Ch. 611..620

​Chapter 611: Enemy?

"She's screaming in pain!" he hissed at his sister-in-law, the whites of his eyes a little bloodshot.

"I know! But do not worry, her life is not in danger."

"And how are you so sure about that?" Gideon almost snarled at Evie. He was just that anxious about his mate's safety.

"Just trust me, Prince Gideon. I have yet to be wrong." Evie's voice was sharp and absolute. "And Vera isn't screaming for help right now." Evie was quick to point this fact out, helping Gideon to observe and nod in agreement.

The ground beneath their feet shook and when Gideon returned his gaze to Vera's hand, he suddenly saw blood. Her blood. And it appeared as though the ice had drawn it from her palm.

Panic seized him. The blood travelled like red lightning inside the ice and spread wide, following the little cracks that ran through the whole block. It looked as though there was a network of red roots running through that ice wall.

Gideon grabbed onto Vera, wanting so bad to take her hand away from the ice. If all those red things were her blood... she would be sucked dry in no time!

Fear gripped his heart and he held onto Vera's wrist and pulled a little, but it did not budge the slightest.

"No! I'm fine Gid... don't..." Vera yelled in between her screams of pain. But Gideon did not have a plan to listen anymore. There was no way he would just sit back and watch her... watch her die again!!!

Just as his dark magic began to pulsate from his palms, the sounds of cracking ice echoed along with Vera's scream.

And faster than a blink, the ice wall exploded into millions of tiny shards, showering them all with a flurry of ice crystals.

Gideon pulled at Vera again. In the next instant, they were already several yards away. A protective barrier currently surrounding them. Shards of the ancient ice, some that were small, and a few huge ones from the later crumbling of the wall ended up hitting the barrier.

"Vera!" Gideon searched Vera's face. Fear was brimming in his eyes.

Vera looked at Gideon and nodded weakly. Her eyes were slightly dazed, and her body was weak, like her strength had been sucked out from her body. "I'm fine. Just a little exhausted." She replied in a weak voice when Evie entered Gideon's protective barrier with Gay's help.

She bent and knelt on the ground, grabbing Vera's wounded hand.

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Vera's body was still very much human and none of their magic could heal her. Thankfully, she had Leon's medicine with her. She did quick work by pouring the medicine onto the wound on her palm and then bandaged her hand with a long strip of clean white cloth as the bandage.

"Don't worry." Evie told Gideon with reassurance. "It's only a little blood loss. She'll recover from it in a day or two."

Evie's words did not seem to erase Gideon's displeasure, but it certainly lessened the fear and panic in his eyes.

"Thank you, Evie." Vera said, weakly forcing a smile. "I think I did it."

"Yes, you did, Vera." Evie smiled back, looking at her as though she was extremely proud of her. They all looked at the dragons who had been released from their captivity in the ice and were now stretching out and flapping their wings as if testing them out to see if they still worked fine. Then they started shrieking. Some tried to blow out ice, some trying to fly.

Vera's smile widened as she leaned her head against Gideon's chest. Tears suddenly flowing from her eyes, as if seeing these dragons awakened was giving her so much joy. The whispers in her head were now gone.

"Maybe..." Vera spoke weakly. "Their masters made it known to them. I've been hearing whispers before the dragons were freed. Those whispers might have belonged to their masters in the past."

The dragons were now circling them like predators prepared to tear their prey to shreds.

Evie looked over at Vera. This should be the time for her to show her prowess. But she was too weak right now. Evie was not hoping that Vera will awaken her dark fae powers right at this instance. Because in her vision, Vera did not possess dark magic. She had grown physically stronger, but her powers were simply her full control over the ice dragons. She could control all her dragons all at once and utilize them all to their full potential. She was like one great and invincible war general, and her army were her dragons.

Right now, Vera was still weak and no matter how much Evie had wanted her to start training on how to control the dragons right now, it would not be possible in her current state. She was still human and was yet to start any training.

"We need to leave now." Evie said quickly and nodded at Gay and Gideon.

"But..." Vera obviously wanted to protest.

"Don't worry, we're not going back to the Great City. We will just hide for some time at a nearby place and hide from them. We will come out once you're better and you will need to have training to know how to control them, Vera. We will not return without taking at least a few of them with us." Evie said. She would have said she wanted to take all of them along, but she knew better that controlling a dragon would not be that easy, especially as Vera had no magical powers. Vera will need to take some time to control them all.

At Evie's signal, Gav used his magic and the moment they disappeared from the midst of the dragons, a shadow appeared in their wake. A man covered with a dark cloak stood there, pulsating with power and darkness, like some invisible shadow that even the dragons could not see or sense.

Chapter 612: Free

The four of them had found a cave somewhere in the nearby mountains where the dragon's mountain was still within sight. After a short discussion, they then decided to spend the night there to give Vera as much rest as she could get with their current situation.

Thankfully, Vera awakened the next day. It had surprised Evie how quickly she was recovering but she quickly realized that she should not be that surprised anymore. Vera was no longer a mere human now after all. She is a dragon keeper now, just like her!

Vera was even the one who asked for Evie to start teaching and training her on matters with the dragons just a few minutes after they had finished their breakfast.

Of course, Evie did not intend to waste a moment longer and granted her wish. She could see the thrill and determination flashing in Vera's eyes, so she thought that there was no need to delay any longer. Every second counts in their race to changing the path that they take to their known futures.

For a few hours, Evie gave Vera precise instructions on how she managed to summon and tame her dragons. She believed that the methods Vera would use to handle her ice dragons should be similar if not the same.

While Evie was busy training and instructing Vera, Gideon and Gavrael were several feet away from them. Somehow, the two finally started talking to each other more often after breaking the ice with their first proper conversation between each other yesterday.

And while the ladies were highly focused on their own tasks, the brothers began discussing and talking about much more serious things that they could not talk about when Evie and Vera were listening into their talks. Gavrael had spoken with Gavriel last night and Gavriel had lots of question he wanted to ask Gideon. Thus, it resulted in this long and intense conversation between the brothers now.

