Esme sighed as she wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist, her fingers were trembling from how long she'd been working.
She wore a pristine lab coat… well, it had been pristine this morning.
Now it was dotted with silver traces of magical residue. She lowered the last vial carefully into a cooling rack.
"All I have to do now is wait," she murmured, finally letting aherself sit back in her chair.
Her back cracked audibly, making Esther wince.
The table beside them looked like the aftermath of a small alchemical war.
Dozens of used flasks lay discarded, each one carrying a scent of incense, metal, or sterile herbs.
And in the very center of the room, arranged like little soldiers standing in formation, were twenty vials of completed formula… each one missing the final ingredient.
