The Dragon King's Heart

He could see that she was hurt by the bolt, but she still struggled to get back on her feet. She was hobbling over to Cordelia. The witch was knocked unconscious by her own attack.

The forcefield she had cast was lifted. Dante and the others ran up to Laina to check on her. 

Despite her injuries, Laina was still able to move. Before she even opened her mouth, Dante encased her in a healing spell. Drawing energy from the moon, he cast an accelerated healing spell. 

"Thank you," Laina said to him with a smile before asking for a favor, "Could you heal her too?"

"Laina, have you gone mad? She just tried to kill you!" Florin gasped in surprise upon hearing her request.

"I know, but she's hurt," Laina pointed out.

Margaret was in disbelief, "She was going to kill you, Laina. And now you want to save her?"

"There's no time to go over this," Laina said in a panic as she assessed Cordelia's condition.

She turned back to Dante, hoping he would be able to help. But to her surprise, he shook his head. He explained that he could not help her. At first, Laina assumed that it was because he did not want to, but Dante clarified that that was not true.

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"My healing spells won't work on her, Laina," he explained. 

To convince her, he cast a healing spell on Cordelia. True to his words, it was of no effect. Kol came forward to help assess the situation. His spells on the other hand worked. The witch's injuries were severe so she needed lots of rest.

Kol was the only one who listened and did as Laina asked. Upon her request, he carried Cordelia back to where they were staying so that she could rest. But the rest refused to let the matter rest.

"Why are you being so nice to her? She tried to kill you! She tried to ruin Dante and you countless times!" Margaret exclaimed angrily. 

She could not understand Laina's actions. Dante remained silent throughout the exchange. He did not protest nor did he support her decision. 

"Yes, she tried to. But each time it's like she's hesitating, she doesn't follow through," Laina reasoned.

Margaret rubbed her temples, "Do I need to remind you of the time she stabbed you? Dante had to give you his heart for a time so that you could recover! Have you already forgotten that?!"

There was no end to the debate. As it was getting late, Margaret decided to let the matter rest. Perhaps with a proper night's rest, they would all be able to think with clearer minds. But one thing was for certain, Margaret refused to allow Laina to watch over Cordelia while she recovered. 

Who knew what the witch might do when she woke up? But in a  twist of fate, as they were all about to turn in for the night, Kol came to inform them that Cordelia had vanished. He had placed her down to rest in bed and left for a short period of time. When he returned, the purple-haired witch was nowhere to be found. 

They could not find any trace of her either. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

"Maybe that is for the better," Laina responded upon hearing the news. 

That night, Dante carried Laina back to their room. He refused to let her walk on her own, citing the fact that she was still recovering from being struck by lightning. While his healing spell was super effective on the injury, she still needed proper rest. 

As they lay in bed, Laina turned over to Dante. 

"Why didn't you say anything?" she could not help but ask. 

She had expected him to protest her decisions. But every decision she made, he gave his silent support. He was worried for her safety, that was for certain. 

"You already made up your mind. Nothing I say would have changed it."

"Well, I would still have appreciated some input in the matter. At least I could have gotten to see what you thought of it all."

Realizing how much she valued his opinion, Dante began to regret that he did not voice out his concerns earlier. He kissed her gently on the forehead while running his hand through her hair.

"I'll make a note of that. I promise you next time, I will let you know, alright?"

Laina smiled as she nodded gratefully, "Thank you."

That night, they had a good rest. Florin and Kol took turns guarding Laina's room. They were worried Cordelila might show up to hurt her. But she never did. Or so they thought. 

After a few days of rest, Laina was back to her usual self. Though she wondered what happened to the witch, she had something more important she had to worry about. Through Nyx, Laina informed Ethan of her return to Kinshearth. In secret, she was brought into the castle to meet the King in private. 

"Be on guard," Margaret whispered to Laina as they walked down the hallways of the castle.

Nyx was leading them to Ethan and she could hear what Margaret said. She turned around and assured them that should anything happen, she would protect them. Laina could not help but chuckle a little, causing Nyx to think the former princess did not trust her.

"I mean it, Your Highness," the leader of the knights promised.

Laina pat Nyx on the shoulder, "I appreciate your loyalty, Nyx. But like I told you before, it should lie with the crown and not me. Plus, you have to be careful of what you say in these walls. There are ears everywhere."

While they continued on their way, Nyx informed them of what had happened so far. Laina was pleasantly surprised to know that Ethan had made efforts to change his ways. However, as she predicted, it was met with hostility from the nobility. As he started to lose the support of his peers, Ethan's determination for change wavered.

Just as they came up upon the King's Royal Chambers, Laina stopped Nyx for a moment. There was something she wanted to know. She wanted to know from Nyx's point of view if Ethan was a good fit for a King.

"Your-, Laina, you want my honest opinion?" the knightess was surprised.