The two of them talked about their lover's visions and then exchanged theories and information on the different ways they could move forward in changing what they knew might happen in the possible future. That had been the longest time they had ever talked since they were young.

But their seemingly endless conversation was later on interrupted when they saw a dragon approaching.

Gideon's eyes widened. "Already?"

Gavrael on the other hand was not as surprised as Gideon as he had the advantage of knowing Evie and her powers of control over her dragons. "She's a dragon keeper. Of course the dragons will listen to her as long as she knew what she is doing." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. He had heard from Evie's vampire men that she had taken only three tries before the dragons submitted and listened to her commands. Three time was just too impressive! Gavrael remembered that in the past, when he was training Evie, Evie had taken almost the same amount of time Vera spent right now. Ten tries.

A blue-eyed dragon landed majestically before them.

Vera stood there, facing it. Her heart racing. Evie encouraged her to go on. She must touch it and give it a name for the whole process to be completed.

The dragon looked down at her as she approached slowly with measured steps.

Gideon was on high alert at the back, more than ready to go to her if needed. They all watched in anticipation. And the moment Vera's hand touched the dragon's snout, Gideon breathed in a sigh of relief. The fact that the dragon accepted her touch was a good sign.

She looked back at him with one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen her wear. It made his heart swell. To think that this could make Vera so thrilled and happy.

After a while, Vera nodded at Evie, now ready to ride the dragon.

Gideon took a step closer, but Vera yelled at him with a big smile. "I'm fine, Gid. Watch me!" she even waved her hand. The excitement in her eyes brimming so brightly that it could be seen so clearly even from far off.

--

Once she was on the dragon's back, it took her many tries again to command the dragon to fly. And when it finally did, the three of them all spread their wings and followed after the dragon, ready to rescue Vera just in case something happens.

Vera was screaming but not in extreme fear, but in excitement and pure thrill.

"I did it!" she was shouting at them as her hands were clasped so tightly onto the dragon's spike.

When the dragon steadied its flight in the sky, Vera began to laugh out in pure triumph. "I really did it!" she shouted again as the dragon circled the sky with smooth wingbeats.

She did not forget Evie's instruction though, that she still needed to command the dragon to return her to the ground after a few rounds of circling in the sky. Honestly, she wanted to stay up in the sky for a little longer as this was her virgin flight on her very own attempt without relying on other's powers – other than advice and instructions from Evie. She never thought that this could be so exciting. She thought that this would scare her but at that moment, she no longer felt as helpless and weak as she had before. She felt so free, and power seemed to rise and bubble up within her.

Taking a deep breath, Vera closed her eyes and felt the quietness and stillness of the sky. Then, she gave out the order for the dragon to land.

The dragon listened to her orders. But when it dove down, Vera was caught off guard at the dragon's sudden action. Her hand slipped from the tight hold that she had on dragon's spike and the next thing she knew… she was free falling and headed straight to the ground!

Chapter 613: Presence

The next thing Vera knew, familiar strong and warm arms were wrapped around her and held her close before they landed safely on the ground.

Vera took a couple of deep breaths and looked up from where she had fallen. Worry was etched on Gideon's face still while he held onto her, but Vera's first reaction was to laugh.

She chuckled as if something so incredibly amazing had just happened, leaving Gideon a little dumbstruck at her reactions. He had thought that she would be so terrified she would have either burst into tears or curl up and shiver within his embrace. However, nothing of the sort happened to his surprise. She, a wingless human, had fallen through the air for goodness' sake and was about to…

"That was so amazing Gid!" she exclaimed with a rush. Her eyes that were turned to him were sparkling with such thrill.

"You just fell Vera –" Gideon barely managed to choke out.

"But you caught me, didn't you? I knew you definitely would. No doubt about it." She grinned at him so confidently and then wiggled around so Gideon would have no choice but to put her down. Looking at how she just behaved like a three-year-old, Gideon did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm gonna practice more. Oh… and thanks for the great save!" She told him, tip toed and kissed his cheek before she energetically ran off towards Evie again. Now he realized that his dearest mate had found a brand new fascination – dragons.

Time passed and finally, Vera was able to make a dragon land on the ground without any untoward incidents. Her training was getting harder, but she was beyond determined and it was obvious that she was also enjoying what she was doing though she had her work cut out for her!

And thus, that night, during dinner, Vera spoke to Gideon. She told him that it was now alright for Evie and Gavrael to return without them.

Gideon had agreed with her suggestions as well. So she told Evie her decision while they were having their meal together.

"I think it will take me a little while longer before being able to make the dragon spit ice. But I will make sure that I can make that happen without fail. That's why I will need to stay back a little longer to practice and perfect this move." Vera said enthusiastically.

"Of course, Vera." Evie smiled at her, looking proud of her latest student. "You will definitely be able to control them. I am confident that you can. You just need a little more time." Evie further boosted Vera's confidence. She knew how important positive reinforcements are now at the stage where mental stability also plays a role in perfecting the control over the dragons.

"Yes, that's why… you and Prince Gavrael can return to the palace first, Evie. Gideon said it's alright if you both go back to the Great City now. The two of us can handle this here on our own. I know you have more important matters to deal with there as well."

Evie looked at Gideon and when the man nodded his head with approval, Evie looked back at Gav. She knew that this was the best move for them right now too. Vera does not need any more instructions and advice from her anymore. All she needed was more time to train.

Gav was also confident that the two of them would be just fine. Thus, the four of them decided to part ways that night itself. They saw no reason to delay their actions as things have already been decided.

Vera promised Evie that she and Gideon will arrive back in the Great City with not only one dragon but at least a handful. Evie hugged her, whispering into her ears and telling her she would be waiting for her and her dragons.

The couple stopped at an inn in Rhodoa, a duchy with beautiful crystal decorations in pinkish and reddish hues.

