SPELLBOUND

It took Evie a long while to form a response. This was something she had never even imagined among all the scenarios she had thought through when wanting to release Gav from his entrapment. Gav really sent that message to her through this man Ezekiel? He had decided to become the King of the Darkness and rule the world of the monsters?

She could hardly imagine it. This was something none of them had ever thought of before. Or had Gav already been thinking about this even from before? Perhaps he had been contemplating on it and just did not voice it out to anyone yet. That could explain how he had acted so fast and managed to make his soul leave his body even before his entrapment. There should not be enough time for him to do that. And yet he had done it.

"The world where his soul is right now..." Evie began.

"It's called Underworld. Or Hell." Ezekiel understood what Evie wanted to ask and offered the information even before she could finish asking.

"This Underworld is the very same place where the monsters invading the Underlands are coming from, right?"

"Correct."

"So, if Gav puts on the mantle of the King of Darkness, he will rule their world and become their ruler? Ruler of those monsters?"

When Ezekiel nodded, Evie could not help but crack a disbelieving smile. "But isn't that the very same future we are trying to avoid? How would that even make any difference?"

"He's going to learn to control the darkness. The Gavriel you saw in the future had been overcome by his darkness. He waged a war with the future you because that Gavriel was not really the King of Darkness. He's just a vessel of the darkness. It's the darkness that is controlling his physical body. This time, he's not going to let that happen. He aims to become the real King of Darkness. Where he rules and has complete control over the darkness... not the other way around. Once he achieves that... the future will definitely change."

Evie felt her heartbeat thud hard within her at those words. An inexplicable feeling washed over her. It was as though the perpetually gloomy sky had cracked open and the light of hope began to shine through those cracks and bathe her in a warm and encouraging light. At that moment, she knew she did not need anymore words to convince herself. Her heart and soul already fully believed that this was the answer she had been searching for. And with all her heart, she believed that her beloved husband would be able to pull through. Gav would certainly do it!

"He is asking you to believe in him and wait for him, Queen Evielyn." Ezekiel continued and then he brought out something from his pocket.

It was a necklace. "He asked me to give this to you."

Evie had to steel herself not to tear up in front of this man as she took the necklace. A faint tremble shook her hand for a second as she lifted her arm to accept the item, but Evie regained control of herself immediately and the trembling ceased. As Ezekiel placed the necklace into her open palm, Evie observed it closely.

"From Gavriel." Ezekiel said simply and when Evie wordlessly took and placed it in her hand, she fought hard to keep her emotions in check. With this, though she could already not make herself doubt this man, this necklace had solidified the trust she had in him. Because there was no way a stranger like him would ever know about this necklace. It could only be Gav who would know every detail of it. This was a token of love that only the two of them knew about.

It was the exact same onyx necklace that she owned. The necklace which Gav had bought for her back in Dacria.

Remembering back on those days made Evie's heart warm up and ache at the same time. Such bittersweet emotions rose within her and a gentle yet sad forlorn smile curled her lips. It had been so long ago that it felt as though it was an entire lifetime away. So many things have changed since then.

As she stared at the onyx gem in her palm, Evie suddenly felt it. She could clearly feel Gav's touch on it. His comforting warmth. His faint scent that she had missed so much. Her extreme longing for him surged and crashed within her so hard that she felt the physical hurt in her heart.

But Evie remained outwardly composed as she lifted her gaze back to this enigmatic man before her.

"You sounded so confident that my husband will succeed... just who are you to Gav?" Evie asked him firmly. She needed to know who exactly this man was. "You are powerful. You might even be as powerful as Gav. Perhaps even stronger. I can't fathom why such a man like you would willingly become Gav's... messenger."

"Messenger..." he repeated. There was no change in his expression but he sounded kind of amused that he was being labelled as a 'messenger'. That was really a first.

Evie waited for his response as she observed his facial reactions - or the lack of it. 'Or... maybe not?' She thought to herself. She could not quite tell with that kind of expression he had on his face.

"I'm the same as Gavriel. A half vampire prince with demonic blood running in my veins. But I'm not from this world. Just like him, I have a place and... family I must return to." His voice unfroze a little when he mentioned the word 'family'.

Evie caught it as she did not look away from his face. That look in his eyes as he uttered that last line of his was more than enough for her to tell that this man was truly clear. He held no bad intentions or danger towards Gav. That look proved that her intuition was right. This powerful man was not an enemy. And he was just like Gav, just like her. She knew that look of longing all too well.

Even though he hid it almost instantly without any trace, Evie could never mistake it.

"Gavriel and I are working together to defeat the darkness for good." He started again. He obviously was a man who was not fond of dragging a talk longer. She was not sure why, but she felt like he might not even be fond of talking. Maybe due to how he sounded as though he was only talking because there was no other choice. "Gavriel needs his real body now as it's time for our plan to commence. That's why I need you to give him to me. I believe that I no longer need to prove anything else to you. Am I right, Light Queen?"