The Dragon King's Heart

Laina was taken by surprise when she was sucked into the portal. Regardless of who cast the spell, she made sure Colette was safe in her arms. They landed heavily on the grass. Laina used her own body to soften the fall. 

Colette tumbled out of her arms, landing on her side a few meters away. 

"Colette!" Laina yelled as she crawled up to the child to check and see if she was alright. 

She could see the child shivering as she approached. 

"It's alright, Colette. Everything is fine. I'm here, I'm here," she consoled the child as she got up close. 

Laina did not know what got into Dante, it was so unlike him to act that way. She knew he was protective of her, but this took it to a whole new level. But before her mind could dwell on the matter any further, her focus was on Colette. 

But Laina began to notice something was amiss. Colette was not crying like she assumed she would be. The child was laughing hysterically. Laina had never seen this side of the child before, it almost made her stomach turn. 

Instead of getting closer, Laina took a step back. Colette got up on her own two feet and dusted off her clothes as she looked over to Laina with a smirk. 

"What's wrong Laina? Why so serious? I can't believe you trusted me over Dante," Colette continued to laugh maniacally. 

Could the child be possessed? Laina was not certain. 

"What have you done to Colette? Who are you?!" she yelled. 

The young girl was amused.

"What have I done to Colette? Laina, Laina, Laina, has all this time in Gaeia turned your brain to mush?" she said as she shook her head, "I was disappointed to have to throw this perfect disguise away but seeing how you're reacting now… I think it was all worth it."

A chill ran down the Crown Princess's spine. Her eyes widened in shock as she put the pieces together. Could Dante's warning be true? Colette could not be trusted? But how was this possible? 

She was just a young child she was rescued from the forest. Were none of the memories they built real? Did she have the wool over her eyes all this time? Laina shook her head as she came to the realization. 

In her state of confusion, Colette took the chance she had been waiting for. She materialized a moonfrost dagger in her hand. It was as cold as thousand-year ice, imbued with the essence of the moon. 

Colette lunged at Laina. As she came up close, she looked the Crown Princess straight in the eyes. 

"Do take this personally, your Highness. This is payback."

She plunged the moonfrost dagger into Laina's abdomen. At that moment of shock, Laina could not even muster a scream of pain. Colette let go of the dagger. She took a step back. She removed her child-like disguise and returned to her original form. 

Blood spewed from Laina's mouth as she looked down in shock. Laina was not stuck in a nightmare. She had a dagger in her abdomen. When she looked back up, Colette had already transformed back into Cordelia the purple-haired witch. 

"Why… why?" Laina asked in confusion. What had she done to deserve this?

Cordelia crouched down with a smile on her face, "I won't let you die so easily, Laina. I'm not done toying with you just yet."

Just as she was about to remove the dagger, Cordelia could hear voices coming towards them. While she would have loved to stay and watch what happened next, she was not about to risk her life doing so. 

"Till we meet again, Laina," with that, she summoned a spell circled and disappeared into thin air. 

Laina's vision began to blur. Her body temperature began to drop dangerously low with each passing moment. Her hands began to hurt. She felt so cold. 

"Laina! Laina!" 

Someone was calling out to her. But she did not know who it was or where the voice was coming from. She looked up, hoping to find the source of the voice. She wanted to call out to them, but she could not speak. 

Laina tried to get back up on her feet. She used a nearby tree trunk to support herself but she stumbled on her own feet and fell back onto the ground. Just then, a shadow loomed over her. Someone carried her in their arms. She could not make out who it was, but she knew it was someone she trusted. 

Though the air was filled with the heavy scent of her blood, Laina was still able to smell the scent of the person who held her. She knows him intimately. She would never mistake the scent for anyone else. 

"Laina! No no no...not again, Laina hang in there!"  the person's voice sounded so familiar, confirming her suspicions. 

It was Dante!

"Margaret! I found her! She's injured, send for the royal healers at once!" he yelled. 

His voice was filled with anxiety and pain. 

Tracing the magic residue left by the teleportation spell, he went to look for Laina. His stomach twisted and turned, knowing Cordelia would take every opportunity to harm his beloved. He could not let that happen. 

When he smelled the scent of blood in the air, Dante knew his worst nightmare came through. But it was worse than he had imagined. So much worse. 

"Laina stay with me! I need you to stay with me, okay? I can't lose you again. Not like this…" 

The Crown Princess did everything she could to focus on the sound of the voice. She wanted to say something, but she could not. Blood continued to trickle down the side of her mouth as she attempted to do so. 

"Da… Dante…" she finally mustered the strength to call his name. 

She gripped tightly onto his coat as she attempted to speak. 

"Save your energy, Laina. Whatever you want to tell me, you can tell me later."

Laina shook her head. She had to say it now. She had tears in her eyes as she gripped onto his coat tightly. With all the strength she could muster, Laina attempted to speak again. 

"I… I'm sorry… I did not trust you…"

Her vision goes black.