Page 120 of Bound to the Dreadlord

His hands clench.

"Veylan," I try. "We have to?—"

"No."

The finality in his voice makes my breath hitch.

"What?"

He turns to me slowly, his silver eyes dark with something I don’t understand.

"We don’t run," he says, voice low, deadly.

My throat goes dry.

"Veylan—"

"No more hiding. No more waiting. This ends now."

He is not talking about the bounty hunters.

He is talking about Hazeran.

I take a step back. He sees it. He sees everything.

His gaze sharpens, locking onto mine. "You don’t understand yet, do you?"

I shake my head, my breath coming too fast. "We don’t have an army. We don’t have a plan. We barely have?—"

"Then we get an army."

His voice brooks no argument.

"We go back to House Drazharel. We take my brothers. We take what we need. And we burn my father to the ground."

Madness. It’s madness.

But I believe him.

A shiver races down my spine.

"Veylan, if you go back?—"

"He will expect it. He wants me to come back." His lips curl, something dark bleeding into his voice. "And that is his mistake. It’s time, Sera. I’ve made my choice."

I stare at him. At the sharp lines of his face, the silver fire in his eyes. He gazes back at me, and there’s something unreadable in his eyes.

He has already decided and it’s final.

Veylan Drazharel is done being prey.

"We will burn it all," he murmurs.

My pulse pounds in my throat. "And if we don’t make it out?"

His gaze softens. "Then we go together."

The words steal the breath from my lungs.

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