Chapter 94 Chapter 94
_Leah’s POV_
My eyes flew open. The room swam in front of me. I clutched at Kayden’s shirt without thinking. My fingers were digging into the fabric.
He caught me at once. “Leah! I’ve got you. Easy. You’re safe. What happened? Seer, what did you do to her?”
The seer was breathing a little harder than before. Sweat shone at her temples. Her eyes, though, were burning with something else now.
“I saw someone,” she said slowly. “A young woman. She was in chains. In great pain. Her soul was trapped somewhere between worlds. When I asked who she was, she said her name was Sarah. She said only she could end it all. Only she could destroy Tariq. She begged to be released. She said she was his mate.”
Kayden frowned. “His mate?” he repeated. “You mean… his true mate?”
I swallowed thickly. My heart hammered wildly in my chest.
“Yes,” I whispered. “That’s her.”
Both of them turned to look at me.
“You know her?” Kayden asked.
I nodded slowly. My throat felt tight. “Not… personally,” I said. “But I know her story. Or at least… parts of it. I read about her in Tariq’s diary.”
“Sarah was Tariq’s true mate. She was the reason the curse began. Tariq was supposed to love her. But he chose power. He chose darkness. He killed her with his own hands. He sacrificed his mate for power. That is when the curse fell on him. He became immortal but it was not a gift. It was punishment. He was bound to his sin. To her. To her blood.”
My voice shook. “The Moon Goddess cursed him. From that day, death would not touch him easily. Pain would not free him. Time would not age him. He would walk and kill and hurt. Sarah's murder was the reason behind it all.”
Athena murmured quietly. She was the first wound. We are only scars that came later.
The seer drew in a sharp breath. She pressed a hand to her chest as if something finally made sense.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Oh, now I understand. How could I have missed this? She was the missing piece of the puzzle. I have been looking at threads… but never at the first knot.”
She looked at me. Her eyes were bright with a fierce light.
“This all started with her,” she said. “With Sarah. With her love and her death. Of course it must end with her too. She is the key to all of our problems. To your bond. To Tariq’s curse. To everything.”
I stared back at her. My mouth felt dry. “But… how?” I asked. “Sarah has been dead for years…..for so long. How can she fix this now?”
The seer’s face turned grave. “Her body died but her soul did not move on. That is what I saw. Her soul is trapped in the astral realm…in chains….held between worlds. That is why Tariq still walks untouched. Because the soul that binds his curse is not at peace. It cannot finish its work. It cannot claim him.”
She paused. Her jaw tightened.
“It must be Susan,” she said. “Who else could do such a thing? Who else stands at his side with such cold patience? Susan must have chained Sarah’s soul. She kept her trapped so Sarah would not come for him. So she could not take her revenge. So she could not drag him to the moon goddess’ justice.”
Anger flickered in her eyes. “Even after death, he torments her. He fears her still. So he cages her.”
I shivered. My stomach roiled with fury and disgust. “He is still torturing her,” I whispered. “Even now. He killed her… and he still won’t let her rest.”
Athena’s growl was low and sharp. He is a coward. He chains the dead and preys on the weak. He must be destroyed.
The seer nodded. “We need to release her. She is the only one who can truly defeat him. No matter how strong you become, Leah, no matter how much your power grows, Tariq will not die by your hands. He is wrapped in a curse that answers only to Sarah. Only her soul can finish what began with her blood.”
Kayden’s fingers dug into my shoulder. “So then how do we find her?” he asked. “How do we reach her if she is trapped in another realm? Tell me what to do. Tell me who to fight.”
The seer looked at him, then at me. Her gaze softened when it rested on my face. For a moment, I thought she would say there was another way. A safer way.
She didn’t.
“Sarah is in the astral realm,” she said quietly. “That is the place between life and death. Between dreams and waking. Between body and soul. Most wolves touch it only in rare visions. Some never touch it at all. To find her… someone must go there on purpose…fully….with will and awareness.”
My heart thudded louder. “Someone?” I repeated, though I already knew.
The seer nodded slowly. “You, Leah.”
Everything inside me went still. “Me?” My voice came out small. “Why me?”
“Because the darkness inside you is tied to him,” she said. “And through him, tied to the curse. Tied to Sarah too. You are a bridge now. A painful one but still a bridge. And you have power she can feel. You are also bound to love…to Kayden. That love steadied you before. It can anchor you again. You can step onto the path without getting lost… maybe.”
Maybe. The word tasted like ice.
Athena shifted uneasily. I do not like this. The astral realm is not a safe place. There are things there made of hunger and regret.
I swallowed hard. “If I go there… can I come back?” I asked. “Or will I be trapped too?”
The seer did not answer right away. Her silence was louder than words.
Finally, she spoke. “It will be very risky. But if we prepare, if we tie you to strong anchors like your mate, you might return. But if something goes wrong… if the chains drag you too far… if Sarah’s pain overwhelms you… you might not wake up. Your body would remain, but your soul…” She shook her head. “I cannot lie to you. You could be lost there.”
Kayden’s whole body went rigid beside me. “Absolutely not,” he snapped. “No. We will find another way. I am not sending her into some shadow world to be hunted by ghosts and curses. There has to be another way.”
His voice shook with anger and fear. He pulled me tighter into his arms as if he could hide me from the idea itself.
I looked up at him. His eyes were wild.
“Kayden,” I whispered.
He shook his head. “No, I just got you back. I am not risking you again. I won’t.”
The seer’s gaze was gentle. “If there were another way, I would give it to you. I would put myself in her place. But the vision was clear. Sarah spoke. She said only she could end it. And Sarah cannot reach us from where she is. We must reach her.”
The room felt smaller. The air was heavy. My heart pounded hard against my ribs. Fear coiled in my stomach. But there was something else there too.
A slow but rising determination.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
I loved Kayden and my pack. Tariq would never stop. Not until he owned me… or destroyed everything I cared about.
“I don’t want to go there,” I said honestly. “I am scared. It sounds… horrible.”
Kayden’s hand squeezed mine. “You don’t have to,” he said at once. “No one can force you.”
The seer watched us in silence.
“But if I don’t,” I went on softly, “then Sarah stays chained forever. Tariq stays immortal. His darkness stays inside me. Our pack stays in danger. And one day… he will come again. We will never live in peace.”
My eyes stung.
“I don’t want to live like that either,” I whispered. “Always waiting. Always afraid. Always feeling his mark in my soul.”
Athena’s voice was quiet. We are wolves. We do not run from the forest just because it is dark.
I opened my eyes and looked up at Kayden. He stared back at me. His expression was torn between fear and pride. Between his need to keep me safe and his knowledge of what needed to be done.
“Leah…” he began.
I reached up and touched his cheek. “I am not deciding now. But I need to hear everything. I need to know what it would take.”
He closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, there was still fear… but also respect. He nodded slowly.
The seer exhaled. “We will speak of this more. We will plan. We will prepare. You will not step into the astral realm without every protection I can weave.”
She rose to her feet. Her shadow was long against the wall.
“But understand this, Leah. The path ahead of you is not a normal one. It is not safe. It is laced with curses and old pain. To free Sarah… to break Tariq… to cleanse your soul… you may have to walk where few dare to walk.”
Her eyes met mine. They were full of warning… and something like hope.
“Into the realm of chained spirits….into the place between life and death.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine. I tightened my fingers around Kayden’s hand and felt his grip answer mine.
Somewhere far away, in a place I could not see, a young woman in chains lifted her head and waited.
And deep inside me, the mark on my palm burned.