"You… you said you only want me. What are you going to do with them? And where are my other men? You didn't do anything bad to them, did you?!" she asked, worried to death now for Zolan and the others.

Evie even shook him when he just looked at her and could not speak. She did not realise her hands that were clutching onto his arm were shaking his, even as she was questioning him so daringly. The soldiers were looking at her with widened eyes and even Zanya and Elias had their mouths opened in shock. How could the princess be so bold?!

"Answer me! They're alright, are they not?" she continued, her eyes now pleading with him to tell her that he did not just have them killed outright. Evie could not help but fear for the worst because of how his eyes looked like when he said he would kill Elias. She had felt right then that he was not even joking and would not hesitate to kill Elias at all!

His expression changed right at that moment. It was as if he hated it to his bones, the fact that she was so worried over her men. However, as his eyes landed and stared at her hands which were clinging onto his arm, all the rage in his eyes suddenly subsided and he was calm again.

"I didn't kill them." He responded to Evie's questions simply and Evie felt so relieved that her knees nearly gave way and she almost crumpled to the ground where she stood. "They're alive and in prison." Gavriel added after a pause.

"Free them." She demanded and his eyes now narrowed. His glorious face loomed over hers and Evie could not help but stiffen up. She felt that this Gavriel's moods were really and truly volatile. He swung so quickly between wrath and calmness. Honestly, this just made her more curious on what had happened to make him behave so bizzarely.

"You don't need them anymore, Evie." He responded with such an unfeeling tone, using her nickname again. And it was utterly strange that she did not feel any disgust or rage when he calls her that. Was he not supposed to be possessed? Then why did it sound so natural for him to call her that? Or was it just her imagination because his voice was a ringer for Gavriel's?

"They are my men. I need them." She argued, defying him – seemingly at every turn. To the soldiers around, it was a miracle she was still alive and not dead from angering him yet.

Evie also felt strange that despite the coldness in his eyes, she did not feel that much fear of him. If he was an enemy, why could she not feel the danger towards herself like how she feared for Zanya and her men? Was she instinctively believing in this person that he will never harm her?

"From now on, they're going to obey me and me alone." Gavriel intoned.

Evie's eyes widened. "What did you do to them?" she asked nervously, her fear for her men coming back again.

"Whoever loses to me will automatically become my puppet." He answered as what he had just told her was one of the most normal things to be said. "Those who are weaker than me will have no choice but to become my subject."

What he said and the look in his eyes as those words comes out of his lips made Evie bite down on her lips very hard. Because one glance at his face and she could tell that he meant every single word of it.

And this time, anger flashed in her eyes. Perhaps, she was truly tired now and had long reached her very limit. She could not help but feel angry because now that she had found him, she could not do what she had dreamt of doing for so long. She could not even hug him or call out his name. And now, this…

"Are you going to turn me into one of your puppets as well if I lose to you?" she hissed at him, brave and defiant. Her eyes were sparking fire in them as she stared into his eyes, challenging him wordlessly.

His eyes widened for a moment, as if shocked at what she had said. And then there it goes, that familiar offended and dangerous expression she had seen a few times before when they were still back in the vampire's capital. She could remember that when they were still newlyweds. Evie sighed internally, thinking to herself that that seemed to have happened so long ago. She suddenly wished that things were back to being as simple as before. But before she could start feeling sorry for herself, she righted her thoughts and told herself that she would do whatever it takes to get Gavriel back to herself.

She didn't cower even at his darkened and dangerous expression.

But then again, he opted for calm like he always does.

"Oh, I won't, Evie…" he said in low voice, his eyes smouldering as he looked at her with hooded eyes. While Evie was still shocked still from his reply, his hands stretched forward, as his fingers carefully reached for the stray strands of her hair that were whipping about in the breeze and gently and deliberately tucked them behind her ears, one side after the other. Evie could only stare wide-eyed and swallowed hard as he did that, her heart thumping in her chest as it reminded her of how he used to do that to her before he went missing.

Then he leaned forward until his face was beside hers, and continued in a whisper, "… not you. I can turn anyone and everyone into my puppets when I want to. But never you. Even if you wanted to be one, I would never… I want you to be mine forever, but not as a damned brainless puppet that needed to be controlled. I want you to choose me, fall for me, become my queen and stay with me forever."

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A/N: We're still number 1. Seems i need to prepare the bunos chaps now. ^^

Keep our rank for a few more hours(1 hour before reset) spellbounders to receieve bunos chaps tomorrow.