SPELLBOUND

Back in Evie's chambers.

Lucius was shocked at everything that Evie had written to him in her letter. And now that he was reading the last remaining part, his expression became darker and darker.

'Father, I suspect that this must be a trap for Lorcan to get rid of you! They only want to use you to kill my husband and once they get what they want, they would definitely do something to you! Believe me father, they had tried to kill me because they planned for a war to spark between you and my husband. However, my husband saw through their plans and that's why Gavriel and I escaped from the capital. He was the one to decide to bring me to a safe place. He was labelled a traitor because he saved me! He is not the enemy. If he is a monster, would I still look this fine by now? You won't be able to find a single scratch on me, father. He never treated me badly because he loves me dearly. You can tell, right father?'

Clenching his fists, Lucius crumpled the letter. Of course, he could tell. If it were true that his daughter was a prisoner of that man and was tortured by him as how it was made up to be, his daughter would not have been looking this fine. In fact, Evie looked better now compared to the last time he saw her when he was sending her away to Rennox castle. She definitely does not look to be maltreated at all. If she were not crying and trembling, Lucius would have doubted that she was kidnapped and imprisoned in Dacria for nearly a month based on her appearance.

However, if his daughter was right about everything, what was he going to do now? What about all the elaborate plans and discussions that had been carried out and decisions that were made? If this was all an elaborate trap orchestrated by emperor Lorcan, what was the best step for him to take now? How should he proceed with caution but also with tact? He was sure that any wrong moves would just cause more problems to be visited onto their heads – both on him and on Evie.

…

The next morning, Caius and her father led their armies out of Dacria. Evie felt a little calmer upon finding and reading the note her father left in her dressing room. He had told her he would first go and meet Gavriel and that he would be extra careful with Caius and his men.

Evie was confident that her father would believe her. Even when Evie was young, her father would always be on her side even during those times when she had done something naughty and bad. He would always choose to believe her. Evie somehow had seen this decision of his coming. As for Lucien, he believed his daughter, but he was still unsure about Gavriel. Evie could already tell what her father was hoping for to happen. When he meets up with Gavriel, he would definitely confront him. However, Evie was not so worried on this matter because she knew that when her father finally meets Gavriel, he would know that her husband was not a monster. All she needed was to have her father talk to Gavriel. Once her father has a chance to have a straightforward and truthful discussion with Gavriel and see for himself what kind of a person was he, things would be able to proceed as they have planned. Evie was that confident in Gavriel and his ability to convince her father into turning his views around.

And she also knew that Gavriel would definitely be able to convince her father in no time at all. She just knew it. One reason was because of the fact that her husband was the most charming creature she knew. And she was quite sure it not only applies to the female population, but also to the males. Just that he would need to put in the conscious effort of doing it in the first place. So far, she has yet to see her husband fail whenever he was being his suave self and had set his mind to convincing someone or a group of people on something that he wanted to get across. Thus, in this case, she was sure he would be putting more than a hundred precent to succeed as this not only as it concerns both their future and happiness but also the lives of the many Dacrians.

As Evie watched the exiting army from her chamber's window, she prayed for both of her husband's and father's safety. And for the plans that they have made to turn out well.

...

Nothing unusual happened in Dacria since the day her father left. It was quiet in the last two days that passed since her father had left.

However, for a reason she did not know about, Evie was suddenly summoned by emperor Lorcan. And the thing that gave her pause was she did not get called to the throne hall but suspiciously into his chambers. Why would he suddenly summon her? And why to his personal chambers? Evie shivered as she did not even dare think of what might come her way. However, she could not avoid this summon.

Evie kept glancing at Leon as they walked along the corridors in silence. She had not spoken to Leon since he was assigned to be her personal guard. Because she was aware that they were still being monitored secretly. Thankfully, it seemed as though she was not the one being watched this time but Leon. The presence that she felt lurking in her bedchamber when her father was still in the castle had also disappeared the moment her father left.

By the time they finally reached the huge door of the emperor's bedchamber, Evie swallowed hard. She glanced at Leon again and when Evie saw a hint of worry in his eyes, her heart began to thump wildly. She thought it was only her who was having bad feelings about this. She thought she was just being too nervous or even overly paranoid. But seeing Leon's expression now made her realize that her intuition might not be all that wrong.

"Come in Lady Evielyn, the door is opened." A voice echoed from the inside of the room and Evie felt goosebumps crawl all over her skin.