Chapter 1816

The figure of Layla stopped smiling.

Her face slowly became expressionless.

Then all twelve women turned towards the window at exactly the same time.

The enormous shadow rose behind them.

The wooden door slammed shut.

The corridor shook.

And the fourteen doors at the other end began opening.

Not all at once.

One by one.

The first revealed a dark room filled with hanging branches.

The second revealed a river flowing upwards.

The third revealed an empty garden.

The fourth revealed a staircase descending into water.

The fifth revealed a room filled with hundreds of wooden birds.

The sixth revealed a forest beneath a moonless sky.

The seventh revealed a familiar beach.

The eighth revealed a field covered in white flowers.

The ninth revealed a room with no walls.

The tenth revealed a cabin hanging upside down from a tree.

The eleventh revealed a mountain covered in snow.

The twelfth revealed the central firepit of their village.

The thirteenth revealed nothing but darkness.

And the fourteenth remained closed.

Jude looked at the open doors.

"Are these places real?"

Sol nodded.

"They were."

"Were?"

The boy looked at the first door.

"They’re memories."

Layla’s voice came from behind the fourteenth door.

"Jude, don’t let them close."

He turned.

"What?"

"The doors. Don’t let them close."

"Why?"

"Because if they do, the house will forget us."

The doors began shutting.

The first one closed.

Then the second.

The third.

Jude ran towards the nearest door and tried to hold it open.

The wood was cold.

A strong force pushed against him.

"Help me!"

Serena and Scarlet rushed forward.

Together, they held the door.

Sophie ran to another.

Layla’s voice grew desperate.

"Don’t let the last one close!"

Jude looked towards the fourteenth door.

Its surface was beginning to change.

The name LAYLA faded.

A different name appeared.

Jude stepped back.

It was not one of the names he expected.

It was a name he had never seen before.

ELARA.

Sol suddenly went pale.

He backed away.

"Jude."

"What?"

"That’s not a door."

The wooden surface cracked.

A thin line of blue light appeared.

"Then what is it?"

Sol looked at him.

"It’s the house."

The corridor shook violently.

The thirteen other doors slammed shut.

The fourteenth opened.

Beyond it was not a room.

It was a vast darkness filled with tiny floating lights.

At its centre stood a wooden house beneath an enormous tree.

The same house engraved on the silver leaf.

The same house Layla had described.

A narrow stream flowed past it.

Flowers grew along the path.

And in front of the entrance stood two women.

One was Layla.

The other was an exact copy of her.

Both were looking towards Jude.

Both raised their hands.

Both spoke at the same time.

"Come and find me."

The darkness behind them moved.

Something enormous passed between the trees.

The two women suddenly turned towards it.

One of them screamed.

The other remained completely still.

Then the wooden house began to burn.

Not with ordinary flames.

The fire was blue, and it spread across the roof without consuming the wood.

The trees bent towards the house.

The stream stopped flowing.

The flowers closed.

Jude took a step forward.

"LAYLA!"

One of the women ran towards him.

The other stayed behind.

"Jude!" she cried.

He could not tell which one was real.

The woman running towards him stumbled.

The other lifted her head.

And for a brief moment, Jude saw a third figure standing in the doorway of the house.

A small child.

A boy with dark hair.

Sol.

Jude turned towards the real Sol beside him.

The boy was staring at the same figure.

His face had lost all colour.

"That’s impossible," Sol whispered.

The child in the doorway raised one hand.

Then he spoke.

Not loudly.

Not angrily.

Just clearly enough for everyone to hear.

"You weren’t supposed to bring them here."

The house disappeared.

The darkness collapsed.

And the corridor went completely silent.

Jude found himself standing before a blank stone wall.

The fourteen doors were gone.

So was the wooden doorway.

Only the silver symbol remained.

Sophie slowly lowered her hands.

"Where did everything go?"

Layla’s voice did not return.

Jude looked at Sol.

"What did we just see?"

The boy did not answer.

"Sol, look at me."

Sol turned.

"Who was that child?"

The boy’s eyes moved towards the wall.

"Someone I know."

"Who?"

He hesitated.

Then he said, "Someone who looks like me."

Jude stared at him.

"Is there another child?"

Sol nodded.

"Where?"

The boy pointed upwards.

"Under the tree."

Jude remembered the wooden house.

"The house in the picture?"

Sol nodded again.

"That’s where he lives."

"Who is he?"

Sol looked at the floor.

"He’s the reason I came here."

Before Jude could ask another question, a loud metallic clang rang through the chamber.

The silver symbol on the wall split in two.

A narrow line of light appeared beneath it.

Then a stone panel slid aside.

Behind it was a small room.

Inside stood a wooden chair.

On the chair lay a folded piece of cloth.

Jude approached cautiously.

The cloth was pale and delicate, with a small embroidered flower in one corner.

He recognised it.

Layla had worn it around her wrist only a few days earlier, when she had been helping Stella in the flower garden.

Jude picked it up.

Something fell from its folds.

A small wooden key.

It was old, with a dark handle and a silver tip.

Sophie examined it.

"Do you think it opens the door?"

"What door?" Scarlet asked.

The answer came from Sol.

"The first house."

He pointed towards the key.

"It belongs there."

Jude closed his fingers around it.

"Then we’ll find it."

Serena looked at him.

"We don’t even know where to start."

Jude looked towards the passage.

"We start by getting out of this mountain."

As though responding to his words, the stone floor shifted.

A low rumble travelled through the chamber.

The wall behind them opened, revealing the staircase that had disappeared earlier.