Mia's hand tightened against the edge of the table, her lips pressing together before she spoke, steady but taut.
"And if we refuse?"
The silence that followed was heavy, taut as glass.
Cressida's silver gaze cut to her at once, unblinking. "Then your cousins will not. And they will happily drag you with them, whether you consent or not."
Serathine stirred her tea with unhurried grace, amber eyes gleaming. "Maleks have a peculiar history; in the family there was another dominant omega. They sold her to Rohan before the ink dried on the certificate of her secondary gender."
"Great-aunt Elara Malek," Andrew said softly, his voice edged with a bitterness he couldn't quite keep down. His gaze dropped briefly to Mia before lifting again, steady. "Mia didn't hear about her because, by the time she was old enough to remember, we weren't invited to the family gatherings anymore."