"This is impressive! The inn's lovely." Evie said as the two of them soaked themselves in a big tub filled with warm water. "Ah, this water feels so good!" she sighed out deeply and sunk into the relaxing warm and aqua blue water. The steam rising from it made their private bath looked so very romantic and it reminded Evie of the warm and small lagoon she had bathed in back when they were still in Crescia.

"Gav, why are you looking away?" she lifted a brow at the sight of her husband's eyes moving elsewhere but on her.

"I don't want to disrupt your relaxation time, Evie." He replied and threw his head back and closed his eyes. He knew that if he ogled her openly, there was no way they would be getting a relaxing time. It would most probably be a more vigorous and action-packed time.

She pressed her lips tight together, but then, she licked it as she raked her eyes over her husband's mouth-watering torso.

With a naughty, almost bordering on a wicked smile, Evie moved towards him.

Gav's eyes flew wide open at the feel of her coming closer to him.

"Don't Evie. You need to rest toni –" He had started his rejection speech only to be cut off at the end.

She was standing right before him, her legs spread wide and her… lovely triangle was placed right over his very face. He swallowed. Hard.

He had difficulty lifting his gaze and looking up at her. When he saw the naughty look in her eyes, he groaned. And in the very next moment, his head had already moved on its own and his mouth was already latched onto her sex.

That night, the couple made love in the tub twice before finally retiring to bed for the rest of the night.

…

It was still dawn when Evie felt Gav rose from their bed after successfully untangling her limbs that were curled around him. "Where are you going?" she asked, feeling a little dizzy.

"Sleep, Evie. I'll just need to go out for a bit." He informed her and Evie just moaned her assent, barely opening her eyes. She was still so very sleepy and did not want to wake up just yet!

"Hmm… okay…"

"I will be back quickly."

"Mmm…"

After kissing her head, Gav stepped out of the room but only after putting up a strong protective barrier around himself. He was awakened by something strange that he had sensed. Something was lurking around on the outside.

Gav was on high alert as he stepped outside the inn, trying to sense what that strange darkness that disrupted his sleep a while ago was. The dark presence was now gone. He could not even sense a single trace of it now. Could that have been a dream? How was it that he could not sense the trails of it at all? It was as if it never existed in this first place.

His eyes slowly turned wide as if finally realizing something vital. Horror flashed in them as he disappeared in a whiff of smoke.

When he materialized back inside their room, Evie was already gone.

Chapter 614: Shadows

A while ago…

Just a moment later after Gav left the room, Evie's eyes flew wide open as if a nightmare jolted her awake. She rose from the bed in an instant. The sleep that had been still gripping her hard a little while ago was now gone completely.

She could feel it. Danger and something peculiar and dark was now present inside this room.

"Show yourself." Evie was still calm as she slowly climbed off the bed, alert and ready for any sudden attacks on her now. Her body had already started glowing since the first instance she opened her eyes. She had taken no chances and had put up a light defence shield around her. "Show yourself up, coward. Stop hiding."

Silence. No one responded to Evie's taunt, but she still could feel something moving around her. It did not feel like Gav's darkness, however. This one seemed to be more like a shadow instead of the smoke-like wisps Gav and the other powerful dark faes, including that villain Galleous, were emanating.

This magic… Evie was certain that she had never encountered anything like this before. She felt that this was much more troublesome and dangerous as it was harder to detect or even sense it out. Usually, she would be able to pinpoint to a certain spot where the magic was coming from, but this was completely different. She could only vaguely sense that there was a dark presence within the immediate place she was in. But try as she might, she could not sense the exact place where this presence was at.

The shadow-like presence seemed to be all over the place, and she did not have any idea where to aim even if she was ready to attack. Thus, she could only focus her power on defending herself for now, unless whatever this was finally materialized and appeared before her.

Just as her magic was about to glow brighter, she then felt the shadows began to move and gathered over in one place.

She looked towards the door. Anticipating what or who was it this time.

A dark silhouette was forming now. Someone tall.

Evie prepared herself. She could feel immense danger from whoever this was. It had been quite a long while since she had felt such an intense and real danger from someone since the fight with Galleous. Gav, the King and Gideon, all possessed dangerous powers themselves, but Evie had never felt any danger radiating from them. So, this creature would be the first to have given her such a fear inducing shiver in a while since she arrived in the Under Lands.

She had not been expecting any other enemies aside from the monsters from the Abyss of Darkness and that was why all her focus was solely fixed on it as she thought it was pretty pointless for any minor enemy to appear at this point. But right now, she felt that she was wrong. No one should be able to make her feel like this aside from a notorious enemy.

The shadow finally materialized fully in her room. Based off his tall and broad features, Evie was certain he was a man despite him being fully covered by a dark cloak from head to toe.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I came to take you…" a deep voice, textured with gravel wrapped with obsidian silk echoed inside the room, "…Light Queen."

Evie's eyes widened. That voice. She had heard it before… Klauz!!

He pulled his hood down and that familiar sharp and elegant face came into view. It was really him! Though she had only seen his face clearly twice during the entire duration of her vision, she would never have mistaken those catlike eyes and that image of him looking like some menacingly cruel, yet beautiful man created from the darkest of shadows with anyone else. His look was just too striking and unique to forget.

Finally! At long last! Evie could not help but utter those words in her mind. She could not believe that this man she was having so many troubles in trying to find, had now suddenly appeared right before her even without her trying anything now!

But before Evie could say anything to him, he was already suddenly standing behind her. What felt like a sharp hand blade was pointed not at her throat but her belly.

She froze for a moment.

"I never thought you'd drop your guard down like this, Light Queen." He whispered behind her.

"Klauz." Evie's voice remained calm despite the fear and swift anger that had immediately blasted within her. If he had pointed the blade right at her throat, she would not have felt this scared and murderously angry that she could feel herself tremble. She realized that this man knew many things about her already.

