Page 80 of Bound to the Dreadlord

Assessing. Calculating.

"Training your pet now?" His voice is smooth, almost amused.

I don’t respond.

He steps forward. Slow. Controlled.

Sera stiffens.

Interesting.

She fears him.

Not me.

Hazeran tilts his head. "Or have you grown sentimental?"

My jaw locks.

Sera watches between us, her grip on the dagger still tight, like she’s preparing to defend herself against something she doesn’t fully understand.

Hazeran chuckles. "Be careful, son."

Son.

The word is a warning.

A reminder.

I am not free to make my own choices.

Hazeran turns, his robes sweeping behind him as he walks away, his amusement lingering in the air like a warning of something dangerous.

Sera exhales. I hear the relief.

But I don’t turn to her.

Instead, I look at the dagger still in her grip.

I look at the way the blade trembled when she reached for it.

And I make a decision.

She is not just a distraction.

She is something else. Something worth discovering.

30

SERA

The chamber door clicks shut behind me.

Veylan does not speak.

Neither do I.

The fire in the hearth flickers, casting shadows against the black stone walls, against the silken sheets that still carry the ghosts of what happened between us.

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