SPELLBOUND

In the Great City…

King Belial who had just rushed out of the palace, eager to welcome his wife's return had stopped in his tracks when he was greeted with an unexpected view. He was rendered speechless at the sight of the huge army of dark fae outlaws that had arrived along with her. But after blinking a few times, a playful smile then flashed across his face as he moved closer to them, unable to wait to grab a hold of his wife again. He had really missed her the entire time she had gone off to visit their eldest son.

The king was speechless, but he was not that shocked. This queen of his would never fail to find some way to drive him speechless every time. 

As soon as he reached her, the king and queen run into each other's arms and kissed and hugged each other in front of so many dark faes. Their fervour and passion might not even lose out to most newlyweds. And the most amazing thing was that none of the dark faes seemed to be bothered at all by all that public display of affections from their very own king and queen. It was obvious that everyone was already used to and were numbed at the sight of their king and queen's antics. 

"Your parents really are the sweetest," Evie whispered to Gav, covering her mouth and giggling behind it softly. 

"Our parents…" Gav corrected as he possessively wrapped his arm around Evie's waist and pulled her closer to him. "And… were the sweetest too. I am just holding back right now because I don't want to take the spotlight away from them. This is their kingdom, after all." 

Evie chuckled, playfully slapping Gav's chest. 

"You're finally here as well, my dearest daughter-in-law, Queen Evielyn." King Belial, who was finished with his lovey-dovey actions with the queen, was now smiling wide at Evie as he acknowledged her presence. 

"My pleasure meeting you again, King Belial." Evie replied and the king gave her a welcoming hug. 

After that, the king had addressed the outlaws the queen had brought back with her before sending them all to the warrior's camp just outside the city's walls. He had instructed them to report to the generals who were at the camp and told them to get settled and familiarise themselves with the rest of the army.

"It's amazing how these dark faes are so willing to follow their rulers." Samuel had commented as they entered the city, following the royal family ahead of them. "The king and queen didn't even need to use physical or emotional force to make them obey their instructions."

"They understand what is at stake at the moment and that is why they are more willing to follow along. All these dark faes here wields dark magic, so they can certainly feel the uneasy and heavy pressure that is lingering in the air. I believe all of them have a very strong sense of danger. I noticed they all seemed pretty surprised as soon as we crossed the Monster's forest," Zolan explained, "I can only think that they had already felt that a huge change is occurring and it's a change that is not for the better but the exact opposite. They must have truly felt deep within themselves how their land is now truly in danger. So no one even bothered to question anything when the queen had spoken to them and just followed along as all of them realized the gravity of the situation." 

"Indeed." Samuel nodded. "Even us vampires could feel it. This pulsating and dangerous darkness, so how much more for them since they were all born in this land? I am sure they have some sort of connection to the land. Still, I want to know what our king's personal stand in this is. Seems to me that we're all going to join in on the war with the dark faes this time."

"There's no question of that. Knowing our King and Queen Evie as well, they'll definitely help out as much as possible in this war. But you are right, we need to first hear of His Majesty's decision and plans as soon as possible before we can work around what the dark faes are planning and complement their moves. Since we literally know little to almost nothing about what is even going on, much less about this dangerous war that is coming." 

"I hope His Majesty will have the time to meet us tonight. Despite the fact that time passes slower in this realm, His Majesty is still pretty occupied."

"Well, I think there is no real need to be in such a hurry… at least for now. The atmosphere is pretty tense but the fact that the dark fae king and everyone else is still not in a panic means everything is still good and at least under control. Our king is also refraining from speaking too much about the matters of the Under Lands, so there is really no need for us to meet him tonight. However, as always, we only need to trust him and wait for his orders. Our king's up to something. That's the only thing I'm sure of right now." Zolan muttered softly, causing Samuel to stare at him. But the big man didn't ask anymore and just nodded. 

…

A few hours later, the family had their very first dinner together again, with Evie, the new member of the family this time. 

They did not speak about the very serious matter in the dining hall and just chatted about the more pleasant matters to catch up on. It was one blissful night for the four of them. 

Though Evie and Beatrice pretty much did most of the talking while the two kings just sat and listened and smiled silently, there was nothing but happiness shining forth from their eyes. 

It also did not escape Evie's notice the way Gavriel looked at his parents. She saw a hint of gladness and longing in his eyes and Evie's heart just swelled with happiness for him, knowing that Gav's more than happy to finally reunite and meet with his parents once again.. The parents who had continued thinking of him and loving him even when he had decided to leave them for her.