"Another surprise." He replied. "I never thought that you would actually know me." A hint of wonder and disbelief coated his dark voice.

"Put that blade down. Now!!" A razor-sharp command filled with the threats and promises of death in various ways came from Evie's lips.

"This one's not a surprise. I knew this weakness of yours. I've watched how that stupid Prince had managed to trick you so easily." He commented, voice full of scorn.

"I said drop that –"

"Hush now, Light Queen. You're not in the position to order me around right now. Drop the magic preventing me from teleporting you now or else –"

"You wouldn't dare, Klauz." Evie warned in a low voice.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I am not your enemy."

He fell silent for a moment. But she felt that the tip of his blade had now pierced her dress and was now resting slightly against her skin. Fear gripped her heart uncontrollably. The thought of her child getting hurt dissolved all reason, courage and resolve in an instant. She could not endanger her child no matter what.

The moment she released the magic, Klauz touched her bare arm. "You're right. You are not my enemy… you are my mate, and I am yours." He whispered as they both disappeared from the room.

Chapter 615: Point

His voice was still echoing in Evie's ears even as they materialize in a dark place that looked like a massive corridor with walls and pillars made of black crystals. Black crystals… this was the first time she saw such a colour here in the Under Lands.

"Where is this place?" Evie asked in a controlled voice. Somehow, she had managed to calm down again now that Klauz's blade was no longer pointed at her belly. Even though she had instinctively wanted to rage at him for spouting such nonsense and threatening her child that way, she had realised that it would be foolish to do so. In situations such as this, she knew it was more important to keep her cool and be alert to observe the surroundings and figure things out as she goes along.

But she could tell that he had already put a restricting dark magic on her, and he still was threatening to hurt her baby if she dared to do something that he did not like. Unlike the time when Gideon had kidnapped her, this man clearly did not have any intentions in letting her go any time soon.

And… the words that he had thrown at her before they disappeared from the palace is still haunting her. But she did not want to believe it. There was no way she would believe that. She was no one's mate but Gav's!

"Ferber," he answered, finally stepping away after making sure that the restricting magic he put on her like invisible chains were unbreakable enough. "My duchy." He swept his hands out before him and introduced his land to her.

Evie creased her brows. She knew all the ten duchies in the Under Lands and even the names of all the Lords. Ferber? She had never heard of that name before. It was not mentioned in the map of Under Lands as well.

"Of course you have never heard of it. Those stupid royals had long since erased Ferber from the map after they destroyed it." He continued, his voice coated with centuries of built up anger and hate. "To bad for them, one little boy had managed to survive the slaughter and had developed this place again."

"That little boy… it was you?" She needed to try and get him to talk more in order to collect more information on what was happening. It is never wrong to have more information in your hands.

He faced her. His eyes gleaming with cruelty. "Yes."

"Alright… But why would you bring me here?" Evie wanted to know his motivation more than anything now.

"Because you're mine –"

"I. Am. Not. Yours. I'm taken, Klauz –" Evie bit out with a sharp and succinct tone.

"No, not now. Not yet, Light Queen. But soon…" He held her wrist and lifted it up, showing her the glaring absence of the mating tattoos that was not present on her hand. "You're not marked yet. Therefore, you are considered unmated."

She swallowed. "There is a reason why I am not marked yet. My husband and I performed a ritual to postpone our bond from –" She rushed to explain, partly because she wanted to delay things and drag on the time. But deep inside, she also realised that she was rushing to explain as she felt the insecurity bubbling up again as she knew it was a fact that she and Gav were not a mated pair yet.

"If you think that you can fool me, don't bother. You are just wasting your time, Light Queen –" Klauz cut her off harshly.

"You're the one who's fooling yourself. You are the one who is mistaken. I! Am! Not! Your! Mate!" Evie was so angry and punctuated every word of her last statement and steeled herself. She knew that the upcoming times dealing with Klauz would not be easy. This world will have to crumble first before she would ever accept the fact that she was Klauz's mate. And besides, the thought of the future eased her heart and gave her unyielding courage and faith that this was not true. She reminded herself that she had seen the vision of her future. Something was not quite right here. She needed to find out what was the matter and resolve it as soon as possible!

This man had ended up becoming her strongest ally in that war from what she had seen in her vision. But that was all. He had left after the war ended as if he would never be seen, ever again.

"It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not right now, Light Queen." He grabbed her arm and pulled her a little closer to him. Evie met his gaze with an even sharper look, warning him to not push his luck. "You will see the truth once we carry out the mating ritual."

That statement only caused her eyes to widen, and her heart trembled within her though she pulled a blank face quickly the next second. She could not help but feel horrified at how certain he looked when he mentioned that.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure where did you get that confidence of yours from… but this mating ritual you've been mentioning between us will never happen. Ever!" Evie had to insist again.

"You won't have a choice. Don't forget you're my prisoner now. You only have one choice here, Light Queen. Accept and complete our mating bond or your beloved child will die. Simple." Klauz threatened her in a calm tone, as though he was talking about something as mundane as the weather.

Evie felt her entire being shook uncontrollably. One of the biggest reasons was because she saw the real warning in his eyes. The cruelty in them had not been feigned. One look into those ruthless eyes and she could see that he was not the type of a man who would give out empty threats. She could feel that his threats were real, and he would mercilessly do as he says if she dared to go against him.

How… just how did her future self, turn such a ruthless man like this into one of her most valuable ally?

She fought for calmness even as she felt herself almost spinning out of control. It had dawned on her there was currently no use in trying to reason things out with him. Because right now, he was an adamant monster through and through… a cruel villain with a heart that was as black as pitch.

"Tell me, what's the point of kidnapping me? Don't tell me this is all because you're dying for a mate because you've been alone for so long." Evie retorted with biting sarcasm, showing him that she was not afraid of him. She would not allow him to cow her into submission by using threats and fear.

He smiled. A wicked one.

