Aegis woke to pounding on her door.
Not gentle knocking. Full-on aggressive hammering that made her bolt upright in bed.
"What the fuck?"
Lune stirred, groaning.
"Make it stop."
More pounding.
Aegis stumbled to the door, yanking it open.
Rosalie stood there, red-faced and furious, holding a crumpled piece of parchment.
"We have a problem."
"What time is it?"
"Early. Doesn't matter. Look at this."
She shoved the parchment at Aegis.
It was a crude advertisement for "Premium Mana Restoration Potions" being sold in Rosevale's market district. Same blue glow. Same promised effects. Half the price.
Aegis's blood went cold.
"Where did you get this?"
"A merchant gave it to me this morning when I went to buy supplies. Said everyone's talking about it. There's a rival alchemist selling knockoffs based on our formula."
"How the hell did they get the formula?"
"I don't know! I've been careful. No one had access to my workshop except you, me, and—"
Rosalie stopped.
