_Leah’s POV_

The words struck me like a blade.

I froze.

Dead.

For a second, I could not even think. The mist under my feet felt thinner. The pale light around us flickered like a candle about to die.

“No,” I whispered. “No, I’m not dead.”

My mother’s eyes were wide with fear. Her hands still gripped my shoulders as if she could hold me in place and keep me from sinking deeper into this realm.

“This place is for souls,” she said. Her voice shook. “It is for the ones who ...