SPELLBOUND

Even the elite men were smiling from ear to ear as they watched their prince, no, their king, so majestically speaking up there and looking at the vampires who seemed to have fallen into a trance.

After the speech, Gavriel was swamped by more things he had to deal with first and foremost. It was daylight again when he and his men were alone in a hall and were finally able to get some peace and quiet from all the hustle and bustle of the previous days.

"Congratulation Your High…" Levy cleared his throat. "Your Majesty." He grinned wide and the rest followed suit, bowing at him in reverence and awe.

"Stop grinning already, Levy. You'll turn into a Cheshire cat." Gavriel smirked at him.

"I can't help it! I am so happy for His Majesty." The drama king and his one-man show kicked in again and they just laughed at his clowning around.

But after a while, Gavriel's expression became serious. "None of the dragons came back to check in since Leon left with Silver?" he asked, and the men began to wonder as well. They all have been so busy since the previous night that this one thing had slipped their minds. But now that they thought about it, it was a surprise that the princess had yet to send a dragon to check in as how she usually does daily. She used to send one over every night, never once missing a single time.

The men shook their heads and Gavriel's expression turned dark and the air around them became heavy.

"Don't worry, my King." Levy said. "Maybe, Leon had said something to stop the princess from sending a dragon over?"

But Gavriel's expression did not change. He stood from his throne and then looked ahead, silently pondering some things in his mind before turning to face them.

"All of you get ready. We're going to Crescia now." he declared, shocking the men. They had not thought that His Majesty would mobilise them immediately, especially since they had just finished with his coronation not too long ago. "Zolan and Reed and Samuel will remain here on standby. I will go with the others to Crescia in secret. Have the vampires and officials think that I am resting and sleeping in today. No one else must know of our departure. Luc, Levy, meet me at my chambers within a quarter of an hour. Get the things you need."

The trio could only nod. After preparing themselves in haste, Gavriel, Luc and Levy snuck out and left the city.

...

That night Leon left the city of Mirthan with Silver,

Evie was already in her room. But she was not asleep yet. She stood by the window. Her eyes were closed, and her mind and senses were in Mirthan. Her lips curled up in a breathtaking smile as she saw her husband again through her dragon's eyes.

When suddenly, she felt goosebumps run down her spine. Her brows creased and the moment she opened her eyes, she froze due to shock.

A man in a dark cloak was standing right before her in her personal chambers. Thundrann?! No! That man was already dead! Zirrus had executed him and burned his body to ashes! Then who…

The man lifted his face slightly. She could not see his face clearly because of his hood, but she could see his eyes – a pair of blazing blue eyes that were exactly the same as Gav and his father, King Belial. Her heart thundered within her, and she recognised this feeling all too well – it was the feeling of danger, and she had never felt this way when standing before Gav and even before King Belial.

She instinctively called forth her magic when she discovered that she was unable to move. To her shock, not only could she not move. She could not even speak as well. All she could move was her eyeballs. What had this person done to her? Panic started to assail her especially when she remembered that there was a precious little one within her now. What could she do now?

"I finally caught you off guard, Queen." A deep and dark voice echoed from under the dark hood before he lifted that hood. Blue eyes, dark skin, black hair and pointed ears… a dark fae! Who is he? "I know you are strong and powerful. So, it would be impossible for me to catch you like this had you not left your body this defenceless by focusing all your senses somewhere else."

A slight smile curved on his face as he said those words. He had the face of a saint of the darkness. A face that could only belong to a deceptive angel of the darkness.

"Do not worry Queen, I am not here to harm you. I am only here to take you away." He continued and Evie's eyes widened even more. Her mind was screaming, trying to break free from the dark magic that had bound her and rendered her immobile. "Weren't you looking for that light fae and those vampires?" he asked in a smooth voice. "I'll bring you to them, Queen."

Evie's body then began to glow, and the man looked shocked. He uttered another spell and dark smoke materialised from thin air and wrapped around her like chains. "What a dangerous Queen you are." He muttered, smiling. "Please do not resist. Do not force me to harm you. Don't forget you have a precious one to protect inside you, Queen." His reminder came to her like lightning! Another shock. He knew of her child?!

How? How did he know? Who is this man?! What did he want from her?

As if he had understood the look in her eyes, he straightened up. And then he spoke again. "Alright, I shall introduce myself first before we leave. My name is Gideon, the crown prince of the Under Lands. I am the one and only brother of your husband, Gavrael." He introduced himself very calmly and before Evie could recover from the shock, a large swath of dark smoke swallowed them both and in the next instant, they were gone from Evie's room.