Leo didn't move.
Not even when the cavern seemed to shrink around them, not even when the weight of his words settled into the air like a storm waiting to break.
Amaya's breath hitched.
"Leo… what do you mean the entire Beastworld is coming for me?"
His hand remained on her cheek, thumb brushing her skin with agonizing softness — a softness that didn't match the turmoil in his eyes.
He spoke slowly, each word deliberate.
"The Elders have declared a Hunt."
The cavern dimmed.
"A… Hunt?" she whispered, dread curling in her stomach.
Leo nodded once.
"In our world, a Hunt is not a search. It is a decree. A command every clan is forced to obey." His jaw clenched. "It means every Beastlord, every noble, every warrior — even the common clans — are given the same order."
Amaya swallowed hard.
"What kind of order?"
Leo's eyes shuttered, darkening.
"To capture you alive."
Her pulse spiked.
"And if they can't?"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Then they kill you."
