SPELLBOUND

"Calm down, Princess. Like I said, you don't have to worry too much because the poison really won't kill him. We have to put him inside the dungeon because the poison triggers something dangerous in him." Zolan explained. "You have seen it right? The colour of his eyes has changed. When his eyes turn that way, His Highness will lose himself. He would crave for blood. If he were in the midst of a battle, he would easily slaughter the enemies on his own no matter how many there are. Thankfully, he could somehow recognize allies from foes even if he could not recognize the individual person anymore. He'd be very useful during war when he's like that but if there is nothing for him to kill, it would be very hard on him."

Disbelief and shock coloured Evie's eyes. "What… do you mean it'd be very hard for him?" she asked.

Zolan looked like he was deciding whether or not to tell her more about this. He did not want her to get scared of her husband more than this. In the end, he chose not to speak more about it.

"When we were going through in our journey in the Crescent Land, His Highness used to just go on a rampage and kill as many beasts as possible until he was satisfied. After that, the side effect of the poison would slowly subside, and he would eventually return to his normal state. It was too late for us to bring him anywhere else in the forbidden land, so naturally our only choice was to put him in the dungeon. We are also trying to keep this a secret, so we truly did not have much of a choice. This isn't the first time we had to put him down there so I can assure you My Lady, that he'll be just fine once the poison runs its cycle and he comes out. Please be patient for another two more days and he'll be back, safe and sound to his normal self."

Evie shook her head. The thought that Gavriel had been inside that dark place all alone for the last three days and needing to spend another two more days down there caused her heart to squeeze in pain.

"Earlier when Samuel took me away, I saw him pressing his hands onto his head as if… as if he's in a lot of pain. Then I heard…" Evie swallowed, holding back her tears. "I heard him roared in pain."

Zolan and everyone looked utterly doomed. He leaned back and glanced at Samuel for a moment.

"I don't think he's alright. He's not fine at all. And you're telling me to wait here for two more days?"

"Princess… that was…" Zolan hesitated but in the end, he sighed out loud as he gave in and looked deeply in Evie's eyes. "That is what happens when His Highness tries to stop himself and fights against his killing instincts when he's in that state. This only happened once before because it was very rare for His Highness to be able to stop himself. But back then, he suffered with pain and then afterwards, his body weakened. It's not permanent but he'd become quite vulnerable for a few days. His Highness could withstand the pain of course, but the weakness is what he cannot afford especially during this time. That's why being confined in the dungeon is the best move."

"But he had already… stopped himself. He launched himself at me and I screamed out his name and he stopped." Evie said, her panic returning. She was fearful that her interference might have caused more damage to Gavriel.

The men all looked at each other quite speechless. Not expecting that all she did was scream out his name and he had actually stopped his actions. That was unbelievable. They knew that no one able to make him stop before, apart from the late empress. But even the late empress had had a hard time back then and yet, all this woman did was scream out his name?

"He's already in pain. Meaning he's weakened now." Evie stood. "He needs help. We can't let him stay there alone. I'll go… I'll go get him. I can't let him stay there all alone." She was desperate to get to Gavriel and help him whatever way she could. She cannot stand seeing him suffer alone and in such conditions any longer.

"Wait, My Lady. Please. We are still not certain if His Highness is weakened now. And even if he did, it's best for you not to go. He's still dangerous for you even if he's weakened. And he's quite starved right now so we cannot allow you to go back."

"Are you saying we'll just stay here while he suffers down there alone?!" Evie burst out in indignation when Samuel butted in.

"Don't worry, My Lady. There's a way to help him."

"What way? What is it?"

"All we need is to find a virgin human girl rig –" Reed was the one who replied. He stopped as the others glared at him, but it was too late.

"What do you mean? Why do you need to find a virgin… human… girl?" Evie's emotions flared. It was not too long ago that they had just resolved the issue with his ministers pushing the vampire noble ladies onto him. Now there is another plot involving a woman? Again? "Answer me. Please. Don't hide anything anymore." Her voice was suddenly cold, commanding, and powerful, fitting of a queen.

Wishing that he could strangle Reed to death at the moment, Zolan silently prayed for patience. Raking his hand through his hair, Zolan could only answer Evie's demands. "Back then, the empress sought for a way to quickly bring back His Highness strength because the empress feared that the enemy would attack and kill him when he was still in his vulnerable state. That time, His Highness was also set to appear in front of the public, so the empress did everything she could to ensure nothing would go wrong. The only thing that worked was a pure blood of a human girl."

Hearing that, Evie just gave a single small nod of her head. There was no change in her facial expressions and the men wondered how she would take this news.

"Alright. You don't need to go and find someone. I'll go." Evie said without any hesitation.