SPELLBOUND

Gavriel did not give an immediate answer and his gaze fell at the dark space again. "I found out from him that the faery had been living there in the imperial palace. Or it was more apt to say that the faery was trapped inside a huge black crystal, the exact same stone that your necklace is made of. It seemed that the crystal was already there for a very long time. Even Lorcan has no idea how long the crystal has been sitting there. But it was the previous emperor, Lorcan's father, who had accidentally awakened the creature inside the crystal." Gavriel sneered slightly when he mentioned that.

Evie's voice softened as she continued asking. "How did he manage to awaken the faery?"

Gavriel pressed his lips tight, he looked like he was deciding right then if it was right for him to reveal this to her.

"Tell me more," Evie urged Gavriel, fully noting and understanding the complicated look in his eyes. "I truly want to know. Please?"

Gavriel was not even surprised with the almost excessive interest his wife was showing regarding these matters with the fairies and the invisible being. Because even before he found out about these, Gavriel already had that nagging feeling that his beloved wife has something to do with this lost empire. And whatever connection she had with the fairies; he was quite sure it will not be something ordinary or run of the mill. And it genuinely worried him. He was concerned with how all these revelations will change things in the future. Also, there was that question if any of it might change Evie herself.

However, after weighing everything and battling within himself whether or not it was right for him to tell her all this, Gavriel could not bring himself to hide it from her, even though he genuinely wanted to. He remembered their promise that they would not hide important matters and keep secrets from each other anymore. Moreover, he thought that perhaps this was meant to happen, for her to know about this.

"They had used the blood of the dragon guardians they killed in the past." His voice came out very soft and Evie caught her breath, eyes going wide with shock.

Gavriel went silent, observing Evie's face very closely.

Evie took a while to process what she had just heard and Gavriel considered to stop talking about this topic. However, before he could start to divert their conversation to other subjects, Evie recovered and asked again with a severe look on her face. "H-how? Could it be that their blood melted the crystal and freed the trapped creature?" she guessed.

"Yes." Gavriel nodded and a distressed laugh escaped from Evie's lips. So, this was why the humans could not retrieve most of the bodies of dragon guardians who were killed in the battlefield. Evie had heard about this previously when they visited the tombs of the fallen guardians. It was said that almost all the tombs were actually empty and what was inside were just a few pieces of the guardian's personal belongings. Because the vampires would always make sure to take the guardian's body with them. Now she knew the reason behind why the vampires were doing that. They were actually using them to awaken a certain faery! To be more specific, they were draining each one of them of their lifeblood!

"Lorcan revealed that they could speak with the faery even when he was still inside the crystal." Gavriel then said after another long silence.

"Is…" Evie had to swallow before she continued, "is this dark faery powerful? If he is evil, he couldn't be helping the emperor just to return the favour, right?"

"You are right. I believe that the creature is very dangerous." The change in Gavriel's voice was apparent. "Not only because he is a dark faery, but also because of the fact that he was able to survive up to this day when all his fellow faeries had been wiped away." Gavriel's eyes were now intense and gleaming with a calculating look as he stared into space.

When Gavriel and his men emerged from the dungeon, chaos had already ensued inside the castle. Zolan had left an order to the duchess to open the dungeon after exactly two days because that was the exact length of time for them take to reach the library going at their fastest pace. The moment he captured Lorcan and found out that Evie and Leon had escaped the fortress itself due to the emperor trying to take a bite out of his wife, Gavriel nearly lost himself.

But for the sake of saving Evie and the other matters, he swallowed all the killing intent that was ready to burst forth out of him. However, the moment he saw the bruise on Evie's back, Gavriel could no longer control his bloodlust. When he laid eyes on Lorcan upon coming into his cell while Zolan was still in the middle of interrogating him, everything in him broke loose and he came at the emperor like a merciless beast. His eyes were flashing between red and blue, burning with bloodlust and wanting to tear the wretched emperor into shreds with his very hands.

He barely managed to keep Lorcan alive, had not the emperor been smart enough to reveal everything about the faery, as he knew Gavriel wanted intel on the matter. He thought he had come at him so brutally because he wanted to know the truth, but unbeknownst to him, it was all because of what he had done – or almost done – to his wife.

Somehow, Gavriel was glad he had not killed the emperor right off the bat or else, they would not have gotten such detailed information about the dark faery. Now Gavriel was not only worried about his wife being connected to all this matter. But he also had the feeling that this faery has something to do with what happened to the real vampire's royal family. Because no matter how he looked at it, Lorcan and the previous emperor were never powerful enough to destroy the real royals.

Gavriel had a sinking feeling in his gut that this faery was not just a mere invisible creature… he was very powerful, and very ancient. And this powerful and ancient creature definitely wanted something out of all the effort it had expanded for the late emperor and Lorcan. Or it is aiming for something. And Gavriel's gut feeling very seldom lead him wrong.

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A/N: Any thoughts about this chapter? Comment down Spellbounders! I seldom ask but i am curious about your thoughts this time. *grin*