SPELLBOUND

Those massive arrows levelled at them just confirmed the fact that orders had already gone out demanding for their lives. It was a take-no-hostage situation at this point, and Evie realised how dismal their prospects for escape were. At that moment, Evie's already pale complexion became even paler, as if all the blood from her was drained all at once.

Was this the end for the both of them? She felt as though her heart was now in her throat as dread gripped her entire being. The sight of the top walls now swarming with enemy vampires all at attention and more than ready to finish them off at the mere shout of an order from their commanders just made Evie subconsciously tighten her grip on Leon. It seemed there was no way they would be able to escape out of this alive now!

She heard another harsh curse coming from Leon, and she swallowed hard as she nervously glanced around them, surreptitiously checking if there could still be a small opening for escape that they might have missed out earlier due to their panic.

"Damn it all to hell! Are these soldiers so terrified of me or something, that they even end up deciding to use an arrow intended to take down a dragon instead of fighting me straight up?" Leon grumbled as he gritted his teeth. 

Somehow, having him not cowering despite their obviously hopeless situation made Evie cheer up somewhat and she managed to squeeze out a little smile. There was no doubt that she was terrified to death, but she was also aware that there was nothing her could fear do to help them out at this moment. Thus, she kept taking in deep steadying breaths to keep the gripping terror at bay and stay as focussed and composed as she could. This she could do as the least of her efforts as she already knew there was nothing else that she could contribute to help Leon in fighting the armies.

"I'm so sorry, Princess," Leon said after a long sigh as he slowly put her down on her feet. As he faced her, Evie knew he purposely did that as he was using his body literally as a shield for her just in the event that the enemy archers decided to fire at them out of the blue.

Evie bit down on her lips so hard it nearly broke her skin and bled at the sound of his apology. "No. Don't you apologize to me, Leon." She said now feeling utterly anxious again. She knew that Gavriel had given him orders to keep her safe in his absence. However, she did not think it was necessary to the extent of giving up his own life. Though he was in service to his lord and master, Evie did not feel comfortable with the concept of having them guard and protect without care for their own well-being. They were individuals with feelings and fears too!

The half-blood smiled at her and for a moment, his blood red eyes that were burning intensely, quietened down, and reverted to their original calm purple. But all too soon, they returned to being flaming red again, as though a pair of purple diamonds were being swallowed by thick dark blood.

"They'll definitely shoot at us immediately the moment I make a single move," he stated before he lowered his head, looking ashamed and defeated. Evie was confused at his defeated look as Leon was definitely one of the strongest vampires she knew if only for the fact that Gavriel had assigned him to guard her. So, what was with the defeated look? After a few moments, Leon explained. "I don't know how to get you out of here anymore, Princess. Please forgive me."

Evie then realised that defeated look on Leon was not for himself, but for her sake! But before Evie could even respond to that, Leon turned around and faced the wall again all the while making sure that Evie was well shielded right behind him.

Seeing the couple of large arrows planted in his broad back, Evie's eyes could only glimmer with unshed tears as she choked back the sobs that were threatening to break free from her throat. But she clamped back hard on it and swallowed it as to not bring more distractions to Leon whose senses were already strained to the maximum in trying to protect the both of them. The least she could do was not break down and cause a disruption in his focus and allow the enemy to make use of it to take the advantage of sneaking in an attack on them. And judging from his stance, it was obvious that he was now prepared to just stand there and use his body to shield her. Because that was the only choice they have right now. They could no longer flee. They could not even run back to the castle to seek refuge.

The sudden sound of a sword falling on the ground echoed loudly in Evie's ears. Leon had dropped his sword and spread out his arms wide in surrender. Evie's eyes widened as her heartbeat sped up, afraid of what that action meant. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and sensed that things are really spiralling out of control real quick.

"You can shoot at me but spare the Princess. I had kidnapped her against her will." Leon shouted out when a bulky man jumped from the wall and landed before him.

He had a wicked smirk on his face as he stared at Leon's sword on the ground. "And why the hell are you trying to kidnap the princess?" the man asked with a raised brow. "Oh wait. It seems that the answer is already obvious. You have already sworn loyalty to that traitor of a prince, have you not?"

The man shook his head when Leon just stared back at him and did not bother to respond. "It seems it was true that half-bloods are helluva strong, but they are also glorified idiots at best. How could you swear loyalty to a prince who don't even have any allies?" The man guffawed as he continued on rambling. "Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore because you're going to die now. And sorry to let you down, but we didn't receive any orders to spare the princess' life. She had done something unforgivable to His Majesty, the emperor, after all."

Leon's eyes widened. It was already a surprise that these soldiers were already perfectly prepared like this as if they had anticipated that they were coming. They even already knew about what the Princess had done to the emperor? But just how did they receive the news? Their pursuers had just caught up to them. So how was it that they seem to already know everything that had occurred?

In his long days of service to the emperor, he knew that there was no other special way for the vampires to send information other than sending the fastest messenger. He was quite certain no one was able to outrun him during the chase a while ago. So why? How come they already knew of the details and how come these soldiers were already on alert like this?

Gritting his teeth, Leon decided that the only explanation was because there was something shady going on behind the scenes.

When Leon saw that the man had stepped back as if to get away from where they were, he narrowed his eyes in suspicion and wondered what was behind that move. After scanning the surroundings quickly, he realised that the man backed away so that the army could finally shoot. He then clenched his fists tight. "Wait! You can't possibly shoot at the princess along with me like this. Have you forgotten that she is the daughter of the dragon guardian?" Leon was grasping at anything and everything that he could think of right now to just stall for whatever little time he could buy. Every extra one second would be a second extra for the princess to live.

"We don't have to care about that. The emperor already sent an order to kill her along with you."

Anger immediately burst forth from Leon's body at what he had heard. "You think that the dragon guardian will forgive any of you when he finds out that you lot harmed her?" Leon threatened and snarled.

"Of course, we will make it look like you were the one who killed her." the man said as he laughed and then he lifted his hand to signal the vampires to get ready to shoot.

Leon immediately turned around to grab Evie and pulled her down to the ground. "Crouch down!" he yelled out as he picked his sword again and towered above her. "I'll protect you until the end." He smiled at her before he pulled her hood to cover her eyes. No! This cannot be happening!

As Evie scrambled in utter fear as she pulled her hood back to look at him, a familiar voice suddenly echoed forcefully, breaking the tension at the battlefield.

"STOP!" the voice roared powerfully, "Or else… this damned emperor of yours is dead!"