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Silence stretched, thick and dangerous. Then, unexpectedly, Elira laughed. Not amused. Not kind. Just… disbelief wrapped in something sharp. “He wants to offer his son,” she said slowly, “as if my children are bargaining chips on a board he just walked onto?” Ren leaned forward. “It’s not just that.” Elira’s eyes flicked up. “He knows Kael is gay,” Ren added. That shifted something. Not anger—no, that had already been there. Something colder.