"It tells the story of a woman named Zanyra. She lives in a village isolated from the world, where magic is forbidden and the church uses fear to control the local population. One day, she’s caught talking to Nubisa, a black panther she saved when it was a cub, with whom she formed a strong emotional bond. They think she’s practicing dark magic for speaking with an animal. And she’s sentenced to the stake for being a heretic."
"Does she die?" Viktor asked, frowning.
"Almost." I leaned forward, restless, engaged. "She escapes into the cursed forest surrounding the village, a place no one ever returns from because it’s full of monsters that devour human flesh. Zanyra is chased by the church’s acolytes and ends up sacrificing herself by throwing herself into a river to escape them. She drow
