The Dragon King's Heart

Dexerion yelled at the top of his lungs as he enveloped his entire body in flames. Fire-filled veins appeared all across his body as blood began to pour from his arms. 

"What is he trying to do?" Laina asked as she, along with everyone else, looked on in horror. 

Ramona was in shock. She knew exactly what he was attempting to do. She went up towards him, reaching out her hand as she pleaded. 

"Dexerion. Please don't do this! If you do this, there's no turning back!" 

But it was too late. Dexerion was engulfed in rage and anger, nothing Ramona said could get through to him. She attempted to dispel what was attempting to do, but it was useless. 

Taking advantage of the situation, Dexerion grabbed onto Ramona's staff. She fought him for it but it was useless. He pushed her to the ground, just as the staff becomes engulfed in flames too. 

"Ramona!" Laina called out to her as she went forward to help. 

Florin and Kol wanted Laina to stand back as they feared for her safety. But she refused. When she reached Ramona's side, Dexerion was beyond saving. The flame beast he had summoned was screeching in agony. 

One after the other, his followers burst into flames. Their combined cries of agony was unsettling. 

"Your Highness! Look out!" Ramona yelled as a shockwave spread across the entire hall. 

Ramona used all of her strength to create a shield, to protect as many people as she could. Florin and Kol raised shields of their own too. Despite their best efforts, the shockwave was too powerful. 

Everyone was thrown back. As the shockwave moved through Laina, something within her was ignited. Something that had slumbered within her was awakened.

Dexerion had combined a blood magic spell with fire to enhance his power. Furthermore, with the Aurora Flame in his possession, he was almost unstoppable. 

Ramona looked on in shock, uncertain of what they could do to stop Dexerion now. Laina, on the other hand, seemed to be in a trance. As the shields they cast were lifted, she stood back up and walked towards the crazed Dexerion. 

His pupils were jet black and his features were no longer recognizable. He was more demon than man. 

"Princess Laina, get away from him!" Ramona yelled. 

But Laina could not hear what she say. In a desperate attempt to attract Dexerion's attention, Ramona used her magic to shoot fireballs at him. But every single one of her attacks was absorbed by him instead. Florin and Kol attempted to do the same, only to receive the same results. 

Kol and Florin ran up to Laina. But they found her to be in a trance. No matter what they said to her, or tried to do, nothing worked. 

Dexerion, seeing Laina coming towards him, roared in anger. He lunged at her. None of them could see his movements because he was moving so quickly. One moment he was at the pedestal, the next moment he was standing right in front of Laina. 

He reached for her neck but before he could even touch her, his arm was severed by an unseen force. Blood spewed and splattered from the gaping wound as Dexerion yelled in agony. Everyone gasped in shock. 

Ramona knew Laina's strength, but she did not know the measure of her strength. She could not sense any strong magical aura surrounding Laina either. Were her powers merely dormant, waiting to be discovered? Or were they so great, she could not measure them? The gemstones Ramona had asked the crown princess to hold glowed in her pocket. 

Laina's hair was glowing, as a swirl of flame began to surround her. 

She briefly turned back to Ramona and the others and instructed them to stay back. She lifted her hand and cast an ancient protection spell over everyone. 

Seeing as Laina was distracted, Dexerion used the opportunity to launch an attack on her. 

"Laina! Look out!" Kol warned her. 

He tried to move through the barrier Laina had created but he was thrown backward. The crown princess turned to see her attacker right before he sent a  blade of fire down upon her. Laina was calm.

She had no visible expression upon her face. Laina reached her hand out towards the blade. The swirl of fire that surrounded her shot up Laina's arm. As soon as it made contact with the sword, it grew in size. 

The flame took on the shape of a phoenix as it swallowed the sword whole and Dexerion along with it. Caught off guard by the attack, he attempted to dodge it as best he could but it was useless. 

Though Dexerion had his flames to protect him, they proved ineffective against Laina's. Under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible for fire to harm fire.

"How… how is this possible?" Florin asked as he looked on in horror and surprise.

"It's not," Ramona blurted out.

"What do you mean it's not?" Kol protested, "If it isn't. What are we looking at now."

"No. Normally it won't be possible. At most, they would be evenly matched. But harming one another is almost impossible. 

Unless…"

When the Aurora Flame showed her the vision, she could hardly believe it herself. Having witnessed Laina's powers first hand, she finally understood. 

"Unless you possess otherworldly abilities," the truth could only be discovered by Laina herself. 

It was not the Oracle's place to reveal the truth. Her role was to serve as a guide. 

The flames that Laina had summoned reduced Dexerion to ashes. The Aurora Flame flickered and crackled above the pile of ashes. With the threat eliminated, the flames extinguished on their own. Blood trickled down Laina's nose as she finally came to her senses. A sudden dizzy spell caused her entire world to spin. 

As she falls to the ground, Kol caught her in the nick of time. 

"Your Highness! Laina!" he called out her name as he tried to keep her conscious. 

Ramona rushed forward to check on Laina too. She held onto her hand as she assessed Laina's condition. Much to her relief, the crown princess was merely drained from the energy she had used. The three gemstones Ramona had asked her to hold on to were completely depleted of magical energy too. 

Ramona went over and reclaimed the Aurora Flame. She signaled Kol to bring Laina to the pedestal where she reinstated the Aurora Flame in its rightful place. Ramona placed a hand over it and began to recite an incantation. 

She placed her other free hand over Laina. Ramona's eyes turned milky white as energy was transferred from the flame into Laina's body. After a short period of time, Ramona's eyes returned to normal and she removed her hand. 

"She's going to feel a little dizzy but she should be alright now," Ramona reassured Kol. 

"Thank you, Oracle."

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