SPELLBOUND

In a river under a bridge connecting the Monsters' forest and the city of Yryzia, if anyone was observing, they would be able to see Leon holding Zanya in his arms, dipping her into the water. The reason why he was doing this was because this river seemed to have the same properties as the healing river that was found in the Middle Lands. So, he had rushed and brought Zanya over to soak in it without any hesitation. He needed to have her wounds cured. After all, he had thought that if it was not true, the worst was they would just get wet, and he would just use the opportunity to clean off all the blood stains and dirt on her.

However, to his great relief, the river seemed to be as miraculous as the one in the Middle Lands and Zanya's wounds really began to heal and close up. 

Zanya had also stopped trembling and her body began to recuperate as well. 

They stayed there sitting in the water, with Leon not letting her go. He had kept her tucked against him as if he was afraid that she would get swept away by the river currents and disappear from his sight once he lets go. He had already tasted the anxiety of knowing how it felt like losing her during those few days after he got to know that she went missing. And he did not want a repeat of that. Therefore, he had absolutely no intention of letting go of her anytime soon.

Seeing that the place seemed safe for the time being, as the bridge above them manage to cover them sufficiently from the sights of anyone who happens to be flying above, Zanya relaxed. And she was secretly enjoying the feel of being held so securely and possessively in this large vampire's arms. She never thought that there would be a day that she would think so. However, after all the adversities she had faced, she somehow had a change in thinking.

"How did you find me?" she asked, voice soft and relaxed as she rested her head back on his sturdy chest. It was still unbelievable to her that this man was here with her now. 

All her life, she was not the type to be the one being saved and rescued. If anything, it was she who was doing the saving and rescuing. Also, she was used to saving herself and getting out of difficult situations with her relying on her own capabilities in the past wars until the war in the vampire's land. All this while, she had survived without relying on anyone else. She did not know if it was because she made herself believed that no one would come to save her but this time, someone actually came for her, even though it was supposed to be impossible for him to find her in this new and alien place. The feeling she had now was just inexplicable. But she knew for sure now that this man is already now someone more than just a knight in shining armour or a comrade or any other common label that he could just be simply tagged with. He already meant something more to this heart of hers that had been cold and solitary for many thousands of years roaming alone. 

"While we're searching around the lake, I picked up on a certain strange scent. It reeks of dark magic, so I thought it might belong to the dark faes. We followed the scent and it brought us to a tunnel. The dead end of the tunnel turned out to be a portal leading to the Under Lands." Leon explained, his hand gently caressing her now wet and glistening hair. 

"That must be the scent of the magic of the dark fae who had caught me." Zanya murmured. "While you passed out, I had planned to go and look for your clothes… but who knew, while searching in the area, I met three of them. They had caught me off guard and they used a dark magic to immobilize me before I could fight back. Thankfully, when they brought me back to the castle, they made the mistake of freeing me right before the gates of the castle opened. That was how I managed to escape and the dark faes had chased after me. I ended up in that strange forest and…" she trailed off and Leon pulled her head close to his chest and she felt his lips coming to rest against her head. 

"Thank you," his hoarse voice echoed, a little shaken, "Thank you for holding on until I arrived. I was… I so was terrified that I would be too late. I thought I was going to go mad when I found out you were missing. If I didn't find you… if I was too late… I'm sure it would have killed me. This is the first time I am feeling anything like this… it was so unbearably nerve wrecking to the point that I could die." 

Zanya had pulled away to look at him and she was shocked at the expression on his face. His tantalizing and one-of-a-kind purple eyes were so deep and dark due to the emotions that had filled them. She realized how dishevelled he looked now compared to the last time she had seen him. Even though it was not even that long. At least for her because time in the Under Lands seemed to move slower. She had heard the dark faes who abducted her talking about that. 

Her hand gently caressed his strong jaw, and he caught his breath. Her eyes studied his handsome face as she remained silent for a long while. 

"Don't you think that… it was the bond that made you feel this way?" No matter how her heart felt so touched and happy right now, she had to clench his shirt to stop herself from kissing him. Zanya did not dare jump to her own conclusion immediately. She must not forget that this man was under a spell. He was bound to her against his will. Unlike her, he desires her because of the bond formed between them. 

To her surprise, he shook his head. "No, I –"

He broke off and all of a sudden, he grabbed her shoulders and then they were underwater.