For a while, Leo wondered if he was dreaming.
If this was some elaborate illusion crafted by Kaelith or Mauriss, designed to offer him hope only so it could be ripped away again at the cruelest possible moment.
However, the longer the transmission remained stable, and the more he watched Amanda's shoulders tremble as she cried without restraint, the more certain he became that this was no fabrication.
"Amanda…"
He called weakly at first, his voice rough from everything it had endured.
However, as though disgusted by how his own voice sounded, he straightened instantly and steadied his breath.
"Amanda!"
He called again, this time calm and firm, as his expression hardened and he forced himself to look composed, to appear as the pillar she needed rather than the broken man he had been only minutes ago.
Amanda froze at the sound of his voice, her tear-filled eyes lifting slowly towards the communication orb.
