The Dragon King's Heart

She fell to the ground, burying her head in her hands. Cordelia ran her hands through her hair, grasping at them tightly. She felt as if she was going to explode. Laina didn't know what to do at first. 

But a wave of emotion compelled her to take a step forward. So, she did. She opened her arms again. This time, she successfully gave Cordelia a hug. The purple-haired witch struggled at first. But eventually, she stopped. 

Through Laina's embrace, she felt a warmth she had not felt in ages. It was familiar and soothing. For just a flicker of a second, Cordelia caught a glimpse of her family. 

Returning to the present, Laina removed her hand from Cordelia's forehead, severing the mind-link they shared. Cordelia shook her head, trying to make sense of everything she had learned. She glanced over to Laina, uncertain of what to say. 

Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, hurried footsteps could be heard coming in their direction. Cordelia clenched her jaw as she took the opportunity to disappear once more. 

"Wait-" Laina was too late. By the time the first word left her lips, Cordelia was already long gone. 

But at the very least, she hoped that what she had done for Cordelia would help her to heal. Just as Laina turned to Kol and Florin, a wave of fatigue hit her. Her eyes rolled back for a moment as she fell to the ground. 

"Laina!" Kol called out to her as he rushed to catch her just in time. 

The Oracle and the temple guardians were alerted by the explosion and came to see what had happened. When they noticed something was wrong with Laina, the Oracle came to her aid at once. 

She was stunned to see the condition Laina was in. When she removed the gloves Laina was wearing to take a closer look, everyone was stunned. Both her hands had blackened. 

"Your Majesty, how long has this been going on for?" The Oracle asked. 

"It's been a couple of days..." Laina replied.

"Why didn't you tell us anything, my Queen?" Florin asked.

He turned to Kol. The look on his face spoke multitudes. 

"You knew?" Florin gasped. 

Kol hesitated. There was no point holding it back anymore. He nodded, "Laina made me swear never to tell anyone." 

The Oracle looked up at the sky. The Solar Solistice was almost upon them. 

"You need to hang in there, Your Majesty. It's almost time," she said encouragingly. 

In order to help Laina retain what energy she had left, the Oracle ordered for her to be brought to the Sun Altar. Kol, Florin, and Titan followed suit. The Sun Altar was made of Rose Flare Quartz, a strong healing crystal that was perfect for those who resonate with the Sun and fire. 

Laina was laid on the smooth crystal slab. Immediately, the crystal slab began to emit a warm glow of light. 

~

Dante glanced over to the doors of his room. He grimaced as he rubbed his shoulder. He had tried everything he could think of to get out of there but it was impossible. He did not have enough energy to break the spell. 

Resorting to brute force did not work either. He cursed beneath his breath, irritated by his own incompetence. This was all that was standing between him and Laina. 

"Damn it!" he cursed again as he slammed his hand on the table. 

All he could think of was Laina. Since they had parted ways, she had been on his mind. He was beginning to worry that he would forget the sound of her voice, the sweet fragrance of her hair, or the taste of her lips. 

"I can't give up. I can't," he repeated to himself.

"Master," another voice, not his own, caught Dante's attention. 

He looked up. Dante almost fell off his sit. 

"Thorne? What are you doing here?" he asked in shock. 

He should be down in Gaeia protecting Laina, keeping her company. What was he doing here? Not to mention, he almost looked like a specter. His body was translucent. Thorne got down on one knee and hung his head low. 

"I'm sorry, Master. But I can no longer continue the mission you've entrusted to me. I am here for to by you and Laina some time." 

As he finished his sentence, Thorne turned into a swirl of energy and entered Dante's body. In that instant, he was invigorated. Thorne's memories of the time he had spent with Laina was now in his mind. 

For the first time in a long while, Dante smiled. He understood what Thorne was trying to do. For that, he was eternally grateful. 

"You have completed your mission, Thorne. For that, I am eternally in your debt," he muttered to himself. 

Dante picked up the single blood rose that was left by Thorne and placed it into his spatial storage for safekeeping. With the energy he had gained from Thorne, he could finally escape. Not wanting to have to fight off any guards, Dante took to his dragon form at once. 

His sudden growth in size caused him to break through the roof of his room, destroying part of the castle in the process. The guards who were outside of the room were stunned. When his mother, the former empress, caught wind of what happened, she was stunned. 

Dante took to the skies at once. He flew across the Moon Kingdom as quickly as he could without any breaks. Finally, he came upon the Realm Gate. It was a pool of water, looking down into the mortal realm below, looking down at Gaeia. 

He returned to his human form as he stepped closer to the pool. Just as he was about to jump through it, a strange shield blocked him. 

"No... no!" he yelled in anger upon realizing what it was. 

His mother had anticipated he might escape. She had put up an ancient spell, blocking him from being able to pass through the Realm Gate. This had nothing to do with the fact that he was Emperor. 

The Emperor and Empress of the Moon Kingdom had a long-standing tradition of not entering the Mortal Realm for one reason. It was so as to keep themselves from interfering with anything that happened there. There was nothing physical that stopped them from going. 

Until now. 

But Dante was not a quitter. 

He was not about to give up just yet. He placed his hands on the surface of the water and used what energy he had to attempt to break the spell. But no matter how he tried, nothing seemed to work. 

Could this be the end?

"Come on, Shadow.. Bring Laina to me," he muttered beneath his breath as he continued to try.