(The Isolated Valley Path, Leo's POV)
As long as the guests were still around, Amanda did not question Leo publicly, as despite her own personal unease, she did not wish to undermine her husband in front of outsiders.
However, the moment the last lantern dimmed and the final footsteps of Leo's subordinates faded into the night, Amanda's hand slipped away from his… and the gentle warmth she had shown all evening vanished with it.
She turned toward him slowly, her eyes sharpening with a quiet fury that made Leo's spine straighten on instinct, as though he were facing a calamity far greater than any opponent he had ever fought.
"Leo, how confident are you that sending us to Ixtal is safe…?"
Her voice was calm. Too calm. The kind that made Leo's heartbeat hammer in his ears, because this was not the voice of a wife asking a question.
But instead, the voice of a mother protecting her cubs.
