SPELLBOUND

Reluctantly, he finally eased away and pulled the blanket over her. He was about to stand when Evie reached out and tugged on his robe.

"Where… where are you going?" she asked, her face suddenly anxious as her fingers tightened on his robe without realisation.

"I have an errand to take care of." He responded, as his gaze tilted towards the door and the commotion that was going on outside for a long while now.

"Errand?"

"Mm. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave again without telling you first." he smiled contentedly and kissed her forehead, causing her colour to rise again. "I'll come back as soon as I deal… as soon as I am done saying a few words to them."

...

The duke and everyone else involved were waiting anxiously in the throne hall where it was silent and tense as they all stood before Gavriel.

When they were suddenly summoned by the prince with such an urgency, they could not help but feel threatened. Aside from his stubbornness, Prince Gavriel had been a good and incredibly sensible leader. He was the kind of ruler who does not make his subject serve him out of fear as he never acted rashly nor according to his emotions. Up until now, he had never made any decision worthy of criticism except for the issue on his marriage to the human princess and regarding his bloodline. He had almost no flaws, if not for the fact that he was so adamant in being a one-woman man. If only he did not marry a human.

"I see that everyone does not want to respect my decision now," Gavriel said, sittingg in his chair in an utterly relaxed manner.

"Your Highness. Please understand us. This is not about disrespecting your decision. We are only doing our best to help you. You know that you, having an heir, is the only way to secure your bloodline and you know we are running out of time!" The old Duke burst out. "This is the only way for us, your subjects, to be at ease! We only want to protect you and your bloodline!"

Silence enveloped the throne hall following the old Duke's outburst as everyone now was looking at the prince with intensity, showing him their determination on not regretting the actions they did.

However, their will of defiance did not last longer than a few seconds as something heavy, dark, and ominous suddenly crept across their skin.

Gavriel laughed softly but after hearing that quick and soft sound, for some reason, it sounded as if it was the most sinister thing, they had heard for a long time now.

"So, this is all because every single one of you here are actually scared to death, huh…" Gavriel said. Everyone was flinching where they stood, except the five elite personal soldiers of his. He rose from his seat. His aura was so heavy they felt like something poisonous and demonic was seeping out of his body.

The vampires, even the old duke and the few ancient vampires around could swear they never experienced something like this before. They were dumbstruck and actually terrified just by this prince approaching them? Just what was going on?

Before they knew it, Gavriel was right in front of the Duke, his hand already landed heavily on his shoulder.

"It appears, I don't have any choice but to teach you a lesson." He whispered and something inexplicable happened.

Everyone collapsed on their knees as if a force just pushed them down. And they were helpless. Terror filled their eyes as they looked up at the prince. Their gaze filled with nothing but fear and confusion, asking themselves just who this person was before them. What did he do to them?

Gavriel's gaze was bright but piercingly cold. Colder than anything they have ever seen. This was not the eyes of the prince they knew.

"All of you listen well…" he spoke, looking down at them. "There is no one for you to fear but me. I vowed to protect this place… I'll destroy anyone who dares approach it with my own two hands..."

The vampires could not even move as they listened and looked at him. He was no longer speaking like a prince, but a king… a terrifying king they had never seen before.

"So, all you have to do is obey me and never… dare… anger me again. Because the next time… It won't be bloodless."

As soon as the throne hall's door closed behind the prince and his men, the vampires finally let go of their breaths and moved. Their knees still slightly shaking as they stood up one by one.

"I never… experienced anything like this before." One of the grey-haired ancient vampires said to the duke. "I don't remember the past royalties having such kind of power as well. Just what kind of power does he even have?"

"I don't know." The Duke shook his head, but a smile played in his lips. "But I now understand what the late empress told me before… She told me the prince is much more powerful than we could ever imagine. And she was certain that one day, he would definitely take back this empire with his own power. So, this is what she meant when she told me all we need is him."

…

"Your Highness, don't you think you overdid it?" Zolan who was walking beside Gavriel said as the six men walked through the corridor.

"Agreed. Some of them were shaking so bad." Levy nodded as he yawned lazily. Though the men actually thought that everyone in the hall were actually lucky. Because if the prince didn't manage to solve this misunderstanding and the princess became even more distant from him, they were certain that the great hall would have been reeking with blood by now.

"But I guess, they'll finally stop being scared now."

"Oh yes, they will not be scared of the emperor anymore because they're more afraid of His Highness now." His men shook their heads.

Gavriel pinched the skin between his brows and let out a sigh. There was no more trace of the darkness he had shown in the throne hall.

"That's better. Scaring them is better than me losing control and ending up killing one or more of them. They're my subjects after all." He paused and looked at Samuel. "So? Why did you leave your post and came here?"

"I just came to tell you the crown prince is really planning for an attack." The big man said, causing Gavriel to rub his neck lazily. "And we found out he might be bringing a half-blooded vampire with him."

The expression in Gavriel's face immediately changed. "A half-blood huh," he muttered, and something gleamed in his eyes. "At least, he's taking me quite seriously then."

"Yes, Your Highness. That's why I'm sorry but you're mistaken if you think you have the luxury to stay with your wife anytime soon. You have to be there at the front lines at all times since we do not know when they would suddenly launch their attack." Samuel responded casually and as all the men expected, Gavriel cursed in displeasure.

However, a moment later, Gavriel's darkened face lit up and he flashed a satisfied and mischievous smile, making his men wonder what tricks he has come up with this time.

"There's a way for me to stay with her in this situation Samuel." He said, looking happy with the solution he had found.

All his men's eyes looked at him and waited for what he had to say next. "Since I can't leave the frontline, I'll just take her there." He grinned widely, satisfied with his own solution.

Everyone: ". . ."

Gavriel: "The moment they come I'll just ask one of you to immediately send her back to the castle. Problem solved."