"You think I'm like those foolish royals who are all slaves to their own desires?" he shook his head. "Don't even compare me to them, Light Queen. This is my payback and one day you will know that all these times, you weren't meant to love and be with one of them. Do you know why? Because they're the real villains you were supposed to hate. They are the true enemies, the source of all this darkness and you're the light who is fated to doom them all to hell."

Chapter 616: The beginninng

His words rocked Evie's world. And it was not in a good way.

The vision flashed across her mind as vivid as that very night when she had first seen it. Fear slowly gripped her heart, squeezing tighter as the unwanted vision unfolded in her mind again as if to force her to understand that the war only ended that very moment when she, the Light Queen… killed Gav, the last royal dark fae standing, the king of darkness. Just remembering that very scene that had been burned into her mind was damning in itself. And with Klauz mentioning it like this, it even caused more upheaval within her internally.

A shaky breath escaped from her lips. She clenched her fists so tightly that blood had begun to drip from her balled up fists.

"No, Klauz." Evie's voice was as hard as steel now, a promise of doom burning like the hellfires of Sheol itself in her amber eyes. That was a look that had shocked even Klauz himself. "I will not be the Light to doom them all to hell. I vow to all the gods that are in existence, that I… the Light Queen will be the Light who will save them all from the darkness! I will not be the scourge that would damn them to hell. Instead, I will be their redeemer!"

Her blood dripped on the dark crystal flooring as her oath echoed compellingly in that dim and shadowy place like a beam of light lancing through the darkness.

After she spoke, Evie kept quiet, and silence reigned for what felt like a long time before Klauz finally spoke up in response to her forceful claims. "You're mad." He said, anger burning in his eyes and was reflected in his tone.

"Call me mad all you want, Klauz. I am willing to show you just how far this Mad Queen would go to save her loved ones and all those whom she holds dear to her." Evie stubbornly insisted as she clenched her jaws, not wanting to turn and look at this person who had continuously triggered such strong feelings of anger and exasperation within her.

He shook his head. "I see that you're blinded by this thing you call love."

"Love…" Evie repeated, "that's the only thing that can save us all."

A scoff echoed out after her comment. His gaze had turned as sharp as any blade now. "One day, you will see, Light Queen…" he exhaled harshly, "that this love you're talking about will not be able to save you. It will do the exact opposite. It will only cause the death of many… innocent people. Then, you will know how wonderful this 'love' is, that you are talking about." He commented sarcastically.

"Tell me, Klauz… did you see into the future?" Evie could not help but ask him this question. The way he seemed to insist on this views were just too strong to have without some reasoning behind it.

"I don't need to see the future to know all these. It had been prophesized since countless of years ago. The current idiotic royals don't know anything about the prophecy, of course, because their predecessors had erased all of its traces and slaughtered everyone who knew about it. All just because they didn't want anyone to know that they're the true villains in disguise who will one day cause the destruction of this entire land and many others including your queendom." Klauz's claim came as a massive shock to Evie.

Evie could only shake her head in denial.

He clicked his tongue. "Let me show you something interesting, Light Queen." Klauz touched her and the two of them materialized inside a cave of black crystals. It was so dark that Evie could not see a single thing – not even her own hands in front of her.

"Allow me to use my magic to see what you're showing me, Klauz." Evie requested.

He eased his magic restriction over her a little, but only after giving her a firm warning. "Don't try to do something funny, Light Queen. Don't you dare try me."

"I won't." She hissed, losing her already fraying hold on her temper.

When a ball of amber light formed before her and illuminated the dark cave, Evie swallowed. There were scribbles of a language she did not understand, carved all over the walls of the massive cave.

These carvings seemed to react to her light and now the originally pitch black cave was filled with golden coloured writings.

"This is the biggest mistake of that idiot king. He had failed to find this place. No… It would be more apt to say that he didn't know that this place ever existed. So he had only gone on to destroy all the books of records, castles, and all the people who knew anything about this." Klauz continued his narration with scorn in his voice.

"This… these writings all explain about the prophecy?" Evie asked as she turned around looking at those strange writings.

"Not just thar. These records also tell of the birth of the Abyss of the Darkness."

Evie's eyes widened. She knew that even King Belial knew nothing about how the abyss of darkness appeared in the first place. The only thing they knew was that the abyss had already been there ever since the beginning of time!

"These writings also record how the royal family is connected to the abyss." Klauz added, causing Evie's heart to thump heavier within her chest.

"Is there any way for me to understand all these writings?" Evie asked. She wanted to read everything herself. If what he said is true, then this will solve the mystery of the abyss and what is the connection between the abyss and the dark fae royals – especially between Gav and Gideon. This could also answer why Gav ended up being the fated King of Darkness! "Tell me, Klauz. Please."

Chapter 617: Weapon

Klauz stared at her with a scrutinizing gaze. But eventually, he answered.

"It is all about will power. All you need to do to read the writing is to close your eyes. Concentrate and just focus your mind internally. Then wait until the writings appear in your mind. Concentrate as hard as you can until the foreign letters change into a language that you can understand. I believe this will only work for chosen individuals, but I guess you're obviously one of them."

Evie did as he said. She took a couple of deep breaths then close her eyes to concentrate. Her training with her dragons had made her get used to falling into a meditative and concentrated state easier.

With just one try, the writings on the golden writings on the walls began to move. Slowly, the foreign letters shifted and merged and twisted until they turned into something familiar. There were words now that she could read and understand.

Anticipation made her heartbeat hasten as she started to read. What kind of information was waiting for her? However, she took a deep breath and prepared her heart for whatever kind of news she would receive after reading.

The story began talking about the Crystal of Darkness. The most important and sacred landmark in the Under Lands, the source of the dark fae's dark magic. Evie could only deduce that this Crystal of Darkness must be the counterpart to the Tree of Light in Crescia which was the source of light magic for the light faes.

