SPELLBOUND

"Does that piece strike your fancy, my love?" Gavriel whispered in her ear when he saw her eyeing that peculiar and strange necklace with a black stone set in it. They were currently in a small but tasteful jewellery shop that was along the road where they were strolling by. Gavriel noticed that Evie had been eyeing something in one specific display rack so he guessed it must have been this particular piece which had caught her eye.

"I never saw one like this before. I used to see diamonds and colourful jewelleries but this one… the stone is so black. What do you call this gem?" Evie's voice was contemplative, musing about the stone that was set in this necklace. Back in her homeland and as the daughter of the guardian, what kind of jewelleries has she not seen? And which type of gemstones have not graced the storage boxes of their family's home? However, even with the varieties she had seen, this was one that was unique and in a class all on its own.

"That's from the forbidden land. It's the costliest gem in the empire because it's very rare and one would need to go on suicide mission against the beasts living in the area just to get one."

"Really?" Evie's eyes widened in great interest. It was no wonder she had never seen this gemstone before. Since it had to be sourced from the vampire empire and what more, from the dangerous areas of the forbidden land. Evie briefly wondered how much it would cost if even someone like Gavriel could have said this gem was costly as she watched him discuss with the shop keeper in the purchase of that necklace. Maybe she should not have asked for it? Before she could continue on that train of thought, Gavriel had already turned around and was walking back towards her.

"Come, I'll show you something else that is interesting too." Gavriel said. He glanced at the jeweller who had walked over and handed him a bag, and he held Evie's hand and led her out of the shop after receiving the bag.

The moon was out that night and glimmered brightly. As Evie stood next to him, anticipating what Gavriel would show her, Gavriel lifted the stone and faced it towards the moon.

Evie's mouth gaped open, awestruck, as the black gem slowly brightened, turning a silvery colour, exactly the same shade as the moonlight.

"Oh my!" Evie gasped, astonished. "It's like magic! Is this stone magical?!"

"Hmm… I don't think so. The vampires never found anything unusual about it. Just its ability to change when its being reflected against the moon."

"Even so…" Evie was clearly ecstatic, "this is just amazing, Gavriel!"

Seeing the amazement and interest in Evie's eyes, Gavriel smiled. He was glad he decided to go out with her tonight because he had never seen Evie so comfortable outside the castle before. She looked like she was really enjoying herself and was not scared anymore and it made him truly happy. The thought that one day, Evie would not even think about her being the only human in the vampire's world, made Gavriel's heart rejoice because he always worries that one day, Evie would get homesick and sought the company of her fellow humans. His fear was the possibility of her leaving him and the vampire kingdom and returning to her homeland.

"Alright, I'll get it for you." He said and Evie's eyes literally twinkled.

"Thank you." She replied hugging him.

"Just a thank you, my wife?" His mischievous smile was back. "How about 'thank you my beloved husband'?

Evie blushed and she looked around first before blurting out, "Thank you so much my husband."

"Why did you omit 'beloved'?"

"My beloved husband." Evie corrected, blushing harder and Gavriel chuckled with pleasure.

By the time they left the shop, Evie was obviously unable to wait to put the necklace on herself.

It was past midnight, and he knew that Evie might be tired, so he carried her and brought her to the top of a tower. It was overlooking the lively night life of the city. Evie thought she would never tire looking at the night view of this city with its colourful lights, merry shops and stalls and the friendly people who lived here.

Sitting Evie on top of the watch tower as he stood between her legs, Gavriel smiled wide when Evie's legs wrapped around him for fear of the height.

"You might want to stop doing that love, or you'll give me a naughty idea… or maybe many naughty ones." Gavriel really could not help himself but continue to tease Evie. His heart was so full and contented just by spending time like this bantering about with his wife.

"You are the one who put me here, so you're the naughty one."

"Says the one who made me into one."

Evie blushed and was speechless. She had to quickly change the topic or else they will end up kissing again, and knowing this living temptation, she would not be able to resist!

"Give it to me now Gavriel." She said when Gavriel bit his lips sexily and his eyes suddenly gleamed as if she had just said something that lit up a fire in him.

Suddenly, she caught his face and pinched his cheeks. "Stop thinking about naughty things. I'm talking about the necklace." After which she smiled widely, giving him little hits on his shoulder repeatedly, then laughing with abandon.

Gavriel groaned and then chuckled. His little wife was getting more liberated with her conduct with him, and he was totally loving it. He cherished how much she has opened up to him as opposed to when she had just been brought over to the vampire kingdom as his official wife. "Oh right… the necklace…" he lifted his hand that was holding it.

Evie excitedly straightened as Gavriel moved to put the necklace around her neck.

And the moment the black gem settled on Evie's skin, something unthinkable happened. The necklace began to glow, and it was not silvery like the moonlight as was before, but a bright amber which was suspiciously similar to the colour of Evie's eyes.

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AN: chapter 3 of spellbound comic version is out on pat re on. ^^

P.s. I will choose 10 non-privilege readers to receive the signed hd wallpaper. All you have to do is drop a review on this book. I will choose 10 best reviews. ^^