The Dragon King's Heart

Cecilia had already fled the scene. Laina no longer had a target. Using the moment of distraction, Thorne ran up to Laina and hugged her from behind. It grimaced as the flames of fire and sun engulfed him too. 

He leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear, "It\'s alright, Laina. You did it. You\'ve saved us all. Rest now."

Laina blinked. Thorne\'s voice got through to her. The flames began to simmer down and fizzle out. As soon as she came to her senses, Laina dropped to the ground gasping for air. She did not know what had just happened. 

One moment, she was losing consciousness from being strangled. The next, she was released. What had happened in between was a mystery to her. 

"Laina! Oh, thank the heavens you\'re alright!" Margaret cries as she hugged Laina tightly. 

"She\'s far from alright. We need to get her to bed at once," Thorne said solemnly as he pointed to Laina\'s hand. 

Margaret looked down, only to gasp in horror at the sight of it. Laina looked down too, shocked to see that her right hand was as black as charcoal. At this time, the world seemed to have returned back to normal. 

Kol and Florin, who had previously been knocked out, regained consciousness. They did not know what had just happened but seeing as Laina was injured they rushed to her side. They too looked on in horror at the sight of Laina\'s hand. 

"Does it… does it hurt?" Margaret asked, her voice was shaking. 

Laina shook her head, "No… it…" 

Before she could complete her sentence, she felt something trickling down from her eyes. From the looks of horror on everyone\'s face, Laina realized something was horribly wrong. She touched the corners of her eyes, feeling something moist on the tip of her fingers. 

It wasn\'t tears. 

It was blood. 

"That\'s... that\'s..." Margaret could barely speak as she looked at Laina. 

Blood tears were rolling down her cheek. She brought her hand to her mouth, unable to speak. The rest were in shock too. All of them were stunned. No one knew what to do. 

"What-"Laina barely got one word out before a rush of blood spewed from her lips. 

"We need to get her inside, quick!" Thorne yelled, calling everyone to action. 

Kol and Florin were to first to get up on their feet. Together, they carried Laina indoors and laid her down on the daybed while Margaret got her a pillow to rest her head. Laina was still conscious at this time, but her eyelids were growing heavy. 

A drowsy spell was overtaking her senses. But Thorne kept her awake, patting her on the cheeks. 

"Laina, you have to stay awake. Focus on my voice. You need to stay awake." he said anxiously while looking straight into her eyes, attempting to make eye contact. 

Thorne turned to Margaret, "Bring the Sunfire jades, now."

"What? But-"

"There\'s no time! Bring them now!" Thorne instructed in haste before turning his attention back to Laina. 

Margaret got to work at once. With the quickest speed, she returned with the Sunfire jades they had previously gotten from Maximus. She handed them to Thorne before taking a few steps back. 

Marius caught her. When she realized he was still there, she hugged him tightly. Margaret buried her face in his chest as she tightened her fists. She wanted nothing more than to cry. But she had to remain strong for Laina. As much as she wanted to fall asleep in Marius\'s embrace that very night, she knew she had to send him off. 

She caressed his cheek, drawing his attention away from Laina who was taken care of by the others, "Marius, you have to go."

He looked down at her eyes as he clenched his jaw. 

"But..." He wanted to protest. 

After all, Laina\'s condition did not look good. If Dante were to ask him how things were, he would not be able to say anything that would put his mind at ease. How was he going to recover knowing Laina was at the brink of life and death?

"You have to bring these back," Margaret placed the chest of vials back in his hands, reminding him of what he came for, "Laina... Will be alright. She will pull through."

While they were speaking, Thorne placed the Sunfire jades on Laina\'s chest. Almost instantly, they were absorbed into her body and disappeared without a trace. Laina breathed in deeply, her eyes flickered open as she sat up. 

She looked down at her hand, it was still the color of soot. 

"Thank you, Thorne," she thanked him as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "You saved my life."

He shook his head, his expression remained solemn, "I didn\'t do anything, Your Majesty."

Laina looked over his shoulder to see Margaret and Marius. Realizing she looked better, Margaret ran up to her and hugged her tightly. 

"Don\'t you ever scare me like that again!" she cried, finally allowing her tears to flow as she buried her face in Laina\'s chest. 

Laina smiled weakly as she rubbed Margaret\'s back, "Sorry about that. It just... something inside me just clicked."

She looked over to see Marius who was preparing to take his leave. Now that he was certain Laina was alright, he could go. 

"Marius, could you come here for a moment?" she asked. Her voice was still weak, she was in desperate need of rest. 

Marius came to her side at once. 

"What is it, Your Majesty?" he asked. 

Laina materialized three gemstones in her hands. Margaret knew what these were. Blood infused rubies of the highest grade. Laina had been collecting stones, crystals, geodes, gemstones that resonate with her with an affinity to her with one purpose in mind. 

To create a body that would be strong enough to cross the boundary between realms. Her current human body would be reduced to ashes if she attempted to do so. But a body made from the strongest stones and rocks might just do the trick. Infusing them with her blood, her powers, strengthened them, giving her a better chance of achieving her goals. 

But the strongest of them, the Sunfire Jades, were already used to save Laina\'s life. 

"Laina, you can\'t-" Margaret protested. 

But Laina simply shook her head, "I have no need for them now."