The Dragon King's Heart

Laina ran through the clearing after Colette. She was worried for the child's safety, and she had neglected her own. Titan sensed Laina was in danger immediately. While the other hunting dogs simply stood their ground, Titan raced to Laina's side. 

He barked loudly as if to warn her of the trap she was about to fall into. As soon as Kol and Margaret saw Titan running towards Laina, they knew something was amiss. Kol looked over to where Laina was running through. 

He narrowed his eyes a little to focus. 

"Laina! Look out!" Kol yelled as soon as he noticed the trap that had been laid. 

But by the time he had come to his realization, it was already too late. As Laina ran through the clearing, she could hear a cord snap. Cold sweat ran down her spine as her sixth sense kicked in. 

Laina knew she was about to be injured, but she had no idea where the attack would be from. Instinctively, she raised both of her arms to shield her body. She did not have time to summon a shield spell either. 

All she could do was hope for the best. 

The trap that activated was coming in from the right. A slew of spikes, coated with poison, flew through the air towards Laina. Titan got there in the nick of time. He stood his ground and opened his jaw to release a swirl of blazing fire. 

The blazing fire served as a shield, protecting Laina and Titan from the attack. But some of the spikes still made it through the fire, piercing Titan's skin. Laina was surprisingly unharmed. 

Colette turned around with a smug grin on her face for a hot second. She had assumed her plan went smoothly until she noticed the Solar Mastiff by Laina's side. She cursed beneath her breath, her grin twisted into a look of annoyance. 

Titan turned over to look in Colette's direction. He bared his teeth and let out a guttural growl. He protracted his claws as he continued to glare at Colette. The little girl gulped. She collapsed onto the ground, pretending to have tripped and fell. 

"Laina! Laina!" she cried pitifully with a scraped knee. 

Laina bit her lip, she needed to get to Colette as soon as she could. The child was hurt!

"I'm coming, Colette! Be brave!" she said as she got back up on her feet. 

Titan looked up at Laina. Just as she was about to take a step forward towards Colette, Titan bit down onto her pant leg. He tugged her back, refusing to let her go forward. 

"Titan, what has gotten into you?" Laina asked as she stopped in her tracks. 

Kol and Margaret came to join Laina, only for her to stop them in their tracks. There could be more traps set up around them. She was afraid if they came closer, they might unwittingly set off another trap.

"Your Highness, it's too dangerous for you to go further alone! It seems like the place has been booby-trapped! Who knows there could be more," Margaret called out anxiously. 

"But we can't just leave Colette there all alone!" Laina protested. 

Colette, who was happily watching everything unfold, came up with a brilliant plan. If she wanted to lure Laina to her, she would have to bait her in. She cast a quick spell, attracting the attention of nearby hostile beasts. 

"I have to save her," Laina muttered to herself. 

Despite everyone's advice, Laina went forward. Titan, seeing that he could not convince Laina to stay back, decided to protect her. Though he was injured from the spikes, he persisted. Now that she was aware that there were traps, she proceeded with great caution. 

As she got closer to Colette, Laina took bigger risks to get to her side quickly. Titan, on the other hand, remained cautious. His ears flicked as he heard the sound of quickened footsteps and heavy breathing. 

He looked in the direction of the sounds he was hearing. Titan turned to Laina and barked loudly, informing her that he noticed something was amiss. Laina listened to Titan. She too realized something was coming towards their direction at top speeds. 

Distracted, she accidentally sets off another trap. 

"No!" Laina exclaimed as she heard a clear snap sound. 

Titan leaped towards Laina, pushing her out of the way at the last second. Moments later, a contraption came crashing down from above, covered in wooden stakes. 

"Titan!" Laina yelled in horror as she watched her beloved pet being impaled by wooden stakes. 

Blood pooled around Titan as he yelped in pain. As soon as the stakes made contact with Titan's blood, the wood caught fire. Within a matter of seconds, a huge blaze reduced the contraption into ashes. 

Despite that, Titan was still badly injured, wounds covered his entire body. Laina rushed to Titan's side with tears in her eyes. 

"Titan! Titan! Stay with me," she called out to her beloved pet as she placed her hand over his injuries. 

Seeing how things had spiraled out of control, Kol and Margaret could not stay still. They leaped into action, carefully avoiding any trap they could see to get to Laina. They got to her in the nick of time. 

Laina could sense multiple creatures fast approaching. 

"We'll take care of Titan, Laina. Go get Colette," Margaret said reassuringly. 

Laina nodded. She took one last look at Titan, before continuing to make her way to Colette's side. Just then, a ferocious beast leaped into the forest clearing, letting out a menacing growl. It barred its rows of sharpened teeth at Laina. 

Colette screamed in terror, shaking in fear as she buried her face in her hands. But the child had nothing to fear, Laina had successfully made it to her side in the nick of time. 

"Don't worry, Colette, I'm here," Laina said reassuringly as she wrapped one arm around Colette. 

Moments later, two other beasts emerged from the forest, revealing their menacing faces. Despite the pressure of the aura they exerted, their ferocious looks, and sharpened claws and teeth, Laina was not impressed. 

Though her heart palpitated in her chest, she was calm and collected. 

In the face of terror, she remained strong.