SPELLBOUND

A few days after the end of the war, Evie had told King Belial of her desire to go back to their homeland.

The King and Queen could do nothing but to give in to what their daughter-in-law desired. Even though they truly wanted her to stay with them, maybe at least until she gave birth, they knew that they could not possibly stop her from leaving. Deep in their hearts, they also understood why she wanted to return to her homeland.

And thus, the day soon arrived when the Light Queen and her people were set to depart.

Evie and the group of her vampire elites had traveled back to the graveyard first and foremost to visit Levy and Vermillion's grave. There was no way they could leave without bidding their farewells to those beloved ones who had fallen in battle. Their loss had carved a great hollow in everyone's heart.

Dropping to her knee, Evie placed both her hands palms down onto the ground. White flowers began to grow and immediately bloomed. The tiny flowers spread out all the way to the dragon's grave and also to Laiza's final resting place, which was thoughtfully placed right next to Levy's.

As the vampires watched the tiny flowers creep and spread all over the barren ground of the empty grave, changing the dark and desolate place to become one that resembled a glen that could be found in fairyland. Luc began to tear up silently as he stared at Levy's tombstone. At least now, the place looks much more lively and cheery - just like how Levy's personality was. He would always be cheerful and just a little silly, enough to bring smiles and laughter to the people around him. With Queen Evie casting her magic over their graves and granting them such a beautiful resting place, he was sure Levy and Laiza's spirits would find much joy in it.

Samuel and Zolan quietly patted Luc's shoulders even though they too were barely holding their emotions back. It was painful to suddenly lose a comrade that had been together with them for so long. They had literally lost a brother.

Losing Levy had been a devastating blow to all of them, especially for Luc. They felt as though from here on out, there would always be something missing, a hole in their chest that would always linger forever, never able to be filled up again.

The only thing that was making them feel better was the thought that Levy was not alone wherever he was now. Because Laiza was with him.

"That dumbass better be crying too while watching over us right now. He should see and know how we are faring without him right now." Luc said in a stuffy voice as he smiled and cried at the same time.

"I'm sure he's pleading with us not to cry right now." Samuel replied with a tight smile as he squeezed Luc's shoulder gently. He knew that among all of them, Luc would be the one most affected with Levy's passing.

"That's... for sure." Reed nodded as he wiped his tears. "Knowing him, he'd be begging us all to smile instead."

Evie smiled sadly as she listened to the men talking behind her. Each was trying to encourage the other as they stood to pay their final respects to their brother. Levy had been the sunshine in their circle. He was the loudest and funniest. It was hard to accept that he was no longer with them. But they could do nothing but move on.

Shutting her eyes closed, she uttered her prayer in her heart. 'You will always be in our heart, Levy. We will always remember you.'

Taking a long and shaky breath, Evie then stepped back and let the men kneel on Levy's grave one by one. Luc was the last one to get down on his knees. He bent over and wept once again as everyone watched him from behind.

But when he finally rose and turned back to look at them, his expression somehow turned a lot better. Everyone secretly sighed in relief as Evie offered her hand to him, smiling at the man with understanding and kindness.

"Let's go, Luc." Evie told him and Luc reached and accepted his queen's hand. He would allow himself to be pampered and consoled for just this once. Just for this little while, as he is still in the process of letting go. Then, he would be strong again. Nodding his head, he squeezed Queen Evie's hand in gratitude.

...

They all headed to Ferber next.

Though Evie had been going to Ferber the last few days along with the king and queen, she never took the vampires along with her.

So, this would be the very first time the men will be seeing their King's situation.

The moment they saw the massive and softly shimmering amber crystal that looked like an upside-down blade of a sword, they all froze. All of them looked up at the silhouette of their king that was kept frozen within the blade-like crystal.

The men already knew that their king was trapped. They knew he was not actually dead, but seeing him now trapped in that crystal like an angel of darkness and kept suspended in a deep, peaceful slumber, they all did not know how to explain what they were feeling. All of them had complicated and indefinable emotions surging through their hearts.

They were going to leave him behind in this situation. The mere thought of it made their throat hurt, but when they looked back at their queen, they steeled themselves. If they were already feeling like this, they could not even imagine how hard all of this was for her.

She spread her wings out and flew closer to him. They watched silently as her wings flapped steadily before she leaned her body against the crystal, right across his body.

The sight was enough to make everyone lower their heads. It was heartbreaking even though they knew this goodbye was not going to be forever.

"My love... please wait for me. I wish I could stay here so I can watch over you, but I need to go back to the surface." Evie whispered softly. "Time is slow here so I decided to return... I will come back to you, Gav. I promise. I love you... I love you..."