Leon landed lightly on the courtyard with Evie carefully held in his arms. A group of the imperial army who were already stationed and ready on the ground came at them at the instant they landed, and Leon was forced to fight their way out. He had to exert more care and caution so as to ensure that while fighting, he was also protecting Evie from getting injured.

Their situation was getting more and more impossible since Leon could not even fight to his best capabilities not only because he had her in his arms, but he was also safeguarding her. He had to honour the order given by his prince to protect her from all harm.

"Damn!" Leon cursed as he paused, pointing his sword towards the vampires who were surrounding them. They need to escape, or it was truly over for them. They must leave the walls before the soldiers blocked all possible escape routes. That was right, they still have a chance. They must reach the walls before the emperor's words reach the soldier's ears.

Suddenly, an incredibly strong aura seeped out of Leon's skin and the vampires immediately felt that the half-blood was about to become the deadly weapon that he was famed to be. Everyone started to be more wary and focused as their instincts sensed an immense danger.

Evie on the other hand, felt that a ferocious clash was about to commence so she tightened her hold on Leon. She had not seen Leon in a real fight before. But she had a feeling that he was far stronger and way more skilful than any of Gavriel's men.

When the first vampire launched themselves at them, Evie could only gasp at Leon's sudden and fast-as-lightning movement. She felt them spin around in the air and the next thing she knew, there were large patches of blood splattered all over her snow-white cloak. What did he just do?

The sight of the dismembered bodies on the ground made Evie's eyes widen. That did not take any time at all. All it took was just a few seconds. It seemed that her intuition was on the dot. This man was strong. And he was stronger than Samuel!

The other group of vampires who had leapt down from her chambers, attacked them and somehow, Leon still managed to break free from their confinement. However, she did not have the luxury to be amazed or praise Leon's skill as he started to move at an incredibly fast pace again. No, this time, it was much faster. This was the first time Evie travelled at such a rapid pace since Gavriel always made sure to slow down whenever he was carrying her. However, Evie understood that time was of the essence at the moment.

Evie could only hold on to him tighter as she hid her face against the wind that was hitting her and peeked through to look behind them. She could see black figures jumping and following after them. But they were still quite far behind to be able to catch up to them anytime soon. However, that was provided that Leon maintained his current pace. At this rate, there was a very high possibility that they could manage to escape!

Silently, Evie prayed annd hoped for a miracle to happen. She somehow knew that if the army ever caught them, the emperor would most probably execute them both. She had seen the murderous rage in his eyes right before she slashed at his face with her dagger. Lorcan was truly a real cold-blooded monster, and she knew he would not hesitate to punish her and Leon in the most inhumane way if he catches them!

And she was certain Leon was aware of this as well, and that was why he was doing everything he could right now for them to be able to escape.

As they passed through the town, Evie saw the streets where she annd Gavriel roamed around just recently. Dacria was so lively in her mind and the face of Gavriel appeared so vividly in her eyes as she looked down. It was hard to believe that it was only a few days ago.

Now here she was, escaping for her life. It was hard to believe that she just experienced the happiest days of her life not long ago when everything was so peaceful, dreamy, and magical. Why was it that happiness seemed to always end so fast? As if it were just a fleeting dream? Somehow, she had that niggling thought that whenever she experienced a little bit of happiness, there will be the negative side to it. The payment that she needed to compensate for that happiness she had acquired.

As Evie continued staring absentmindedly at the town that was now as quiet as a ghost town, a flash of light caught her attention and her eyes widened.

"Arrows!" she immediately yelled, and Leon cursed again.

He immediately secured Evie and shielded her with his body as it was too late for them to change course.

Evie felt something hit Leon's shoulder. Was he hit by an arrow?

Her heart jumped when she peeked over his shoulder and saw a couple of arrows planted into his broad back.

"Leon… !!!" Evie cried out but Leon continued running as if he was not being targeted to play the hedgehog. Those arrows sticking out of his back did not even seem to slow him down.

"Stop peeking, Princess. I can't afford to let you get hit!" he told her but when Evie saw more and more flares that she knew were arrows being reflected by the sun, Evie swallowed in dread. If Leon were to get hit again…

What should she do?! Do something Evie!!

All of a sudden, Leon halted.

When Evie looked back to the front, she realized they had finally reached the wall. However, to her surprise, the soldiers were already waiting for them at the top of the walls and arrows were pointed menacingly at them. And these arrows were not meant for vampires or humans. One look and Evie knew the purpose of those arrows. These were the kind that were used to shoot down a dragon – not a human or a vampire. Though at that moment, those arrows were being used to aim directly at them.

___

A/N: Follow me on instagram to see arts from this book's comic version. Just search @kazzenlx.x or go to www.instagram.com/kazzenlx.x