SPELLBOUND

Gently, Gavriel pulled on her as he sat on the chair and made her sit on his lap. He caressed her back in slow circular motions and Evie knew that he was doing it all to help her calm down and relax. And as always, his loving touches did their wonders. Though this Gav do not wield any magic, his touches, his warmth and the way he looked at her was nothing short of magical to her. 

"Listen closely, my love." He finally started when Evie's shoulders finally loosened up. "I didn't actually find an alternative way to force trigger the mating bond, but I did find another simple way to make you feel at ease…" he paused and Evie swallowed in anticipation as she waited for him to continue. "… I had found a way to prevent the bond from being triggered at all." 

Evie blinked, speechless at what he had just said. Stop the bond from being triggered?! 

"Apparently, dark faes can do that but just once and within a certain amount of time. They would cast a spell on themselves to prevent the mating bond from triggering and if they do that, no matter what happens, the bond will not be able to be triggered within that set period of time. The good thing is there is no minimum amount of time that is required. So it'll be up to you to decide when to dissolve the prevention spell. However, there's a maximum amount of time though, and it's two years. The spell will be dissolved after those two years have passed whether one likes it or not. And after that, the person can never cast the same spell on himself ever again." Gav explained as Evie just sat there, looking at him wordlessly.

"It's a temporary solution, yes." Gavriel continued, "but I believe this is our best option right now. Once I cast this spell on myself, whatever happens, the mating bond will never be triggered. I'm not expecting you to completely erase this matter from your mind after this. In fact, I know you will still think about it as this is not a permanent solution to the issue. But at least, you can now relax somewhat, right? Wife? I just want you to feel at ease for the time being about this. I also promise you that within this amount of time… as soon as possible… I'll surely find a way to prove to you that you're my mate and no one else is able to take that place." He smiled at her confidently, there was not even a tinge of doubt about what he had said in his moon-like pair of eyes. 

He brushed her silky silvery hair and tucked them behind her ear. "I won't make you wait long, my love. As soon as this massive trouble is dealt with, I'll make sure you and I will undergo that mating ritual too. So I want you to put all your trust in me about this, Evie. You can do that, right, love?"

Evie did not say a word for quite some time but eventually, she let out a relieved sigh. Indeed, this temporary solution made her feel better at least for now. At least she would not need to fear the appearance of Gav's true mate every single minute once that spell is being cast. She could then focus herself on the matters of the war for now without that fear haunting her and hanging over her head. It was true this solution would not fully erase all her worries, but it did give her some measure of peace and relaxation. Two years… that was quite a long time for her. Two years would give them a lot of spare time to think and maybe like what Gavriel said, they would eventually find a way to solve this matter permanently. 

And his promise… she knew, her heart already trusted him, almost blindly and faithfully. She was glad that her heart was like this towards him. However, her mind was still somewhat hard to fully convince.

Thankfully, this temporary solution and these two years respite really made her feel much better. She felt that she could finally breathe again. The thought that two years were pretty long, and many things could happen within that amount of time gave her more confidence and faith in his promise. Knowing that Gav would do anything and everything for her gave her more reasons to accept this compromise. 

Staring back at him, Evie finally nodded. "I will. I'll trust you on this matter, Gav." She told him and his smile widened. 

"I'm glad." He breathed in relief. "You're not going to stress yourself over this again, right? My queen?"

She nodded. "But wait, how are you going to cast that spell on yourself? And what about the cost of this spell? Would it not come with some form of repercussions as all forbidden spells do?" her brows creased again. 

"There is nothing for you to be worried about, wife, as this is not a forbidden spell. Gavrael will be the one to cast the spell once we switch. And there's a small cost involved, but it's nothing ridiculous. It only needs the payment of a certain amount of power for it to be performed. That would be a piece of cake for Gavrael. You know that as well, right wife?"

"Are you sure there is no other negative consequences?"

"As I have mentioned earlier, this spell is not forbidden, wife. So you can be rest assured." 

Evie sighed, hearing the confirmation from Gavriel that it was not a forbidden spell was enough to ease her worries again. 

"How did you find out about this spell in the first place?" she then asked, her expression now much better. 

"The forbidden library," he grinned widely, and Evie blinked at him. She opened her mouth then closed it before she looked around. 

"You managed to enter into the forbidden library?!" 

"I asked Gavrael to use his magic to find the right book."

"You're allowed to go there?"