"What?! Are you mad, Seamus?!" Diane's voice echoed all over the dream world.
She leaned close, her hand gripping his arm as if sheer force could anchor him. She whispered, "Why don't we wait for my mother? She'll come. Just hold out a little longer."
"She won't come," Seamus answered flatly, his tone calm but unyielding.
Diane froze, her brows furrowing in disbelief. "What do you mean? She would never abandon you."
"It's too risky for you to fall into the wrong hands."
Seamus's eyes, cold and unreadable, shifted toward her. "And what makes you think Velstrath House is the right one?"
The question hit her hard. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, she pressed her lips shut.
Even she knew and couldn't deny that her house had never treated him with fairness, that loyalty to Velstrath came with chains just as heavy as those of any rival.
"So… you'll betray us?" Her voice cracked of anger and disappointed
The question hung between them like smoke, bitter and suffocating.
