Chapter 152

Harper

My breath stopped.

Not a gasp. Not a stutter.

It just… stopped.

“You are becoming what she died to protect.”

The words settled over the chamber like falling ash—silent, suffocating, impossible to ignore.

“But she’s not dead,” I whispered, my voice raw. “My mother is alive. You said she isn’t with the coven anymore—not that she’s—”

The leader lifted one finger.

The gesture was soft, almost g