The Dragon King's Heart

It was a dark moonless night, a shadowy figure moved through the forest at top speeds. He had sweat trickling down his forehead, blood seeping from a gash across his abdomen but he persisted on.

"He's getting away!" a voice rang out from behind him.

He gritted his teeth, continuing forward without looking back. He could never return, not like this. He hides behind tall trees, catching his breath. Looking down at the wound across his abdomen, he gritted his teeth.

His hand was covered in blood and his wound was taking longer than expected to heal.

"Damn it," he cursed beneath his breath.

His pursuers were closing in on him.

"I don't want to die here. Not here," he winced, "Not now."

No one was coming to save him, he only had himself to look out for. An idea popped up in his mind. It was his only way out of this situation. He rummaged through his pocket, revealing a small marble-like object.

Clutching it tightly in his hands, he whispered an incantation. The marble began to glow brightly, catching the attention of his pursuers.

"He's over there! Don't let him get away!" one of them yelled to the others.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, "Come on, come on, come on!"

Moments before he was about to be found, a bright flash of light enveloped him. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into thin air. The pursuers who caught up to his hiding spot cursed and swore, they had lost the prince they were hunting.

Back in Kinshearth, Kol was out in the forest late in the night. He did not need much sleep, unlike the others, so he would often take a late-night stroll. The air was nice and cool and the forest was peaceful and quiet.

Sometimes, he could observe the nocturnal animals out on the move. Other times, he would simply sit below a tree and listen to the orchestra of the night. But tonight was different. A bright flash of light just up ahead, from where he was, attracted his attention immediately.

"What was that?" he muttered to himself.

This had never happened before. Kol closed his eyes, allowing his senses to guide him. His eyes fluttered open in shock upon realization someone had teleported. He decided to investigate.

The closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood lingered in the air. Realizing someone could be hurt, Kol sped up. Another thought flashed through his mind. What if the person who was injured was a criminal?

Kol shook his head. At that point, it did not matter. By the time he got close enough, Kol quickly hid behind a bush. But the scent of blood was too strong, and it was from a single person, not anyone else.

"Who's there!" a voice demanded menacingly.

Kol froze in his spot. He thought he had kept himself pretty well hidden. But clearly, he did not. He carefully revealed himself, holding both hands up to prove he meant no harm. Kol was surprised, the injured man was a vampire.

The vampire was surprised to see Kol too.

"A half breed? Shit! Don't you dare come any nearer! I will fight till- argh," his agitated behavior aggravated his wound, causing him to grunt in pain.

"You're badly hurt," Kol said as he took a step closer.

He did not care that the vampire was holding a weapon, threatening him. But the closer he got, the more agitated the vampire became, so he took a step back instead.

"I can help you. But only if you let me," he attempted to convince him.

As a gesture of goodwill, he introduced himself, "My name is Kol. I can bring you back to a safe place, where you can get better."

The vampire's eyes were filled with distrust. Even without the light of the moon, his irises were glowing ruby red. His silver-white hair contrasted the darkness of the night. Before he could question Kol any further, his vision began to blur.

He loosened his grip on the weapon in his hand and fell on his side. Kol rushed forward immediately, catching him right before his head hit the ground. Now that he was closer, Kol saw the full extent of the vampire's injuries.

It did not look good at all.

Kol carefully lifted him off the ground and made his way back to Kinshearth Palace. He laid the vampire down on his own bed. Under the light, he could see the vampire's wounds with greater clarity.

Vampires were supposed to have accelerated healing abilities, yet the wound was not healing as it should. Something was amiss. Kol hovered his hands above the vampire's abdomen to access the injury.

"Poison?" Kol muttered to himself as he continued his assessment.

He attempted to use some of the healing spells Margaret had taught him to try and heal the wound. Much to his surprise, it did not work. It had no effect on the wound. Blood was still seeping too.

Kol bit his lip. At the rate the vampire was losing blood, he might soon need to feed. If that were to happen, everyone in the palace right now could be in danger. Kol massaged his temples.

How could he be so careless, bringing a threat into the palace?

At this hour of the night, it was too late to call for a healer. What was Kol going to do? Just then, Kol recalled the time Laina had fed him her blood to heal him. Without wasting any time, Kol picked up the vampire in his arms again and headed for Laina's room.

Not wanting to alert the guards who kept watch in front of her room, he entered through the balcony instead.

It was another sleepless night for Laina. Instead of staring at the ceiling, she decided to enjoy a book under the light of a warm lamp. When she sensed Kol's presence, she had expected him to walk through the door.

Instead, he entered through the balcony. More shockingly, he had someone in his arms. The scent of blood was one of the first things that hit her.

"Kol? What are you doing here so late in the night? And who…" Laina looked at the person he was carrying in his arms, then back at him, "Who's this? Why are they injured?"

Upon realizing the gravity of the situation, she quickly instructed him to lay them down on the sofa while she lit up the room. Upon realizing the person Kol had brought with him was a vampire, Laina was stunned.

What in Kinshearth was going on?