The Dragon King's Heart

Laina felt a certain warmth feeling surround her, followed by a familiar voice calling out to her. When she opened her eyes again, she realized she was in her room in the palace. She looked up at the familiar ceiling of her canopy bed.

She felt a cold chill on her hand. She turned to see Dante resting on her hand. She remembered the last words she said to him before she passed out. Laina reached out her hand and ruffled his hair.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Her dry throat sent her into a coughing fit when she tried to speak again. Her coughing fit stirred Dante awake.

"Laina? Laina!" he was over the moon to see her awake..

He quickly got her a glass of water to soothe her throat. Laina downed the entire glass in one seating. Dante caringly rubbed her back as she did. When she was done, Laina put down the glass on the side table.

Before Dante could say anything, Laina attempted to get up from her bed. She wanted to hug him. But a spell of fatigue and dizziness caused her head to spin. Dante quickly got her to lie back down and rest.

"You still need time to recuperate," he whispered to her as he laid her down gently.

Laina took the opportunity and hugged him tightly, refusing to let go. Dante was caught off guard by her actions, not know how to react.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" he asked, concerned about her well-being.

She did not reply, burying her head into his torso refusing to let go. There was so much she wanted to say, so many things she wanted to ask. But the moment she opened her eyes and saw his face, all the words were stuck in her throat.

All she wanted to do was to hug him tightly and never let go.

Dante reciprocated Laina's embrace. He held onto her tightly. Though he had pretty much kept his composure throughout the entire ordeal, he was wrought with fear on the inside. He would do anything to keep Laina alive.

Even if it meant sacrificing his life.

A knock on the door caught both of their attention, Margaret and Kol entered the room. When they realized was awake, they ran over to her bedside. Dante released Laina from his embrace as she is greeted by the rest.

"Don't you ever pull off something like this ever again!" Margaret warned with tears in the corner of her eyes.

Laina chuckled, "I don't think I would want to either."

Kol got down on both knees, head hung low.

"Kol, what are you doing? Get up," Laina ordered, surprised by his actions.

"Please punish me as you deem fit, your Highness. I failed to protect you," Kol confessed.

"Oh Kol," Laina sighed as she leaned over to pull him back up. She held his hand in her own, "It was not your fault, don't be so hard on yourself."

While she was grateful to see everyone, Laina wanted to speak to Dante in private. After a short catch-up session with the rest, she let out a yawn and declared she wished to rest for the night. None of them suspected anything, so they bid her farewell and took their leave.

But just as Dante got up to do the same, Laina held him back. He could see it in her eyes that she had something to say to him. So he sat back down by her bedside with his arm over her shoulders to accompany her.

After everyone else left, Laina remained silent for a time. She leaned her head against Dante's chest, listening to his breathing and heartbeat as she closed her eyes.

"Dante,"

"Yes my dear,"

"That person… who was that?"

It took him a while to realize what she was alluding to. Dante bit his lip as he attempted to formulate a suitable reply.

"Someone from our- from my past. She was trying to get to me through you," he explained.

He held his breath as he waited for Laina's response.

"She got close to me, in order to seek revenge on you?" Laina asked for clarification, purposefully skipping over the clear mystery behind Dante's wording.

"Yes. Her real name is Cordelia. She's a witch and we need to be careful of her. She meant to kill you," Dante heaved a silent sigh of relief before continuing his explanation.

He tightened his grip on Laina's arm as he spoke. If only he had realized her schemes sooner, perhaps this would not have happened. Laina looked up at Dante. She could see the dark veins peeking through the shadow of his shirt.

A sense of dread washed over her as her expression darkened. Laina compared the memory she had seen versus the present. It was spreading across his body. When Dante realized she was looking up at him, he immediately became conscious of the veins on his body and straightened his collar to hide them.

He was certain she did not see it.

She looked down at her own hands, wondering what she could do to help. Dante clearly did not want her to know about it, so she was not about to ask him about it either.

"Dante," Laina called out his name as she looked back up at him.

"Yes?"

Laina took his hand into her own. She traced his fingers as she spoke, "I'm sorry for not trusting you."

Surprised by Laina's apology, Dante did not know how to respond. He remained silent as Laina continued to speak.

"From this point forward, I promise, I will trust you wholeheartedly. Regardless of what decision you make, I will support you," she declared.

Dante smiled as he gently kissed her on the forehead, "Thank you. I also pledge to do the same. No matter what decision you make, I will be there to support you all the way."

With their promise to one another, Laina smiled. She was grateful to have Dante by her side. She did not ever want to lose him. Knowing the road ahead of them is a difficult path, Laina made a secret vow, she would do everything in her power to find out what the darkened veins meant.

Just then, it dawned on Laina. The darkened veins seemed to have only appeared after Dante declared his love for her. Could it be a love curse? Perhaps, the more time they spend with one another, the worse it gets.

Laina clenched her jaw.

This meant the more time Dante spent with her, the quicker it spreaded. What happens when his body is covered entirely by the darkened veins? Laina did not want to overthink it. She could still feel the cool temperature from Dante's hand.

For his safety, she had to push him away.

Laina curled her hand into a fist over her heart. It pained her to send him away. But it was the right thing to do.

"Dante, I need you to leave."