SPELLBOUND

Days passed swiftly and Crescia was finally showing changes of it returning to the state of being a paradise that it was once, long time ago. With the return of the tree of life, the once barren, dismal, and lifeless place started to once again have living things bloom and flourish. And with Evie's power, she was able to restore the lost magical plants that were unique to their lands and can be found nowhere else. 

The light faes began to build homes again and the once gloomy and hulking dark castle had since undergone a total face lift and was now brimming with silvery light, like an ice castle on top of the hill. It was a complete one hundred eighty-degree transformation from what it was before. Instead of triggering fear and causing a threatening ambiance on a whole, it now gives a quality of lightness and optimism. The dazzling sunlight streaming in from the crystal clear windows only uplifts the spirits of everyone who walk into the castle. 

Watching from the large and highest window of her castle, Evie smiled. The sight of this place coming back to life only made her heart swell with joy. She observed the pride and delight that radiates out from every single light fae in the kingdom as they worked to restore the castle back to its former glory. In fact, some of them even commented that it might be even better than how it was previously. It was incredible how she already felt so much in love and in tuned with this land. Thinking back, it is almost unbelievable how different this place looked like when she had first stepped into it. Reviving this once dead and desolate land made her feel an inexplicable feeling in her heart. She could somehow feel that it is becoming so much a part of her as she could sense the life and pulse of the land within her if she turned her mind inwards and focus.

Because Evie had put more of her focus on the revival of her Queendom, she somehow managed to distract herself from missing her husband too much. She was sending Silver over to the vampire kingdom every now and then as her glorified 'pigeon' messenger to check on her husband and exchange letters with him. Of course, there was an ulterior motive of her doing this too. She had to use her dragon because she wanted to see him through her dragon's eyes. How they both exchanged letters were by sticking the envelope containing their letters securely into a flat leather pouch that was strapped around the dragon's neck using a long strip of leather about the width of an adult male's arm, both the pouch and strip had been magically enhanced in order to not snap. 

The exchange of letters and the fact that Evie could check in on him frequently enough and see him through Silver's eyes, made Evie feel incredibly better and their separation did not seem to be as bad as she thought it would be. Maybe her 'seeing' him looking very much delighted at their special means of communication helped. That was all she wanted. 

Hearing the familiar sounds in the sky, Evie saw four of her dragons appearing and she spread out her wings and flew over to the spacious courtyard to meet her handsome dragons as she welcomed them back.

She had sent them out again to search and scour through the Middle Lands. Their mission was to look for Zanya. She had sent many other light faes too, in search for her whereabouts, but it had been days since they had arrived back in Crescia, and there were still no signs of her. It was as if she had completely disappeared and vanished into thin air, not even leaving a single clue for them to pick up on. Evie was really stumped at this. However, she did not give up.

 Evie had also sent the others to look for Onyx. She had sent them as far as the southern empire but found nothing. Onyx's disappearance was like Zanya's as well. However, Onyx going missing was really something truly mind boggling. Where could such a massive dragon hide out in? It was such a mystery to her that she could not find such a huge creature. 

Landing on the courtyard, Evie spoke to her dragons tenderly, thanking them for their hard work and their persistence before she told them to go and rest. She had been sending them out every day and even at night. Evie had also taken to sending out the other three to search as well. 

And yet, this time too, the search was fruitless. 

With a heavy sigh, the expression on Evie's face became restless. "Zanya… Onyx… where are you?" she murmured. 

…

In a city called Mirthan, the elite vampires who were resting outside a castle spotted a dragon in the sky that was fast approaching them. They all immediately stood, knowing that it was their princess' dragon and that it must be bringing news to them again.

Zolan asked Reed to summon their master who was currently in a discussion with Mirthan's duke and officials. However, in no time at all, Gavriel came rushing out. 

Silver landed before him and he smiled at the dragon, knowing that his wife was looking at him through its eyes. 

Samuel took the letter in the leather pouch around Silver's neck and handed it over to Gavriel. 

The prince read it silently with a smile but eventually, his smile faded, and slight frown curved on his face. 

The men looked at each other. That frown… was there something bad that had happened? Could it be that there is a problem in Crescia? 

Their faces all showed severe looks as well. 

When Gavriel finally put the letter down, he looked at his men. Then his gaze stopped at Leon. 

Leon had not been himself since they left the capital and broke company with Evie and the light faes. Gavriel noticed that he seemed distracted and was unable to concentrate. He seemed to be doing his best to try and stay focussed, but his restlessness did not escape Gavriel's sharp eyes. 

"Leon…" Gavriel called out and the man snapped out of his daze and stepped forward. 

"Yes, Your Highness." Leon politely spoke. 

"That light fae named Zanya…" Gavriel started and at the mention of the name, Leon's expression immediately changed even as his head jerked up, now looking as though he had heard something that instantly messed up his entire being. "She's still missing."