The Dragon King's Heart

Cordelia looked as if she had seen better days. The dark circles under her eyes were new, and her movements seemed sluggish. When a gust of wind blew past Laina, she could have sworn she smelled the faint scent of liquor in the air. 

Kol and Florin came to the scene, surprised to see Cordelia. Titan was with them too and he quickly ran over to Laina's side, growling at Cordelia while barring his sharpened teeth. 

She was clearly unstable. The purple-haired witch could barely walk in a straight line. 

"We'll deal with her, Your Majesty, you need to get ready for the Solar Solistice," Kol said to Laina. 

Laina nodded. But she knew they were no match for Cordelia. Furthermore, she had something to say to her. Though time was not on her side, she should have just the right amount to deal with her. 

"Margaret," Laina turned to her, "Take Marius inside to rest."

Margaret shook her head, refusing to follow orders, "But what about you-"

"We'll be fine," she reassured her, "I will be fine. Marius needs you. And help me to thank him for his help." 

Though she wanted to stay and help, she knew Laina was right. Without any other choice, she carried Marius in her arms and rushed off. Laina turned her attention back to Cordelia with Kol and Florin standing before her. 

"I need you two to hold her down. I need to mind-link with her," she instructed the both of them. 

They did not waste any time. Kol and Florin were in sync, together they lunged forward to tackle Cordelia. Though she was intoxicated, she still had her reflexed. She carefully avoided their attack while simultaneously closing the distance between her and Laina. 

The Queen of Kinshearth was not about to be a sitting duck either. As Cordelia got closer, she drew her sword, ready for a fight. 

"Oh come on, Your Majesty! Fight like a real woman. Don't hide behind a weapon," Cordelia taunted. 

Laina did not fall for it. She had to conserve as much energy as she could. Fighting with a weapon gave her the upper hand. Titan was not about to let her do all the fighting either. The Solar Mastiff pounced onto Cordelia. 

She did not notice he was coming towards her. As such, Titan successfully pinned her to the ground as she fell backward. Putting his entire body weight on her, Cordelia could barely move. 

Florin and Kol came to Titan's aid, holding Cordelia down. 

"You can't hold me down! " she yelled as she enveloped herself in a purple aura. 

Realizing something was amiss, Laina yelled, "Everyone! Behind me. Now!"

Hearing the urgency in her voice, they all did as Laina instructed. Even Titan leaped off Cordelia and came running to her side. Laina put up a forcefield just as an explosion of energy occurred. 

The entire garden was reduced to flat ground in a matter of seconds. Lucky for Laina and her friends, her shield took the hit. In fact, Laina was able to harness the energy and use it as her own. With it, she held Cordelia down and walked up to her. 

Florin, Kol, and Titan followed closely behind. Should the witch try anything funny, they would be there to protect her. 

"It's time you learned the truth, Cordelia," Laina sighed as she placed her hands on her forehead.

"You are the one who's been lying! You messed with my head! You... you..." 

One moment, she was in the middle of a battle with Laina. The next, Cordelia found herseld inside an empty plane, with only Laina standing before her. All she saw was red. She yelled as she ran up to Laina, ready to kill her. 

But she could not even touch a strand of her hair. 

"I'm here to show you the truth," Laina said without skipping a beat. 

Cordelia had always blamed Laina for the death of her family and everyone she loved. She thought Laina was the one who murdered everyone she held dear. But that was simply not true. 

They had given up their lives for Cordelia's sake. In her blind pursuit for power, Cordelia sacrificed everything she had. It backfired, causing her body to be beyond repair and her soul completely shattered. 

It was her parents who begged Laina to use their lives in exchange for bringing Cordelia back; to piece her soul back together and give her a new body to inhabit. 

Cordelia stumbled back as she shook her head, refusing to believe any of it. 

"You're lying. You're lying! You made all of this up!" Cordelia accused Laina as she fell to the ground. 

"Why would I?" Laina reasoned with her. "What would I get out of this... what would I get out of lying to you?"

When Laina had the chance to recount her memories from another life, she could only take four memories with her. This was one of the memories she took back with her. She had to know what caused Cordelia to hate her so much. 

If it was something she had done, she wanted to know the truth. To her surprise, it was unlike anything she could have predicted. Cordelia's parents came to Laina to seek her help, to bring their daughter back. 

She agreed to do so and fulfilled their wishes. She also made them a promise that Cordelia would never find out about this.

"I made a promise to your parents that I would never tell you the truth. Knowing could break you. But the lie we spun did not help you to heal either.

I cannot let you go on like this, Cordelia."

Laina took a step forward. Then another. Cordelia did not move. She simply stood there as if she was in a trance, processing what she had just learned. Memoried of the past, some that she had long buried in the depths of her mind began to resurface. 

As Laina was about to embrace her in her arms, Cordelia retreated away from her. 

She shook her head, "You're lying... you are lying! My parents... my siblings...."