The Dragon King's Heart

"The Love Curse," Margaret finally gathered enough courage to say, "When did it happen?" 

Dante did not answer for a while. He was smiling to himself as he reminisced the beautiful moment he shared with Laina. For him, it was worth every second of it. When Marius heard what Margaret said, he widened his eyes in shock. 

"The Love Curse?" Marius repeated her words. 

The curse that inflicted Dante after the death of his lover. Once it activates, the curse will eat him slowly from within. As a Celestial Moon Dragon, the curse will freeze him from within. It all began at the heart and it would spread across his entire body. 

Black veins slowly spread across his body from his heart. Now, they have gone so far onto his left hand.. 

Eventually, his entire body will turn a deep shade of blue. At the end of it, he would be immobilized and encased in ice for eternity. Putting all the pieces of clues together, Marius took a step back. 

He should not have allowed Dante to return to the Celestial Realm. That would have only aggravated the spread of the curse. 

"I was not expecting this to happen. But it seems like in a cruel twist of fate, it would work in our favor," Dante said as he gently caressed Laina's cheek. 

He could feel the fading warmth beneath her skin. 

"What are you talking about? With the inflicted curse, there's no way your heart would be suitable either," Margaret protested. 

Dante shook his head in response, "That's where you're wrong. It would be perfect. It can counter the moonfrost curse's effects while Laina's heart is being repaired."

"But it's still too dangerous! What about you?" 

"When have you cared about my well-being?" Dante scoffed at Margaret's protest, "As you said, what matters most now is Laina. And I will do anything it takes to ensure she is her usual self once more."

With the situation at hand, they did not have time to dawdle. They had to make the best out of what they had. But putting Dante's life in danger like this felt out of place. Was this truly the right thing to do?

Just as Margaret was about to protest Dante's decision, a dagger materialized in Dante's hand. To everyone's surprise, he stabbed the dagger into his chest. Everyone gasped in shock. For a hot second, no one knew how to respond. 

Dante winced as he felt the pain from the wound. But he pulled through it. He cut open his own chest and retrieved his heart. Blood spewed from the gaping wound as Margaret called for the royal healers to be summoned immediately. 

Even Marius was at a loss on what to do next. Dante dropped the dagger onto the ground as his vision began to blur from the blood loss. He reached into his own chest cavity and removed his beating heart. 

His heart was still beating. 

"Take… take it…" he said to Margaret, "I'll leave the rest… up to you…"

Marius caught him just as he fell on his side. Silence befell upon the entire room. They were all too shocked by the development that none of them could move! But time was of the essence. They could not let Dante's effort go to waste. 

Margaret clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention, "We have no time to waste. Let's get things going."

The next few hours were a whirlwind. Margaret remained as calm as she could as she explained to the Royal Healers what needed to be done. Everyone worked tirelessly to ensure everything ran smoothly. 

By sunrise, everything was complete. Dante's heart was successfully transplanted into Laina to fight off the remaining curse while her original heart was purified. 

"How long will the process take?" Margaret asked. 

"It should take no more than a day,"  the royal healer replied, "After which we can return the hearts to their rightful place."

With the healer's assurance, Margaret finally heaved a sigh of relief. She sent them off, before taking a break herself as she sat down on the sofa and leaned her head back. Now all they had to do was wait. 

"My King, you need rest, you're in no condition to move!" as soon as Margaret heard Marius's voice, her eyes flickered open. 

She turned over to see the door to Laina's room swing open as Marius and Dante walked in. After he passed out, Margaret had him moved to a guest room down to the corridor to recuperate. 

His self-inflicted wound was tended to and healed swiftly, but his body was still weak from what had happened. As soon as he regained consciousness, Dante insisted on coming to see Laina. Even though Marius reassured him that Laina's condition was stabilized, he still wanted to see her for himself. 

With Marius's help, Dante walked up to Laina's bedside and sat down. He reached for Laina's hand. He could feel the warmth returning to her body. Margaret walked over and stood in silence for a while. 

"Her condition stabilized. Thank you," she finally blurted out after a while. 

Dante nodded in response, "Did they say when she will wake up?" 

"Probably in the next few days or so. Thanks to you, the curse can be purged cleanly from her bloodstream. It will not leave behind any side effects."

"That's good to hear."

Everyone remained silent for some time. They looked on at Laina, who was still sound asleep in her bed. Dante held on tightly to Laina's hand. He gently kissed the back of her hand. 

"You need rest," Margaret said to Dante, breaking the silence in the room. 

"I just want to accompany her a little more," he muttered. 

"I'll make arrangements for you to stay here. That way you can accompany her by her side," Margaret said. 

"Thank you," Dante replied with a smile. 

"So, when did it happen?" Margaret asked. The question had been in her mind ever since Dante revealed what had happened. 

Dante chuckled a little as he recounted the tale. It was during their stay in Starfrost Mansion. At that moment they shared, Dante knew Laina was about to confess her love for him. He knew the consequences of what would happen should she had been the one to say it. 

So, he took the chance to declare his love for her instead. After all, he had already wanted to do so from the beginning. 

He had no regrets.