…
The air in the room grew heavy, thick with the tension of the moment. Nisaba's chanting continued, a dark rhythm that reverberated through the stone walls. My heart pounded with anticipation, and I stood tall, my eyes locked on Layla. Her figure was still, her expression unreadable, but I knew better than to trust that calm. Inside her, there was a storm brewing—a power waiting to break free, even if I had done everything in my power to keep it bound.
The chains around her wrists were silver, glowing faintly as they suppressed the power within her. Yet, as Nisaba's spell deepened, something strange began to happen. The air grew colder, and the flames of the fireplace flickered wildly. A soft growl rose from Layla's throat, low and dangerous. It sent a shiver down my spine.
I glanced at the witch, who had stopped chanting for a moment.
The prophecy whispered in my mind like a cruel taunt:
"The wolf of the Goddess will never be defeated."
I shook the thought away. She was powerless now. She was nothing.
Layla gasped as the final word of the incantation left Nisaba's lips.
The air cracked like a whip.
A sudden gust of wind rushed through the room, snuffing out every candle but one. The last flame trembled, casting shadows that seemed to watch me.
Then—silence.
It was done.
Her eyes widened as if she too felt the shift in the room. "Something is wrong," Nisaba muttered under her breath. "The power... it's not responding as it should."
I clenched my fists, frustration building. I had prepared for this moment, and yet, it felt as if everything was slipping through my fingers.
"No," I said, my voice low and commanding. "Continue. Do not stop now."
Nisaba hesitated, but then she nodded, her voice gaining strength again as she resumed her chant. The room seemed to darken further, and a chill swept through the air. Layla's growl deepened into a full-bodied snarl, and I could see the muscles in her neck and arms straining against the chains.
"Catherine," Rhys's voice broke through the tension, his face shadowed with concern as he entered the room. "What's happening? Nisaba's magic—it's not working!"
My eyes darted between Layla and the witch. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it. This shouldn't be happening. Layla's power should have been suppressed. She shouldn't be able to resist.
A sudden sharp crack echoed through the room. The chains around Layla's wrists shattered like glass, falling to the floor in pieces. Layla's body convulsed as a burst of energy shot through her. Her eyes snapped open, glowing with a fierce, otherworldly light.
For a moment, I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
"What is this?" Nisaba gasped, stumbling back, her eyes wide with terror.
Layla's voice,
raw and powerful, echoed through the room as she rose to her feet. "You should have left me alone."
In that moment, I saw her. Not the weak, broken girl I had kept under my thumb for so long, but a force of nature. Her body radiated power, her spirit unshackled and free. The aura around her was intoxicating—impossibly beautiful and terrifying at once.
I stepped back, my breath catching in my throat. I had thought I could control her. I had thought I could keep her suppressed forever. But now, it was clear: Layla was no longer the girl I had tried to break.
She was a woman, a powerful, untamable force. And it terrified me.
"Catherine..." Rhys's voice trembled as he reached out to me. "We need to leave. Now."
But it was too late. Layla was already moving. With one swift motion, she lifted her hand, and Nisaba was thrown across the room, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud. Nisaba didn't get up. She was gone, her magic no longer able to hold Layla down.
I looked at Layla, her eyes now fixed on me, fury in every line of her face. "You thought you could control me," she said, her voice laced with venom. "You thought you could steal everything from me. But you were wrong."
I had underestimated her. I had underestimated the power of the prophecy, the strength of the Moon Goddess's blessing. I had tried to bind a wolf who could never be caged.
"You won't get away with this," I whispered, my heart sinking as I realized the full extent of my failure. "I will make you pay for everything."
Layla's lips curled into a cold smile. "You already have."
Before I could react, she was gone, vanishing into the shadows of the room. Her power had exploded in a wave, and with it, she had disappeared—into the night, into the world beyond my reach.
I stood there, frozen, the weight of my failure crushing me.
"Catherine..." Rhys's voice was soft, almost hesitant. "What now?"
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. "We need to find her," I said, my voice a low growl. "And we make her regret ever standing against me."