With my eyes fixed on Elaine, I urged Fable into a trot. He loped ahead, quickly catching the woman. She looked at me, expressionless, and I swallowed hard.
"You care a lot about them, don't you," I asked.
She raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"
I gestured at the people around us. "Them."
"An interesting observation, given the circumstance."
"But it's true. That's the real reason you released your aura, isn't it? To disguise that you were actually holding your Mana in case I tried to hurt them. Besides, everyone looked so surprised when you snapped at that woman, offended even."
"I threatened their lives. Such responses are only natural," she said.
I shook my head. "You were kind to the guards, even when they apprehended us at spearpoint. How could you then be so cruel to a mother and her daughter just for tripping?"
She frowned, looking directly at me. Not my horns or Fable, but me. I returned her gaze unflinchingly.
