SPELLBOUND

"Where the hell is my wife?!" Gavriel's voice made everyone, even Levy, fall completely into a heavy silence. 

Since the moment they had been informed by the light faes that the queen was missing, Gavriel had gone utterly silent. But only his men knew what it meant when Gavriel fall into such kind of almost torturous silence. The quieter her gets, the greater the anger that is churning within him. And if he did lose his temper, there was sure to be some casualties involved.

And now he looked like he was more than ready to jump even into the deepest corner of hell to rescue his beloved wife. His red eyes were burning intensely in the dark as that bone-chilling voice echoed around in the cavern. 

Leon quickly stepped before him and bowed his head, saluting his lord with much respect and fear. "Your H- Majesty, Queen Evie is safe." He immediately reported, knowing that both calm and patience had long disappeared in the king's eyes. "She's in the Under Lands right now and the reason you are seeing us so quickly now is because she had quickly sent us back here to inform you about her whereabouts. She knew you would get worried."

A deep frown flashed across Gavriel's stone cold face. "Under Lands…" he echoed. 

"Yes, Your Majesty. This vortex behind me is the portal leading to the Under –" Leon's statement was cut off by Zanya's sudden soft gasp. 

All gazes flew towards her and when Leon followed her line of sight he stiffened. The vortex was no longer there. It had somehow suddenly disappeared and now turned into just a wall of stone. How did that happen?! 

In haste, Leon jumped towards the wall and touched and prodded at it, hoping that the portal would somehow appear again, or his hand could manage to get through. But all he got was the touch of a cold hard stone wall. Damn! What was going on? Could it be that this portal closed the moment he and Zanya crossed it? But that should not be the case, right? There had been many others crossing this portal both ways, in and out, but yet it remained open. So why now? What could it be that had triggered the closing of the entrance to the Under Lands?

"What is going on?" Gavriel's chilling voice echoed again and Leon clenched his fists before turning back to stand before his king again. 

"Forgive me My King, but I'm not certain what had caused the portal to suddenly close. All I am certain right now is that the queen is safe there. She had told me to pass this to you." Leon brought out a piece of letter containing Evie's note for Gavriel. After unfolding it and looking down at the letter, Gavriel recognised Evie's beautiful and flowing handwriting.

[My dearest King Gav,

I know you are worried to death by now and forgive me for making you worry. But I assure you I am safe and well. Our little precious one is also healthy and doing fine. I have discovered this portal while searching for Onyx and that was why I did not have the time to inform you and my people of my departure. Now I am here in the Under Lands, your birth land. I know you do not remember anything about this place. But be rest assured that I am in no danger here. I wrote this letter to let you know and to tell you that when you come over to fetch me, if someone named Gideon gets in your way and provokes you to a fight-to-death challenge, please do not let him have his way. If he blackmails you using me or our child, do not believe him no matter how powerful he appears to be. Trust me when I tell you that our child and I are perfectly safe and in good health. And we will continue to be until we meet again.

I know I am leaving you with more questions than answers right now, but do not worry my love. You will get all the answers you are looking for once you get here. I will be patiently waiting for you here, Gav. I love you. 

Your Queen, 

Evie]

Gavriel just stood there, as still as statue as he stared down at the piece of paper in his hands for a long time. He could still pick up his wife's scent on it, though it was faint, and she had even put her magic on it. The paper had glowed with warm amber lights the moment he opened it and he recognised it on sight and knew very well that this particular magic was something that could not be duplicated by anyone. This was only signature to the queen of the light faes – his wife, Evie. 

Everyone's eyes were on him. Leon tried to decipher his facial expressions, but Gavriel hid his emotions well. Aside from being immobile for quite a while, his countenance did not give away any hint on whether he believed all the things the queen had written in the letter. 

However, his blazing aura seemed to have calmed down a little. The deadly storm that had been brewing in his gaze subsided but what replaced it was a scary calmness. It was comparable to the calm one could find when they are within the eye of a destructive storm. 

He folded the piece of paper slowly and deliberately, watching silently as the amber glow died upon closing the letter. He then proceeded to tuck the letter into the safety of the inner pocket of his shirt, clearly treasuring that small piece of paper and wanting to keep it protected and as close to himself as possible. 

Leon was waiting for more questions from his lord, and he was already prepared to report to him everything that the queen had instructed and allowed him to tell to Gavriel. But to his surprise, Gavriel did not ask any further. 

Instead, he turned to Levy and asked the man to deliver a message to Zolan and the others. Once the messengers were sent off, Gavriel gave out another order.. He had ordered Zanya and the light faes to set up camp and stay within this cavern for the time being, in case the portal opens again.