Ethan took a shaky step back, his pulse hammering in his ears. The sight of Amelia—always composed, always in control—starting to lose her grip unnerved him in a way he hadn’t anticipated. Her sharp laugh lingered in the air, cold and brittle, like a glass about to shatter.
“Impossible,” she hissed, her voice venomous and laced with disbelief. Her green eyes blazed with an intensity that made Ethan’s stomach churn. She stepped forward, her bare feet crunching over the shards of the broken champagne flute, the sound sharp and jarring in the tense silence. “The potion doesn’t fail, Ethan. It *can’t* fail. You’re mistaken, or worse, you’ve been duped. Sophie’s playing you for a fool.”
“She’s not playing me!” Ethan shot back, his voice cracking under the strain of his emotions. He took a ste
