Dahlia’s fingers whitened around her teacup for a heartbeat before she made herself relax. Pride flickered through her expression, tempered by the hard edge of a mother’s worry. “If anyone can pull it off,” she said softly, “it’s you, son.”
A hush settled over the table. Maya’s gaze found Damien’s across the quiet, her worry plain in her eyes. He met it with steady calm, but the tension in his jaw betrayed the storm behind it.
Beside her, Jaime had lost every trace of sleepiness—his eyes wide now, alert, a spark of excitement creeping through his concern. Still, he said nothing; he knew his sister too well to add to her worry.
The silence lingered a beat longer before Eleanor, who had been quietly observing, raised a hand. At once, their trusted butler appeared at her side, bowing with
