Nyssa stepped forward, the healer's apron still at her side, and for a moment her face flashed with a protest that had been born in the long, rotten hours of joining the Luna's fold. "This has gone too far," she said, voice thin and urgent. "She is a child of the pack—"
Vanya's eyes narrowed, and she turned on Nyssa with a sharpness that made the healer step back. "You touch this," Vanya warned, "and I will strip you of every small comfort you have. I will unmake the shelter you thought you bought. Heal her if you must, but do not interfere with what I am about to teach."
Nyssa swallowed, the color leaving her face. Her hands clenched at the edge of the apron. The threat was precise, she knew the Luna had the power to take everything from someone who dared oppose her.
