The Dragon King's Heart

Dante was in Dracona, attending to some royal affairs when an energy signal from far away caught his attention. Like other beings who hailed from the Celestial Realm, he had the ability to sense their energy signals. 

But the energy signal he sensed at that moment, was a familiar one. It was one he had not expected. Moments later, he had a gut feeling that Laina was in danger. Though he did not believe it at first, it soon became clear as he got to Kinshearth. 

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He traced the energy signal to the clearing in the forest, where Laina had used a spell of fire to incinerate the beasts. 

"But how is this possible…" Dante muttered to himself as he touched the soil on the ground. 

The blackened soil served as damning evidence as to what had occurred. A spark of excitement lit in his eyes. Marius, who had followed him to Kinshearth, surveyed the surroundings. He noticed the traps that had been rigged all over the clearing. 

"These don\'t look like normal hunting traps," he commented as he took a closer look at one of them. 

When he shared his findings with Dante, he too found it strange. 

"You\'re right, these are not hunting traps. These were specially designed to wound and trap a person. Not a beast," Dante commented. 

Realising Laina had been in grave danger, his worry for her safety deepened. He made haste to Kinshearth Palace at once. Since he had arrived through the front gate, it took him a while before he was able to meet with Margaret. Upon meeting, she explained to him what had happened. 

Upon hearing that Laina was injured, nothing else mattered. He demanded to see her at once. The Dragon King\'s sudden appearance in the Kinshearth Palace quickly became a hot topic of discussion amongst the servants and members of the court. 

Once they entered Laina\'s room, Dante knelt down by Laina\'s bedside. Only when he saw that she was physically well that he let out a sigh of relief. He noticed her hand was bandaged. 

"What did the healer say about her wounds?" he asked as he held onto Laina\'s hand tightly, watching her steady rhythmic breathing. 

"The Royal Healer said she\'s alright. She fainted from fatigue, she overexerted herself when she cast that spell of fire," Margaret explained as she clutched her arm tightly. 

Dante got up on his feet. He turned to face Margaret with a look of disbelief. 

"But how… How is it possible for her to achieve that? That was no simple fire spell."

Margaret slowly shook her head, "I don\'t know either… she still doesn\'t remember anything as far as I know. It\'s not possible for her to even know that spell! Her current body isn\'t built for our kind of magic. That\'s why she passed out."

Dante shook his head, "She\'s not safe here either. Those traps in the forest clearing… someone is trying to harm Laina. It might very well be Cordelia\'s doing."

"What?" Margaret gasped in disbelief. 

She had been so worried for Laina\'s wellbeing ever since she fainted that she had not had the time to investigate the traps they triggered in the forest clearing. After listening to Marius and Dante\'s analysis of the traps, Margaret fell silent. 

She recalled the events that transpired. If their observation was accurate, it was likely Cordelia who was behind all of it. Margaret lowered her gaze as she sat down on the sofa. She buried her head in her hands. 

Worried for her, Marius came to her side immediately. He put his arm around her to comfort her. 

"What\'s wrong?" he asked in a soft calming tone. 

"If only I still had my witch magic…" Margaret said through gritted teeth. She turned to look at Marius, "If only I still had it I could have sensed the traps. Then none of this would have happened."

"No, Lady Margaret, I am to blame," Kol spoke up as he placed his hand over his chest. 

As Laina\'s bodyguard, he had failed in his duty. He did not protect Laina, resulting in her getting hurt. If he had been more vigilant, if he had not let his guard down, things would have turned out differently. 

Margaret shook her head, "No Kol, don\'t be so hard on yourself. None of us saw it coming."

Dante turned over to look at Laina who was still fast asleep. He quickly noticed that the look of tranquil she had previously was no longer there. Her mouth was moving, she was muttering in her sleep.

Beneath her eyelids, her eyes were darting from side to side. Her breathing became erratic. Dante clenched his jaw. What was Laina dreaming of? Why did she look so flustered and worried? 

"Why… why can\'t I remember anything?" Laina muttered in her sleep as she turned her head from side to side in her sleep. 

A single tear rolled down her cheeks. Dante\'s heart ached. To see Laina like this, pained him. He wished he could tell her everything but he can\'t. None of them could. If they told her, everything would fall apart. 

Laina would never be able to realize her true potential. 

Dante was spiraling in his own thoughts. He walked over to the side and leaned his back against the wall, biting on his nail. He did not realize Laina had abruptly sat up in bed until he heard Margaret calling out for Laina. 

She was awake!

Not wanting to scare her with their sudden appearance, Both Dante and Marius used a cloaking spell to hide their presence from Laina. It was not until Laina had her dizzy spell, that they revealed themselves to her. 

He held onto her tightly. 

He got her to sit back down on the bed, but Laina did not want to sit and rest. She wanted to go and see Titan.

"But you\'re in no condition to go. You need rest, Laina," he reminded her. 

"I know, but I just want to see Titan. I want to make sure he\'s alright if not I won\'t be able to rest," Laina insisted. 

No matter what Dante said, what Margaret said, Laina insisted on seeing Titan with her own two eyes. Without any other options, Dante relented. 

"Alright, since you want to see him so badly," Dante sighed as he turned to Marius, "Marius, go open the room door for me."

Marius did as he was told. 

"What…what are you-" before Margaret could even ask them what they were doing, Dante wrapped Laina\'s arm around his neck and shoulder. 

He wrapped one hand around her back while he slipped his other hand beneath her thighs. 

"Dante! What are you doing!" Laina exclaimed as she felt herself being lifted into the air. 

She clutched tightly onto the lining of his suit, leaning her head against his chest. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest. Then again, was she hearing the pounding of her heart, or his? She was not quite sure. 

"Since you\'re not able to go there on your own, I\'ll carry you there, my princess."