep, in a circle, hands linked. Sol stood on the shore, watching.
"When I call you," he said, "answer."
Then he whispered a word none of them understood.
