Page 134 of Bound to the Dreadlord

I try to push to my feet, but the world spins. Everything inside me is breaking.

I squeeze my hands into fists. I force myself to stand.

Veylan’s sword clashes with Hazeran’s again and again. Sparks fly.

Father and son.

Blood against blood.

I force myself forward.

I will not let him fight this alone. For once, I want to be in control of my life.

Even if I burn for it.

Even if I die, it will be my own choosing.

50

SERA

Ifeel it before it happens.

The inevitability of it.

The truth I have refused to face.

I was never meant to survive this.

The battle rages on around me, but it no longer matters. The bodies. The smoke. The stench of burning steel and flesh. It is nothing against the weight settling in my bones, pressing into my ribs like an iron brand.

Hazeran stands before me, his silver eyes gleaming, a smirk tugging at his lips as he looks at his sons.

"It is time."

The world stills.

The Drazharel brothers—five of them, ruthless, cruel, powerful—hesitate. They’re beaten black and blue, forced to submission by their father.

Veylan is bleeding from head to toe, not a part of his body unstained by his blood.

For a fraction of a second, they do not move and that is all I need to understand the truth.

I need to be the sacrifices. It’s the only way to defeat Hazeran.

Veylan and I lock gazes, and I can’t describe the look on his face. Guilt? Sorrow? Pain?

Hazeran’s voice slithers through the air like a whisper of fate. Final. Absolute.

"The siren must die. Whoever kills her will be rewarded by me."

I hear the sharp inhale of breath beside me.

Veylan.

I don’t look at him. I cannot.

His fingers twitch at his side. He already knew.

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