One king of the dark faes was not satisfied with the amount of his powers and took an interest in the Crystal of Darkness. He wanted to find out if the source of the magic was truly the Crystal of Darkness. He then became obsessed over it, desiring all of its powers. He attempted to drain all the power that he could from it. However, when he failed, he gathered up all the most powerful of the dark faes and exhorted and manipulated them into destroying the crystal.

The Crystal of Darkness exploded, creating a small hole in the spot where the crystal once stood. The explosion had killed everyone including the King himself.

When the king did not come back, the queen sent out their only child, a princess to go and look for the king.

What the princess found instead was a desolate place, and the Crystal of Darkness was gone. In its place where it initially stood was a deep gaping hole. There were no signs of the King or anyone else who had set out on this journey. The only thing she managed to find which was out of the ordinary there was a small well. A well of dark magic.

And a man had come out from it. He was beautiful beyond words. As dark faes, there were no lack of beauty within the ranks of their nobilities. But even so, the princess had never seen a man as beautiful as this one was before.

And the princess fell in love with him at first sight, and he with her as well. They had spent some time together within the vicinity of the well that the man had emerged from and gotten to know each other even more.

Time passed and the princess and the man had become lovers. They then returned to the palace where the queen was to inform her of how there were no signs of the king and the others who had accompanied him. Also, the princess shared the good news with her mother that she was expecting a child with the man that she had brought back. For a while, they were happy preparing for and anticipating the arrival of their child being welcomed into the world. However…

The monsters began appearing not long after that. Weird, and unseen before monsters.

The dark faes began to blame their princess' mysterious lover for the monster's appearances. As it was only after his appearance that the monsters started emerging.

They believed that the man had been the one who had brought the monsters into the Under Lands. So they plotted an assassination, believing that once he was killed, the monsters too would stop appearing.

But they could not kill him. Nothing could, it seemed.

The Under Lands quickly fell into chaos. Without a king, the other lords took the reins and made the Princess to be a puppet ruler. The monsters invaded cities and wreaked havoc upon the whole nation. The dark faes were at their wits end and losing hope.

So they resorted to using the princess. They had imprisoned her and blackmailed the man using the princess' life.

The man finally revealed to them a way for them to kill him due to the threat on his princess' life. They must find a certain weapon that could kill him.

The dark faes stole the weapon – a golden bow and arrow – from the possession of the Light Faes. At this point, Evie's still body jerked as she recognised the description of this particular golden bow and arrow. It seemed that the objects were the very same ones that she was familiar with.

The records continued by stating that they gave that bow and arrow to the princess as the man's request.

Before he asked her to shoot him, he revealed to her that he came from the realm of beasts and monsters. The Crystal of Darkness was the ultimate lock, blocking the portal between the two realms. The man revealed that his realm had been trying to expand but they never had managed to break the wall blocking them from entering into this realm. The Crystal of Darkness could only be broken by someone from the realm it was protecting, never by others. But greed had made the dark faes create their own doom and destroyed the wall that was actually protecting them.

The man said that his death would be able to seal the portal again and block any more monsters from coming out. He told her that this was the only way for them to stop the invasion.

Heartbroken, the princess could only choose to kill him as a sacrifice to save everyone – her land, and… their baby who had been taken from her and now being held in the hands of the lords as hostage.

Once the princess' arrow pierced his heart, he dissolved into a smoke of darkness, spreading out of the abyss, sealing it.

Chapter 618: Carvings

Silent tears were falling from Evie's eyes. Now she knew why the golden bow was found in the abyss. The story… she had seen it before in her vision. This eerie similarity… and she somehow felt that this story in the past was going to repeat itself again in the future. Seeing that there was almost no difference from this story in the past and in the vision that she had seen was just so heart breaking. Both have the same unacceptable and unfortunate ending.

Evie's heart ached. So this was why Klauz claimed that the royal dark faes were not of pure blood. Because that man's – the princess' lover who had come out of that well-like portal, his – blood was flowing in all of the current dark fae royal veins even now. They were his descendants. This explains why the royal's dark magic, Gav's, Gideon's and Belial's were all eerily similar to the darkness that was seen in the abyss.

She took in a couple of shaky deep breaths. Despite the heartbreak, she still did not open her eyes. It was not over yet. She still needed to read the prophecy next.

'A prince with unusual eyes will be born. The fated King of Darkness. When his powers merge, he will awaken. Darkness will reign. Destruction begins. Blood will paint the entire land in red. Until the Queen of Light comes at him with the power of her light. The queen of Light, the only hope, the saviour of the land will finally end the darkness with her light. She will pierce the king's heart and spill his blood. His death the ultimate sacrifice, and the only key in sealing the abyss forever.'

Evie could barely keep herself from standing now. Her entire being was swaying and trembling where she was. Does this mean that the only way to defeat the darkness was to kill Gav? Was there really no other way? So far, all hints had been pointing in that one single direction – and a miserable one it was.

She shook her head, unwilling to just accept it. There must be another way forward. She just had not thought of it yet! She forced herself to think about her future self's words. It was so clear to her how she had said that she failed to save Gav because she was too late. That only meant that in that particular future, she had somehow found a way to save Gav while ending the darkness at the same time! There was no need to sacrifice one for the other!

That thought was the only thing that was stopping her from completely breaking down in despair and tears right now. She did not need to see this other prophecy that would only repeat the very same thing!

One last time, Evie looked around, hoping to find any other clues that she might have missed out in the very problematic situation she had found herself being in. Hoping that she would find something important, or anything helpful that could help her in her efforts to change the future. Any clue that could help her save Gav from his cruel fate – their cruel fate.

There was nothing else to uncover aside from the ancient story and this small bit of a prophecy.

Evie was about to open her eyes at the realization that she could not find anything more when Evie caught sight of some scribbles that were very near the floor. The lines were not in gold, but in something so black that she had failed to notice it.

Upon checking it out closer, she found that the writings were completely different from the ones in gold!

