The Dragon King's Heart

With that, he waved his associate away and continued to open the doors before them. Kol and Florin shot a look at each other, then to Laina. She simply shook her head, signaling them not to be bothered by what happened.

As the doors to the room creaked open, Laina felt a wave of warmth rush out of the room. It was as if she was being hugged by flames. Before she could take a step in, Maximus blocked her way.

He handed her a blindfold.

"Put this on," he instructed.

Laina did so without question. Since she was looking for something that resonated with her heart, she could not choose it with her eyes. She had to trust her instincts, her gut. Maximus held her hand and guided her into the room. Kol and Florin were instructed to remain outside.

While she was in the room, she would be safe. There were many protection spells in place to ensure the items would be safe. By extension, it also protected the people who were within.

Laina held out her hands as she took a few steps forward. Maximus guided her carefully so that she would not accidentally hurt herself on any obstacles.

"Don't worry about anything else, just focus on what you're searching for," he said to her.

She took in a deep breath and calmed her heartbeat. She channeled her energy from her heart to her fingertips. Though her eyes were closed, she could still sense the shapes of the Sunfire Jades that were scattered throughout the room.

Laina looked at every single piece she could see. But nothing spoke to her. Apart from their outline and a soft glow of light, she could not feel or see anything else. Maximus led her further and further into the room.

"Feeling anything yet?" he asked as he carefully guided her past a table that was in their way.

"No..." she sighed, a little disappointed.

If she could not find anything here, the chances of her ever finding anything suitable was as good as gone.

Just then, a piercing light shot out in her direction from a corner of the room. She quickly pointed towards it and asked Maximus to bring her there.

"Are you sure?" he asked, as he bit his lip.

She noticed from his tone of voice that he sounded uncertain and a little worried.

"Yes, I'm sure of it," she said as she squeezed his hand.

"Alright then," he replied.

As they got closer, the glow Laina could see grew brighter and brighter. She could feel the energy pulsing from the source. In fact, there was more than one source. In total there were five.

Laina picked each one of them up. Some of them had rough exteriors while others were smooth. Once she had them assembled together, she indicated to Maximus these were the ones she wanted to trade with him.

He went silent for a short while, wondering if he should tell her what he saw. The reason for his reluctance was due to the quality of the minerals she had picked. None of them could compare to the quality of the ones she was going to trade with him.

All five of them together were not even a fraction of the value of one of the pieces Laina had. In the end, he told her his observations.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," he sighed, as he pursed his lips, wondering what Laina's reaction would be.

Perhaps she would assume he was lying to her. But she surprised him once more as she patted him on the shoulder.

"That's alright. I'll take them still. These are the ones that resonate with me. The quality does not matter as much," Laina said with a smile.

Maximus was stunned, "Are... are you sure?"

"Of course I am," she materialized the three pieces she had agreed to trade with him from her spatial storage and handed them to him.

"A deal's a deal, Maximus. I will honor our trade," Laina declared with a smile as she held out her hand.

Both of them shook hands on their deal. Seeing Laina's genuine behavior, Maximus was moved. He proceeded to bring her to two more vaults and allowed her to pick and see if any of the items in there resonated with her.

As such, Laina walked away with a large collection of stones. A quick count of the items she had acquired, Laina realized she likely had more than enough to work with.

"I can't thank you enough, Maximus, thank you again," she said as she clutched his hands tightly in hers with a joy-filled smile.

Maximus blushed a little as he quickly pulled his hands from hers. He had never been thanked like this before, he did not know how to react.

"You...you're welcome Your Majesty," he mumbled beneath his breath.

Before she left, Maximus had a gift for Laina. He decided, at the last moment, to give it to her as a token of their friendship. He led Laina and her bodyguards to a room. It was mostly empty, apart from a small statue that had been set up on a pedestal.

Upon closer inspection, Laina felt oddly drawn to it. The statue was carved from black jade. It was the bust of a young woman with long hair. Her eyes were closed and she had her hands cupped together. Most interestingly of all, the statue was emitting a soft glow of light.

There was nothing in the palm of her hands.

"What... what is this?" Laina asked out of curiosity.

"It's said to be the carving of the Sun Goddess. I would like to gift it to you, "Maximus declared.

"A gift? For me?" Laina gasped in surprise, "But why?"

As it turned out since Laina's arrival, the statue had begun to glow. It had never happened before. In fact, Maximus had been trying to open it for the longest time. But no matter what he tried, he had never been able to get it open.

"What's in it? Do you know?" she asked as she inspected the statue.

"Rumor has it that it contains crystalized blood tears from the Sun Goddess herself. Rare red rubies in the shape of teardrops."

Realizing how unique of a gift it was, Laina refused to accept it. It was too valuable. But Maximus was insistent. He felt like their fated meeting, the statue glowing, had to have a bigger meaning. There might be a connection between them. He insisted on Laina accepting the gift.

Without a good reason to refuse, she agreed.