It was incredibly ironic. No, somehow, Zolan had realized now that their enemy, the fake royalty is truly one dangerous enemy. It is no wonder they had actually managed to annihilate the powerful royal family long ago. He had always wondered how they even did it, but he somehow had a clue now.

Zolan let out a deep sigh and his gaze shifted towards Evie.

"Also, about the princess…" Zolan started again even though Gavriel had yet to give his final approval about the plan he had just suggested earlier. It could be seen that Gavriel was also seriously contemplating it. "We cannot take the princess with us." The moment Zolan mentioned this, he could literally feel the sharp piercing aura of death descending around them.

Just as he expected, Gavriel's aura darkened so incredibly dangerous he had to look at Evie to help make the prince calm down.

Despite all the turmoil Evie was going through, she immediately picked up at what Zolan wanted her to do, and she reached out towards Gavriel and held onto him.

"Let's… listen to what he has to say first…" Evie whispered in a soft voice. Somehow, she managed not to voice her disagreement as her grip on Gavriel tightened.

Gavriel calmed down a little, but his body remained incredibly tensed.

"The guardian is here because of her." Zolan continued. "If we take her with us, the guardian will end up going after us. But that is not the end of the problem, we need her to stay because she would be the one to testify on everything that had happened here. If it's her, the guardian will believe her testimony and even the emperor won't have a choice but to accept her testimony. She's the real key in keeping the Dacrians safe. I am certain the emperor will still have a shred of doubt even after seeing the dead soldiers and he might still investigate and torture some vampires to speak the truth. But if the princess is here to speak and testify against you, there will be no need for the emperor to do any investigations. And even if he did, the princess' words will still be the one that will be honoured." He explained.

"Do not worry, Your Highness, I am certain the emperor will never harm her. He wouldn't do anything to displease the guardian, much less harm any of them, because Lorcan still needs the guardian's help to take you down. As long as you are alive, the princess and her father will stay safe under Lorcan's wings. Moreover, Her Highness would also be a huge help to us. She might be able to convince her father that the real enemy is the one he is aiding. She could be our ally on that side in telling him the truth. So please, I ask that you consider this suggestion." Zolan paused and his gaze at Gavriel became intense. "You have half a day to make a decision, Your Highness. I hope you will heed my advice but whatever decision you make, we will follow." He declared and bowed at him. "For now, I'll go prepare and plot for a believable escape plan."

Zolan then turned his back from Gavriel and then glanced at Leon to come with him. But before he leapt off, he glanced back at Evie with a look that was telling her that he was leaving everything to her as well. Zolan knew that the two needed this moment together to discuss and he knew the princess was the only one who could convince Prince Gavriel to leave her behind.

As though Evie had understood what Zolan wanted her to do, Evie suddenly hugged Gavriel after the two vampires left them alone in the watchtower.

The light drizzle continued but the two of them could not care less about the falling rain at this moment.

Gavriel remained unmoving as Evie gripped him as tight as she could. Their emotions started to become incredibly heavy. Perhaps, Gavriel already knew deep down that Evie was going to try and convince him to go off and leave her behind as how Zolan planned.

Evie felt her throat constricting and the sting of tears hit her eyes. She fiercely blinked back her tears and swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. Now is not the time for her to cry and play the weak lady in distress. However, she never thought they would already need to separate this soon. If only there were one more day and night for them to be together. Why so soon? And she was shocked at how she felt that she was already missing him to death even when he was still here with her. How would she fare when Gavriel left, and they would not know how long their separation would last this time? It could be a long time before she finally gets to see him again. She recalled the last time they were separated. It was only a few days, and she was already so worried and agitated as though she were sitting on a seat of hot coals.

This feeling she had right now was already unbearable. Can she survive the coming days when she would not be able to hold him freely and see him anytime she wants just like this? Her heart shuddered at the thought of this upcoming separation.

Evie held back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. This was not a good time to cry, she told herself again. She must speak calmly and be clear headed with him.

"Gavriel…" she called his name as she reluctantly pulled away to look at his face. He kept her arms around his waist as she looked up at him. When he did not meet her gaze, Evie lifted her hands to his face and made him look at her.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Evie opened her lips. "I will stay."