No matter how she tried to concentrate, the carvings were not moving like how it did with the writings in gold. Could it be that she needed a different method to read this one? She retracted half her senses and focussed it on the outside where her physical body was.

"Klauz," Evie called out without opening her eyes. "The ones in gold were ancient writings of the dark faes, right?" she double checked on that with him.

"Yes."

"Is there any more other types of writings the dark faes used in the past."

"That's the oldest writing. The dark faes aren't really that fond of using different letters so we only have two types of writing, the ancient one and the current one."

"Are you certain?"

Klauz narrowed his eyes and looked the spot she's staring so hard at. "I am certain."

"Then why am I seeing a completely different set of writings right now? I tried using the method with the gold writings but it's not obeying me. It's not turning to words that I am able to understand." Evie told Klauz of her observations.

That seemed to have intrigued Klauz. He shut his eyes and concentrated on the same spot that he had seen her facing and focussing on.

After a few tries, he opened his eyes. "Are you sure? I can't see anything."

"You can't see anything written in black?"

"There is none." Klauz replied after taking some time to check again.

The lines in Evie's forehead deepened. She felt that all the more, she needed to know what these writings meant. There must be a reason why it had been recorded.

"Whatever you're seeing may not be written by a dark fae if it's not turning into something you can understand. Perhaps, it's something scribbled by monsters, and it's not really meant to be understood." Klauz reasoned out in an uninterested voice.

Evie suddenly had a thought that shocked even herself. What if these words were written by that man – the one who came out of the well? Could it be that the words were the native language from where he originally came from?

Her heartbeat raced. She could never believe these writings were nonsensical. They were too meticulous and elegant to be written by a monster. These words definitely have an important meaning for it be here!

She needs to find the meaning of these words! Perhaps… one of the royals will understand!!

"What are you doing? Don't you dare do something –"

"I'm not going to do anything to escape from you, Klauz. I'll just capture these into my mind. I need to study them." She answered. Her voice was so authoritative and fearless; it was as if she did not consider herself a prisoner at all.

Intrigue flash in his eyes as he let her do whatever it was that she wanted. Somehow, something in him wanted to see what this woman was truly capable of. He wanted to observe if she was more than just t

Chapter 619: Reason

Once Evie opened her eyes, there was no signs of negative emotions in her eyes.

"Are we done here?" she asked.

Her reaction made Klauz's face darkened like a pot of ink. He did not expect her to be this calm even after all the things she had found out. Seems as though this Light Queen is quite the strong character.

"Oh, if you're waiting for me to be surprised, don't wait anymore, Klauz. You're actually late in catching up with the news. I've known about all these all along." Evie told him, confidently, almost smugly even.

Klauz fell silent. Disbelief dancing in his eyes. He did not speak but just kept quiet and scrutinized Evie's expression, searching for even a hint of untruth or false bravado.

"I am the Light Queen in the prophecy. I am the guardian of the fire dragons. You do know about the abilities of the guardians, right? They have the ability to see into the future." Evie took a step closer to him, her gaze never faltering. "I don't care if you believe me or not, but I've known much more than these things that you have shown me today." She tipped her chin up, staring at him almost arrogantly. "Have you ever wondered why I had already known your name and your face the instant I saw you, Klauz? If you think I learned about you from my husband or King Belial, you're wrong. No one ever talked about you here in the Under Lands. It was so much so that I had the hardest hard time searching for you. Who knew, you actually delivered yourself to me instead. You truly had made my work a lot simpler. So… thank you." Evie spoke with a taunting voice.

Her words surprised him, but he still did not look quite convinced with what she had said. Evie did not mind though. It was enough for her that she was sowing seeds of doubts into him and making him think twice about everything. She needed to get back to Gav. And the only way for her to go back as soon as possible was to convince this man.

She felt as though she was in a rush, not only because of the foreign writings that she had badly want to show to the dark fae royals but also because of the prophecy.

'When his powers merge, he will awaken.' These words bothered Evie extremely so especially when she thought of Gav and his dark fae and vampire powers. She felt her heart trembling at the thought that came to her. It somehow was hinting at the matter where both sides of Gav were merging. That when his powers become one, he will… everything will start from then on.

At that moment, she remembered what Gav had told her when they were making love in that beautiful spot. That Gavriel told him there must be a reason why they were not merging. And that reason must be this. If they merge… he will awaken!

She could only fight for calm, knowing that both of them were finding a way for both his sides to merge safely. Evie also did not know why but she was starting to feel a terrible unease brewing in her heart. Right now, she could not even imagine what was Gav was doing at this moment since he must have found out that she was already gone.

If the one around when she disappeared was Gavriel, Evie would not be feeling so much worry. Because she knew how Gavriel acts when things go crazy. Gavrael however, was different. She could not help but feel scared of what Gavrael would do.

"You were looking for me… and why would you be doing that?" he still looked doubtful even as he asked her that.

"Because I need you. You will be one of my greatest allies in this united war against the monsters. You will be one of the greatest warriors who will fight alongside every one of our enemies."

He scoffed. Then a sardonic laugh rang out.

"It seems it's true that no one told me about you at all." He replied, shaking his head. "Fine. Perhaps, I should enlighten you a little more. I'm the royal's enemy and have been one for a long time now. I'm the assassin they've been hunting for years. In fact, I believe the royals, especially the current ones, hate me as much as I hate them. So do you know it will never be possible for me to become the ally who will fight alongside everyone? I assume when you said 'everyone' the royals are included."

Klauz played with a small dagger that he had created from his magic. "Because I nearly assassinated the queen." He said with an emotionless face.

Evie's eyes widened. The queen – Queen Beatrice?! This was the first time she was hearing something like this.

"That vampire queen should've been dead if Belial didn't use a forbidden magic to save her." he added, and Evie gasped out in shock.

Disbelief coloured her eyes as she looked at him.

"That's why, forget about that fantasy you were spouting about earlier, Light Queen. I could still be your ally, but never theirs. Never!" He hissed out the last word venomously.

