The Dragon King's Heart

Laina knew who it was immediately. She jolted in her spot as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Their bodies were touching, she could smell the smoky fragrance notes of teakwood and oak with light rose aromatics. 

"Dante?" Laina tilted her head to look up at him. 

Dante leaned in and kissed Laina gently on the tip of her nose, causing her to blush. Laina covered her agape mouth with her hand. She could feel the warmth on her cheeks. 

Kol was surprised by King Dante's sudden appearance too. He tried to hide his face, after witnessing their display of affection. Laina nudged Dante on the arm, taking a step away from him as she did so. 

But Dante was not about to let her out of his grasp. He pulled her back into his arms. He did everything with purpose. He wanted to show the other royals and nobility in the ballroom that Laina was his. 

Laina wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury herself. She knew the rumors and gossip that would spread after this. 

She angrily whispered to Dante, "Why did you do that?!" 

"Why?" Though he was caught off guard by her question, his quick thinking gave him an answer, "As an apology, your Highness."

Kol knew the King of Dracona would be able to protect Laina. So he decided to leave silently, leaving the ballroom before the crown princess noticed. 

"What apology?" Laina asked as she furrowed her eyebrows. 

From the corner of her eye, she could see that there were many people who were curiously looking in their direction. Needless to say, these bystanders were likely eavesdropping on their conversation. 

Laina grabbed Dante by his arm and dragged him into an empty balcony. 

Having had some time to process what had happened, Laina realized what Dante was referring to. She crossed her arms as she pouted. Seeing that she was clearly still upset with him, he could not help but chuckle. 

He had always liked the way she looked when she was pouting. 

"What's so funny?" 

"You look adorable when you're pouting, Princess Laina," Dante told the truth. 

"Adorable? What do you think I am, some cute kitten?" Laina replied snappily. 

Dante took a step closer to Laina. He wrapped his hands around her and gently caressed her cheek with his hand. 

"I'm sorry I was not able to return your calls. I had… important matters to take care of," he apologized. 

To be honest, Laina was more worried about his well-being than mad at him for not replying. She reached for his hand as they looked into each other's eyes. Laina rested her cheek in his palm. 

"I was worried. You promised to be there but you weren't. I know you're busy. But I was worried something happened to you, Dante. Especially when you picked up but things did not sound right on your end," Laina explained anxiously. 

To hear that he cared for his well-being above everything else, Dante's heart ached. This was truly the Laina he knew. 

"I'm sorry I caused you to worry. Do not worry, everything was taken care of and I am well."

Dante explained to Laina that he was dealing with the Colossal Water Salamander threat. He did not want to lie to her, so he chose to not mention anything that happened before his return to Dracona. 

Laina was surprised to hear about the threat he had to deal with. But she was assured to see that he did not suffer from any lasting injuries from the battle. 

"I'm relieved to see that you're alright," Laina said with relief. 

Dante grinned, "I, on the other hand, was shocked to hear that you considered another marriage proposal in my absence. Would you care to explain that to me, my dear?"

In each other's company, time seemed to have lost its meaning. Laina explained what transpired after they had parted ways in Everfree. She told him about King Kragen and his schemes. 

Her initial trip to Wolfenheim where she met the Moon Goddess and how they discovered she had been bewitched. Hearing Laina recount what happened, Dante gritted his teeth. 

While he attempted to present a neutral expression while he listened, deep in his heart he was fuming with anger. In his absence, someone had successfully cast a spell on Laina. 

Not to forget, she almost ended up marrying that horrible Alpha Werewolf King. As Laina continued recounting, they each enjoyed a glass of wine. 

"Hold on, did you say you met with the Moon Goddess Selene?" Dante asked halfway through as he put down his glass of wine on the railing of the balcony. 

Laina nodded, "Yes, I did. She was really nice-"

"Did she say anything specific to you?" Dante could not help but ask. 

"Something specific?" Laina fell silent as she pondered over his question for a while, "The only thing that comes to mind, well at least what I thought to be weird was that she kept calling me a child of the sun?"

Dante widened his eyes in shock, "Child of the sun?"

"Yes," seeing the expression on Dante's face, Laina could not help but laugh a little, "Weird, isn't it? But Margaret theorized that it was because I was human. Which made sense."

"She did? I see…" Dante heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. 

"What do you think, Dante? Do you think there's another reason?"

"What?"

"I said, do you think there's another reason?" Realizing his heart was not in the conversation, Laina wondered if he was preoccupied with matters back in Dracona. 

Though Laina did not know why Dante suddenly appeared in Wolfenheim; or how he managed to find out she was here, he must have rushed over to find her. So she assumed he must still have matters to attend to back in Dracona. 

Laina placed a hand on Dante's, "You don't have to accompany me, Dante. I know you're busy, you can leave if you need to."

Who was she kidding? Laina was so excited to see him in Wolfenheim. She wanted to dance with him at the ball and continue their conversation. But she did not want to be selfish either. 

They were both monarchs of their individual Kingdoms. They had people to serve, matters to take care of. She could not simply hold on to him forever. 

Or could she?

She glanced over to him for just a fraction of a second, hoping to be able to read his facial expressions. She wanted to know what was going through his mind. But Laina could not tell what he was thinking at that moment. 

Laina bit her lip. She made a bold move. 

"But if you have nowhere else to be, I wouldn't mind some company for the evening. After all, the ball has only just begun."