SPELLBOUND

Leon looked at Evie.

For some reason, the look in Leon's eyes made Evie smile to herself. It was obvious to her that Leon wanted her to just let Zanya join them without the need to show off her skills. And Evie knew it was not due to Leon being afraid. It was just that he was extremely reluctant, and Evie found him quite adorable at the moment. Even though his expression did not show anything at all, Evie could tell from the extra stiff set of his shoulders and how he was standing so still where he was.

"I believe this is for the best, too." Zolan suddenly spoke up. "It's best for us to know what she is capable of. That would be good for us to know when and how to aid and protect her once we're outside of the Middle Land. So go ahead Leon." All the other men agreed. After all, they all knew just how dangerous the next part of this journey they were going to embark on.

They still have the princess to protect so having a powerless fae tagging along with them would be another extra person they need to look out for. She would be as good as a human after all without her magic. It was not that they were selfish in not wanting to protect another person, or that they were thinking that she was an additional burden. It was just that they were very clear on their responsibilities where the safety and well-being of the princess was always to be their main and utmost priority. That was what their prince had entrusted to them, and they knew how much Prince Gavriel loves the princess. Therefore, if another person were to tag along and end up being the one factor to cause them to slack on their protection of the princess because they need to split their attention, then it would be better off that the fae did not follow them at all.

When Leon looked over at Evie again, she just nodded and smiled at him. Thus, the man understood the princess' stand on it and reluctantly stood up. He then gave a little bow to Zanya before swinging his arms towards the main doors in a gesture for her to precede him in walking out to commence their sparring.

They then headed out of the castle where Leon and Zanya stood, facing each other in the middle of a spacious and dark courtyard while Evie and the other vampires stood at the front of the castle's door. All of them were somewhat excited to see what Zanya was capable of doing when facing an opponent such as Leon without the use of any magic whatsoever. The question that was on all their minds were could she even run from Leon, much less respond with an attack.

Zanya started to block off her magic until it was completely sealed from her own usage. White lights began to gather around her body as she stretched her arms out before her as she slowly closed her eyes.

Her lips were moving rapidly, and it seemed as though she were chanting a whole slew of spells just under her breath. Then the lights gathered right in front of her before submerging into her chest. She moved her palms to her chest as well and the moment they were on her chest, the light disappeared completely, as if she had locked them all within her.

And just like what she had said, Zanya's hair turned ashen. Her pointed ears rounded and turned into human ears as well. And she was no longer shining like a translucent creature. She had truly become just like the princess. Only that her hair was a few shades darker than the princess'. Her eyes had dimmed as well and became a very dark green.

"That's cool. There's almost no sign that she is a fae anymore!" Luc commented, through telepathy.

"But she's still very beautiful, I must say. A very beautiful human." Followed Levy's comment.

"I guess no one would even think that she was anything other than a plain human female." Zolan said, "I cannot feel that peculiar aura resonating from her anymore. It's amazing she could really hide all her magic. There is not even the slightest hint of her being one of the fae people."

"Now the question is if her combat skills will be enough." The big man Samuel added in his thoughts as well. The man definitely understood that they cannot bring along anyone that could become a weak point for their group. As much as possible, their attention should be fully focused on the princess' safety alone. What they will witness right now will make Samuel decide whether it was better for them to take her with them or not. "Since she's basically a human, she must at least be at par with Leon to be able to stand a chance when she's going to face a vampire."

"Whew! That's too much, don't you think, leader?" Levy winced. Leon's skill even beat Reed's so how could he expect the lady to be at least of the same level with a half-blood's skills?

"It's not too much," Samuel insisted with a serious face, "we don't know what's waiting for us outside of the Middle Land. We can only prepare ourselves for the worse. And one of the worst possibilities is that we might not be able to always be there to rescue her during every battle that we encounter. More importantly is especially if the princess' life is in danger. That time, we can only focus on the princess and might even have to abandon her instead of using our efforts to rescue her."

"Samuel is right." Zolan agreed, his eyes fixed on Zanya now. "She is an important ally to us but outside of the Middle Land, if she's not capable enough, she could even be a burden to us. We must not forget that we can't be distracted from our most important job and that's to protect the princess. We can't afford to split our attention once we are out of the Middle Land. Especially when we are dealing with the danger of the Dark Fae. We know that it is no trifling matter. The princess' life is at stake here."