The Dragon King's Heart

He patiently taught her every step of the way. He even told her how to see it the grilled meat was ready. Once it was done, they took the pan off the fire and carefully slide the steak onto the plate. 

"That's it?" Laina asked as she looked up at Dante. 

He laughed as he replied, "That's it."

"That wasn't too hard at all!" Laina exclaimed with glee. 

Dante smiled as he pats her on the head, "You did well."

Laina pouted as she crossed her arms. She did not appreciate it when Dante treated her like a child. 

"Why the long face, my princess?" he asked as he cupped her chin as he tilted her head upwards so that their eyes would meet. 

"I'm not a child, you know," she mumbled as she refused to make eye contact. 

Realizing he messed up, Dante immediately apologized. 

"That was not my intention, I'm sorry,'" he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. 

"You did well my love," he praised as he kissed her on the lips as a reward. 

"Is that better?" he teased. 

Laina could not help but blush a little, "Much better."

When dinner was finally served, everyone was excited to eat. Perhaps it was partly because they were starving but all of them praised how good it tasted. 

"This is delicious!" Margaret exclaimed after taking a bite of the juicy steak. 

She could hardly believe how good it tasted. The steak was juicy, well seasoned with a smokey flavor. The meat was cooked to perfection. Paired with the mushroom sauce and a side of mashed potatoes, it could not get any better than that. 

"It's so good, how did you learn to cook like that" Laina asked as she took another bite of steak.

Dante did not answer at first. He watched as Laina savored the food they had made together. 

"Food tastes best when you're with the person you love. I guess that's my secret," he replied with a smug smile. 

After dinner, Laina brewed a huge pot of tea for everyone to share. Since the night was cool and the weather was good, they decided to take it outside in the back garden. Margaret pulled Marius away to speak to him, hoping to give Dante and Laina some alone time together. 

Kol and Florin did the same too, leaving the two of them alone under the star-lit sky. 

"Have you thought of what you wish to do?" Dante asked as he poured them a cup of tea each. 

"No not really," Laina said as she picked up the porcelain cup. 

She watched as the steam dissipated into the night sky before taking a sip of her tea. 

"Perhaps I will take a break. Explore the town," she replied nonchalantly. 

"Don't you want to take back Kinshearth?" 

"I do. But now's not the time," she said as she looked down at the cup in her hands. 

She had been on the throne for some time now. Seeing the nobles vote for Ethan one after another was a hard pill to swallow. 

"Perhaps a change of monarch is what Kinshearth needs."

Dante shook his head, "Not when they are replacing their hard-working future Queen with a fool."

Laina chuckled, "Lord Ethan isn't that bad."

"You're defending him?" Dante asked in shock. 

He was expecting Laina to judge him harshly. Yet after all that he had put her through, she still saw him in a positive light. 

"I'm not defending him. According to the intel, he has the making of a reliable King. His claim to the throne has always been stronger than mine too."

Laina knew Ethan was planning something behind her back. The assassination attempt was clear evidence of that. Even though he claimed to be innocent, it was his supporters who were likely the perpetrators. 

"I can't say I wasn't expecting something like this to happen," Laina confessed.

"You knew he was going to do that and you didn't stop him?" Dante interrupted in disbelief. 

Laina defended herself, "I knew there was a chance it might happen."

But she never expected him to follow through with it. Perhaps there was a part of Laina that believed her cousin would not attempt to take her seat. Upon realizing what was going to happen, Laina was mad. 

But she came to terms with it. Instead, she decided to turn the situation to her advantage. She wanted to see how long Kinshearth would survive without her.

"So what happens if he managed it well. What will you do?" Dante asked out of curiosity.

Laina smiled as she looked up at the night sky. After taking a sip of her tea, she put the cup down on the table and looked at Dante. 

"Then I will be free."

After their chat in the garden, Laina and Dante went back into the house. Dante wrapped his arm around Laina's waist as he guided her upstairs. 

"Where are you taking me?" Laina asked as she walked up the stairs, "We didn't drink. I'm not drunk."

"I think it's about time we get to bed," he replied with a grin.

Laina turned around. She pointed a finger at his chest. Dante had his back against the wall as Laina came up to close to him. 

"We?" she asked as she furrowed her eyebrows. 

Dante nodded, "Yes, we."

"Who said you could stay over tonight?"

"I did," Dante replied with confidence. 

She shook her head as she crossed her arms, "I never agreed to that."

Dante leaned in close, "Please my love, just for tonight?" 

Laina bit her lip. She could not find it in herself to refuse him whenever he spoke like this. Looks like tonight was no different. She wanted him to stay. In fact, she had already prepared everything for him to do so. 

But to hear that the feeling was mutual put her in a better mood. The next day, Laina sat up in bed only to find that Dante was not there. She did not say anything as she sat up in bed and let out a sigh. 

The night before, after Dante had fallen asleep, Laina peered over to him. Much to her dismay, she realized the curse had begun to spread once more. 

"I have to find a way to keep him here."

The elixir seemed to work best when Dante was with her. But Laina knew she could not keep him for long. After all, he had to return to Dracona to take care of things there. Going with him was another option. 

If it came down to it, she would do so. But Laina knew it was going to be difficult. She was no longer a princess. In fact, she no longer held any office in any capacity. Essentially she was no different from a commoner. 

She clutched her fist close to her heart. 

"Can we still be together at this point?" she wondered. 

This was something she had not considered before. It had not been a worry on her mind until this point. Dante might not care whether she was a princess or not, but the dragons of Dracona would. 

A knock on the door drew Laina out of her thoughts.