SPELLBOUND

Evie had slept peacefully the entire night while the vampires took turns to go out and hunt for food. To their relief, there were many non-magical animals roaming around the forest near the dragon's gate. Thus, there was no problem for them in hunting down game to stock up on their food supply.

In the past, the vampires had to bring blood along with them during their journey to the forbidden land because they had found out that there were almost no normal animals around. They had seen orcs and other beasts eating the normal animals, so they knew they had to compete with the beasts to get food.

But by the gate, the animals were quite aplenty. It seems that the dragons were not touching them and that was why they took refuge within this area.

The entire night, the men had been worrying. Their princess' wounds were considered quite minor, but they were worried that she might be exerting herself too much and overusing her newfound powers lately. They also cannot help but think that it might be the reason why the princess had passed out and was unable to heal herself even when using her own magic.

Thankfully, the princess woke up at the normal time like she usually does. She did not oversleep like how the men were anticipating. And she looked quite fine too! Giving her a once over, they noticed she was fresh faced, and her eyes were clear.

Elias immediately helped her up and then brought her over to where the food had been prepared. Once she was seated and Elias handed her a plate of food, the men started too and ate together with her. Well, the princess' food was not a fish this time, but red meat that they had hunted. With Elias as the cook, the food was sure to be delicious, so they all sat down for breakfast. They now have a quiet but incredibly dangerous and large guard with them now, so the men were relaxed while having their meal for the first time in a long while.

"Please eat more, Princess…" Elias said as he went on to give all the most delicious and juiciest parts of the meat to Evie.

Evie gladly accepted the offers knowing that they were already worrying about her well-being. She did not want to make them worry so she must eat a little more than usual to ease their worries. "Thank you," she said then they continued with their merry breakfast.

As she was finishing her food, Evie glanced at the quiet dragon who was sitting silently but attentively behind them. It had not moved from that exact same spot since last night. In fact, it had been protecting the princess with its wing extended over her prone sleeping form, serving as her tent the entire night.

It was a relief for Elias because the orcs had torn the princess' tent to pieces during the fight and he was worrying last night where to get something to replace the destroyed tent. The men had discussed with him, and they had planned and were about to go and built a makeshift tent, but the dragon had beaten them to it. It simply spread out its wing and thus, giving the princess a good enough covering to replace the function of the ripped-up tent.

The dragon's action made everyone wonder if all dragons were like this with their masters. Because it was just so damned amazing. How this dragon behaved was as though it truly understood what the princess needed! Whatever it was, their problem was easily resolved with that one movement from the dragon.

"Princess," Zolan pulled Evie's attention once all of them had polished off their food and Elias was now tidying up. "I think we should stay here for another night before continuing on our journey…"

Evie blinked at him. "Why?" she asked, not understanding why they needed to delay for another day now that they were finally so close to their destination. "Is there someone who is still injured and needs more rest?"

The men glanced at each other for a moment. They did not know whether to cry or laugh. How could the princess not realise it?

"You're still injured, princess." Zolan replied to her question and Evie fell silent. She stared at her arms that were covered in bandages.

"No… we're not going to delay anymore." She spoke after a few moments of silence. Before anyone could say anything, Evie lifted her face and looked at Zolan with serious gaze.

"But… princess –" Zolan started to speak.

"I am alright," she cut him off and then she stood before them. "I don't feel any pain or tiredness anymore. And these cuts are really very minor. Leon's medicine will help them all heal by tomorrow so there is really no need for us to stay here and waste time."

Her words rendered the men speechless. They just could not argue with her even though a part of them still thought that it was better for her to take more rest while they were still in a safe place. They did not know what would be waiting for them once they set out of this area. However, they were quite certain that the final phase of their journey will be even more challenging, even more dangerous, and they absolutely had no idea what was beyond the dragon's gate.

Sensing that the men were still sceptical, Evie looked at her dragon again. She understood why these men wanted her to rest more. If Gavriel was here, she already knew he would be insisting on it, and she was almost a hundred percent sure that he would do anything to persuade her to stay. And she who does not have any tolerance against him, would soften her heart and surely give in.

But the thing is, he was not here. That man who was the only one able to deal with her stubbornness and turn her mind into mush with just his smile and touch, was currently absent and still missing in action. And this same man was one of the biggest reason why she didn't want to delay any longer!

Last night, she had dreamt about him again. It was that same dream that had been haunting her now every night. And as time went by, her desire to see him again grew larger inside her and it was driving her more than anything else. Not only because she missed him so much, but because there was something strange in her dream she could not quite point out. 

In her dreams, she was seeing him, alive and well, but for some unknown reason, her heart just felt that there was something wrong.

Everytime she woke up from that dream, her heart was thudding hard with unease even though it wasnt supposed to be a nightmare. She was relieved because she had seen him again even if its just in her dream but the inexplicable unease she felt every time she woke up was making her worry.

Evie had realized that the only way for her to feel at ease again would be the moment she can touch him again in the flesh and not just in her dreams. That's why no matter what, she's not going to delay any longer.

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A/N: Just want to express my gratitude to my loyal readers who offered their precious golden tickets to this book. I really appreciate it guys. T^T 

I didn't expect some of you even actually showered this book expensive gifts to help Spellbound climb up in the rank. It really made me happy because i thought most of you will give your tickets to other books because i did not asked for it. 

So again, thank you much guys! <3