"Why… why did you do that?" Evie was curious to know what prompted this amount of hatred.

Klauz threw his dagger and then retrieve it back to his hand with his magic. The way his hand moved with the dagger looked as though the dagger was an extension of his hand. The movements were so smooth and precise – as though he had practiced them thousands of times before.

"I can't believe you are asking why. No one asks an assassin why he should assassinate –"

"Why would you want to kill the queen?!" Evie interrupted him and streamlined her question.

Her loud voice made him halt and his gaze hardened. The cruelty in them gleamed like obsidians.

"Revenge, obviously." He answered. "I already told you I hate the royals –"

"Why did you have to go after the queen? Is it because she's the most vulnerable –"

"Don't make me laugh, Light Queen. You have no idea how strong that woman is. You would never dream of calling that vampire as vulnerable when you see what she can do. I went after her because I wanted to hurt them… Belial and his sons. I wanted them to feel how it felt to experience the ultimate pain. Death is a mercy but seeing their beloved die before their very eyes… I know you know what I'm talking about."

Evie was speechless. Not knowing what to say. She could not believe he had done something like this and to think it was towards Queen Beatrice herself!

Before Evie could say anything more, she whipped her head towards the entrance of the cavern at the dark feeling that crawled under her skin.

Then suddenly, the ground trembled.

Chapter 620: Just for you

Whipping her head towards Klauz, Evie exclaimed. "What's that?!"

Klauz just stared back at her, deadpan. He looked as though he did not have any plans on answering her query at all. Evie furrowed her brows.

But the cave shook again. A vibration, and something that sounded like a growl echoed through the cave at the same time.

The sound made Evie's eyes widen in shock. This recognisable power… that familiar sound… "Onyx!!!" she blurted out and once again, the ground trembled as though going through an earthquake but this time, it was stronger. It was as if he had responded to what she shouted out earlier. She was certain now that it was Onyx out there and he was responding to her!

Her body glowed with a brighter light, but the binding spell that Klauz had wrapped around her strengthened with the flexing of her powers as well, causing Evie to pause and look at him. She took a few seconds to scrutinise this vengeful man standing before her. The look in his eyes made her dull the glow of her powers in response.

This man was not someone she should take lightly. Though in her vision he was one of her best allies, at the moment he was still not. He was truly notorious, and she could tell it in her bones that the deadly ice she saw reflected in his eyes was not something anyone could easily thaw. In fact, if Evie had not seen him in her vision, she would never once think that someone – anyone – could ever mellow this man out. He was like a thousand-year-old crystal ice that would resist any and all attempts in thawing him out.

And right now, he was nothing but pure ice and stone – a real villain who would not hesitate to reap lives just to get what he wanted. The fact that he had tried to kill Queen Beatrice was enough of a proof of that. And it was not that he had a personal vendetta against her. His attempted murder was all just so her husband, the king and both the princes would be able to feel the agony of losing a loved one. 'Such cruelty', Evie thought and tsked in her head.

Evie took a deep breath and further reduced her power output so that it dulled her light until the only thing that was left was the small orb of light she was using as a lamp to light her path. Even so, Klauz did not drop his guard down for a slightest bit.

The ground stopped shaking after that.

"Tell me, how did Onyx ended up in here?" she asked him.

Klaus approached her, then in an instant he grabbed her around the waist and they both disappeared from the cave.

They were back in the dark corridors where they had come from a while ago.

"He came straight to the Under Lands after leaving the vampire city." He answered after signalling Evie to continue walking with a nudge of his head.

"You know about that war too?" Evie was a little shocked that he was aware of things that were happening up on the surface.

"I knew about it." Came his cryptic reply.

"Since when? Were you watching?"

"Hmm. Since that stupid prince found the rift in the portal." His tone sounded displeased when he mentioned that.

"So you're saying that you've been following Gideon ever since?!" Evie almost could not hold back the sharp tone as she asked Klauz. Thankfully her reactions were quick, and she managed to control her tone and kept it calm and neutral.

"Yes."

Evie could not believe it. It was that long ago?! Gideon had been followed by this man and that was why he had found out about her pregnancy. He must have seen the very trick Gideon used on her when he kidnapped her and that was why he could use the very same trick on her right now! How come? How could she not sense him at all back then? How could Gideon not even notice that he was being followed by this man?

"I have been an assassin as long as I could remember, Light Queen. My abilities to remain undetected and not to be sensed by anyone is one of my greatest strengths. Something only I alone possess." He began explaining, "You are the first to actually notice my presence. I've known that you have the ability to detect me if I get close enough to you and that was why I didn't try to approach you ever since that stupid prince brought you here in the Under Lands."

"And what made you approach me now?" Evie raised a questioning brow.

"I've sensed that today was the right time to carry out my plan. Your guard was down and you're inside a room that isn't located in the King's protected castle. Plus… I managed to divert the attention of that troublesome prince."

They finally reached the double doors at the end of the corridor. It opened on its own and once Evie stepped inside it, she halted in surprise. She thought that the door would lead them to another room, but she was wrong. The door had instead led them out to a veranda.

She walked towards the railing and looked down, just to see another unexpected surprise. Below was a massive training ground!

Evie did not need to ask to know that this was his formidable army dressed in all obsidian outfits in her vision. There were at least thousands of them, and she could sense the power and abnormal strength oozing out from his troops.

This army… Evie could feel it in her bones… she needed every single one of them to fight against the monsters. How in the world did Klauz manage to raise an army like this here?

Once glance and it was enough to tell Evie that she did not want to voluntarily make them her enemy. Fighting this army would be a serious chaos and a pain in the a**. It was not because she did not have the confidence to defeat them. But it would be a massive trouble that might result in unnecessary waste of resources, manpower, and precious time. Time that they did not have.

"I know I don't need to speak for you to understand the strength I have, Light Queen." Klauz's voice echoed behind her. "Take a good look and see for yourself. This army… I've created them just for you."