Chapter 102 Chapter 102

Chapter 102 Chapter 102
_Leah’s POV_

Athena’s voice cut through the darkness like a blade.

Leah… we must leave soon.

I lifted my head fast. My hands were still shaking from the effort of breaking the chains. The mist around us moved in slow circles like it was thinking....like it was alive.

“Why?” I whispered. My throat felt tight. “We did it. Sarah is free.”

Athena’s tone was tense. Because the realm knows now. It felt the chains break. It felt your light. It felt her anger. This place does not like losing what it owns.

A shiver ran through me. The air was colder than before. It pressed against my skin even though I had no real body here.

Sarah was still kneeling. She held my hands like she was afraid I would disappear. Her fingers were ice.

“I feel it too,” Sarah said in a small voice. “Something is watching us.”

I swallowed hard. I did not want to look into the mist. I did not want to see what might be hiding there.

Athena urged, The seer warned you. You cannot stay long. The longer you remain, the harder it is to return. Spirits get lost. Minds break. Souls forget their way home.

The seer’s words echoed in my memory. I remembered her face when she spoke to me before I came here. She had been very serious and I needed to heed her warnings. 

Do not linger, Leah. Do not explore. Do not let curiosity trap you. The astral realm is not a dream. It is a hunger.

“Yes,” I breathed. “You’re right.”

I tightened my grip on Sarah’s hands. “Come with me,” I told her quickly. “We need to go now.”

Sarah blinked like she did not understand. “Go where?”

“Back,” I said. “Back to the place where my mother is waiting. She is the only one who can guide us.”

Sarah’s lips parted. Her eyes filled again. “Your mother… is here?”

“Yes,” I whispered. My chest ached. Even saying the word made the pain sharp. “She is… not alive. But she is here.”

Sarah’s eyes dropped. She looked at the chains on the ground, the snapped links, the dark sparks fading like dying embers. “I don’t understand anything,” she admitted. “I just know it hurts. It has hurt for so long.”

“I know,” I said softly. “But you’re not alone now. I’m here.”

Athena’s voice gentled a little. And we will not abandon you.

Sarah let out a broken sound. She nodded once. “Okay,” she whispered. “Okay. I’ll follow you.”

I pulled her up carefully. She stumbled like her legs were weak, like the realm still tried to hold her down. The mist clung to her ankles like wet smoke.

“Keep moving,” I urged. “Don’t look back.”

Sarah’s grip tightened on my hands. “I’m scared,” she confessed.

“So am I,” I said honestly. “But fear doesn’t decide what happens. We decide.”

Athena murmured, Good. Lead with will, not panic.

We ran.

Or maybe we floated. It was hard to tell here. The ground shifted under us like it was breathing. Sometimes it felt solid. Sometimes it felt like thick water.

The mist tried to slow us again. It curled around my legs. It tugged at Sarah’s hair. It whispered in sounds that almost became words.

I focused on one thing. My mother.

I remembered her voice. I remembered her warmth. 

Keep going, I told myself. Keep going.

Sarah gasped beside me. “It’s pulling me,” she said. Her voice was strained. “It doesn’t want me to leave.”

“It can’t stop you. Not if you keep walking.”

Athena’s voice hardened again. Do not give the realm your attention. Attention is a door.

So I looked forward only.

After what felt like forever, the mist began to thin. The air grew slightly lighter.

And then I saw her.

My mother stood near a pale glow that looked like a soft sunrise trapped inside fog. She was waiting like she had been waiting all her life.

The moment I saw her, my chest cracked open.

“Mom,” I whispered.

She smiled. Her eyes were full of tears just like mine.

“You did it,” she said softly. “You were successful.”

I stumbled forward and almost fell into her arms. She caught me like I was still a child. For a second I forgot the realm. I forgot Tariq. I forgot Susan. I forgot everything except the feeling of being held.

I clung to her. “I missed you,” I choked out. “I missed you so much.”

She stroked my hair gently. “I missed you too, my child.”

Then my mother’s gaze shifted past me. She looked at Sarah.

Sarah froze like she did not know what to do. She looked small again...like a wounded thing.

My mother stepped closer. “So, you are Sarah.”

Sarah swallowed. “Yes,” she whispered.

My mother studied her face. “The true mate of Tariq.”

Sarah flinched at Tariq’s name. It was like a bruise being pressed.

“Yes,” Sarah said again, stronger this time. “I was. Before he murdered me.”

A cold anger rose in my stomach.

I stepped beside Sarah. I was still holding her hand. “He murdered my parents too,” I said. My voice shook. The words felt heavy like stones. “He ruined everything.”

My mother’s expression changed. Pain flickered across her features. “He did,” she whispered. "That cruel man.”

She lifted her hand and touched my cheek. “I should have been there,” she said. “I should have protected you.”

“No,” I said quickly. “Mom, you couldn’t. He planned it. He waited. He is… patient in the worst way.”

Athena murmured, A predator with time is the most dangerous kind.

My mother turned back to Sarah. Her voice softened again. “Why did he refuse to accept such a sweet girl like you as his mate?” 

Sarah’s lips trembled. She looked down at her own hands like she could still feel the chains.

“He wanted only power,” Sarah said. Her voice grew rough. “He didn’t want love. He didn’t want peace. He wanted to rule. He wanted to be feared.”

She inhaled shakily. “I was a weak omega,” she admitted. “I was quiet. I was kind. I would be useless for him.”

My chest tightened. “You were not useless,” I snapped. The words came out sharp because they mattered. “You were not weak. You were just surrounded by monsters.”

Sarah’s eyes lifted to mine. They were wet and dark. “He told me I was nothing. He told me the moon goddess had made a big mistake by bonding us together. Then he…” Her voice broke. She pressed her lips together hard.