The trial cannot force a choice — only fear can.
Reality did not shatter.
It tightened.
Like a trap closing around a heartbeat.
Sebastian held the real Vivian in his arms. She was trembling. Weak. Her breath came in small, broken gasps against his chest.
The false Vivian stood a few steps away.
Watching.
Waiting.
Perfectly calm.
The chamber pulsed once.
Then everything changed.
Vivian's face twisted.
At first, Sebastian thought his vision blurred from exhaustion.
But it was not his sight.
It was her.
Her soft features stretched into something unnatural. Her skin tightened. Her eyes hollowed. Her mouth pulled into a shape that did not belong to any living person.
Then it snapped back.
Her real face.
Then again—
Beast.
Human.
Beast.
Human.
Switching every few seconds.
Sebastian's chest locked.
"Vivian…?"
She reached for him with shaking hands.
But when she spoke—
Her voice was not hers.
It was deep.
Rough.
Masculine.
