SPELLBOUND

Evie caught her breath as she stared at those little drops of rain falling onto her outstretched palms. She could not believe that this was already happening. She also could not help it when her heart shook within her in fear. Her father was finally coming for her as promised, but her reaction was now the complete opposite of what she had been imagining before she fell head over heels in love with Gavriel. Dread and fear gripped strongly at her heart.

"How long will it take for them to reach Dacria?" Gavriel asked as he swiftly pulled Evie's hood up to cover her from the drizzle. Evie's heart melted at his actions. Even during such serious matters being discussed, he still was aware of her to the point of not wanting her to be wet by a little light drizzle. How could she not love this man?

"I estimate they'll be here by twilight. I believe the emperor would be travelling at humans' pace as he will be accompanying the humans here." Zolan replied when Leon hesitantly butted in.

"My Lord, how… about we evacuate the Dacrians now? There's still plenty of time if things are planned and carried out systematically." The half-blood suggested.

"I doubt the Dacrians will leave this city," Zolan said, "and even if they do, there is nowhere else for them to go now. The emperor would chase after and seek to execute all Dacrians who escape the city. You must not forget that they are twisted enough to annihilate their own rulers. Thus, he will definitely not hesitate to massacre an entire clan to use them as an example for others. More so if this plan of his to kill His Highness falls through and fails."

"So, our only option now is to leave this city?" Leon asked again, understanding the severity of their situation.

"It won't be as easy as that," Zolan's delicate face became serious, "if we leave just like this, the Dacrians will suffer. They will be tortured heavily once our enemies find out we are not here anymore. That would be the price they will have to pay since they had harboured us. The emperor will use this chance to punish them for harbouring traitors in their midst. They might not be massacred but many will be killed."

Evie began to shiver. The faces of the people here, their lively personalities, the smiles and laughter of those lovely children… she could not bear to imagine that all these might just crumble to pieces. This beautiful and peaceful place… she did not want this place to be ruined. She did not want anyone to die and suffer. And it is all because of her… though indirectly, she was still being used as an excuse to spark this war.

"Our only choice now is…" Zolan lifted his gaze to Gavriel, "force the Dacrians to drive us away from here. We must make them believe that you had captured the duke and forced him to harbour us against his will. We must make them believe we blackmailed the duke to order the soldiers to aid you in the previous war. The soldiers only aided you because of fear. But now, because they had found out that a dragon guardian is coming, they do not need to fear you anymore. And that is why they planned not to support you in this war anymore. However, you found out about their plans to turn their backs on you at the very last minute and you also found out that the dragon guardian is coming, so you could only choose to escape with a small group of your loyal men."

"And you are saying that we should make this rumour believable and start a battle within Dacria?" Gavriel was the one who spoke this time, and the intensity of his voice was incredibly dangerous despite the controlled calmness.

Zolan nodded. "Yes and…" Zolan's expression hardened, "I know that this is cruel, but a bloodbath is necessary at this point. We must show Lorcan that the Dacrians had truly tried to stop our escape or else he will think that they purposely let us escape. In short, we must sacrifice a few to save the majority."

"You think that Lorcan would fall for this?" Gavriel asked.

"He would have no choice but to believe it… if we kill enough soldiers."

"Then how many do we need to kill before the numbers are 'enough' for Lorcan to believe it?"

"A hundred would be enough." Zolan's voice was flat.

Evie's eyes widened with utter shock and horror. A hundred?! A hundred lives will have to be sacrificed for this farce to look real? Evie felt shivers run down her spine and her entire being shook. She knew war happened and people die… but her husband and his men will need to kill the very people who aided them and did nothing wrong just to be able to pull this wool over the emperor's eyes? Even so, this was just... it was too cruel. The thought that many of these soldiers were probably the fathers of those little cheerful children she just met broke her heart and she could not bear it. Was there really no other choice?

"I know this is cruel and you don't want to agree to this, but there is no other way," Zolan emphasized despite the regret and sadness in his eyes.

Gavriel remained silent. Zolan knew that this prince was always confident, and he would never doubt that his prince would always come out victorious in any war against the vampires. Especially now that he has someone he wholeheartedly wants to protect. Zolan had felt like his wife's presence in his life had tremendously improved Gavriel's strength. Though after reflecting, it made sense but none of them would have ever seen this coming. That the guardian and the dragon would be involved. Not to mention that this very guardian is the birthfather of his beloved wife.