Nisaba
...
Nisaba had long since given up her soul.
Her body was old, her skin wrinkled and cracked like dried parchment, but her power was stronger than ever. For decades, she had been Catherine's most trusted advisor, but her loyalty was only to herself.
She had seen the visions.
If Layla fulfilled the prophecy, the world would change forever. The balance would shift.
And Nisaba?
She would be erased.
Magic would change. The rules rewritten. And she—who had lived for centuries, feeding off the suffering of others—would cease to exist.
So she had made a deal.
A dangerous one. A necessary one.
She whispered in Catherine's ear, weaving lies and truths together like an artist spinning a masterpiece.
"Give me Layla, and I will ensure she never shifts."
"How?" Catherine had asked, suspicion curling her lips.
Nisaba had smiled. A slow, knowing smile.
"Leave that to me."
She had been poisoning Layla with wolfsbane since birth, enough to weaken her but not kill her. A slow suffocation of her power, keeping her wolf caged. But now?
That wasn't enough.
The ritual should have worked. It should have sealed Layla's fate. But three days had passed, and Layla was missing. Three days.
That meant something had gone wrong. Something had fought back.
Nisaba tapped her long, bony fingers against the wooden table, staring into the dark pool of liquid inside her scrying bowl. Her magic rippled through it, searching, clawing through the unseen.
But there was nothing.
No trace of Layla.
The realization made her stomach twist with unease. If the girl was truly gone, that meant—
No.
She crushed the thought before it could take root.
The spell had to be reinforced. She had to finish what she started.
A soul bind.
If she could corrupt Layla's soul itself, if she could sever her connection to the Moon Goddess, then Layla would be powerless forever.
It would be a win-win.
And her?
She would continue to exist in a world untouched by prophecy.
A sharp knock on the door pulled Nisaba from her thoughts.
She tensed.
Only a fool interrupted her when she was working.
The heavy wooden door creaked open, and a palace guard stepped inside. His presence confirmed what she already suspected.
Catherine was growing impatient.
It was only a matter of time before the Luna called me out on my failure.
Nisaba exhaled sharply, her gnarled fingers curling into fists.
She would not allow this to slip through her grasp. Not after everything she had sacrificed.
If Layla had survived the binding, then she would not survive what came next.
Nisaba rose from her chair, her robes trailing across the stone floor as she made her way toward the door.
She would finish this.
No matter what.
She would see the end of it.