The Dragon King's Heart

The moment the sunlight hit his skin, Florin felt intense searing pain. Within a matter of seconds, his skin began to blister and burn, peeling off his body. He yelled out in pain and agony as the heat grew in intensity. 

But something was amiss. A normal vampire would combust upon contact with sunlight, a royal vampire might have a bit more resistance. But he was lasting longer than the average that was known. 

How was this possible?

Even Callister was surprised by how Florin was still alive. If he took a closer look, it seemed as if his body was attempting to heal the wounds that formed on his skin.

"Protection spells? They won't save you!" Callister roared in anger as he enhanced the spell he had cast. 

He was careful to retreat back into the shadows, in fear of being exposed to it himself. As the temperature in the room increased, he was getting uncomfortable too. Florin could feel his consciousness slipping away. 

As his vision began to blur, he closed his eyes and accepted his fate. Perhaps this was how his life was supposed to end. At the very least, Kol was still alive and well. Just then, a shadow loomed over Florin. 

It effectively blocked out the sunlight that beamed down from above. The shadow cast a counterspell, blocking out the sunlight. They cast another spell of healing, accelerating the healing process of his wounds. 

Soft glows of green light orbs surrounded Florin as they landed on his wounds, closing them up. When he looked up, he was surprised to see who it was. But before he could say another word, the shadow took out a dagger and slashed his own wrist. 

Blood seeped from the fresh wound and the scent of blood flooded the room. Florin's mouth began to water. It was exactly what he needed now in order to heal. But he was hesitant. 

"Drink, you need to drink in order to heal," the familiar voice urged him. 

It was Kol! 

He came to Florin's rescue! 

"Kol? What are you doing here?" How did you-"

"There's no time," Kol said in haste, "Drink my blood. We can discuss this later. You need your strength to fight."

"What is this?!" Callister yelled in rage. 

He was fuming with anger. Someone had ruined his fun and worst of all, it was a hybrid. 

"You are in cahoots with this hybrid? How far have you truly fallen, Florin?" he spat. 

Florin grimaced. He did not like the way Callister spoke about Kol. If he wanted to fight back, he needed all the strength he could get, and right now he was too weak to do so. Kol urged him again to drink the blood from his wrist. 

Finally, he gave in. Florin bared his fangs and sunk them into Kol's wrist. 

"I will not let you-" Before Callister could finish his sentence, Kol summoned a spell of fire. 

He fired a fireball in Calister's direction. 

"Foolish! Did you think a-" before he could finish his sentence, the fireball hit him in the abdomen, pinning him to the wall. 

Normal vampires were unharmed by regular fire. But the fireball Kol fired was anything but regular. It was a solar fireball, packed with the power of the blazing sun. Callister had protection spells placed upon him. 

He had magical talismans to keep him safe. 

But the attack bought Kol and Florin enough time to get back up on their feet. 

"Thank you, I owe you my life. Again," Florin said as he dusted off his clothes. 

"You're welcome," Kol replied with a smile, "We might want to take care of this before the guards arrive."

Callister, who managed to barely escape unscathed from the fireball, struggled to get back up. If it had not been extinguished when the final protection spell was broken, he would be dead. 

Taking advantage of the situation, Kol summoned another spell. It was not a spell of fire, but a spell of entanglement. Roots burst forth from the ground beneath them, breaking through the stone bricks. 

Callister was held down against his will. No matter how much he struggled or tried to get out of his restraints, he could not. Florin on the other hand barricaded the door so that no one else could come in after them. 

"You won't get away with this!" Callister yelled. 

His eyes turned red as he attempted to summon a familiar to assist him. But before he could successfully do so, Florin punched him square in the face, knocking him unconscious. 

"What do we do now?" Kol asked. 

Florin gritted his teeth. The banging on the door grew louder with each passing second. The only escape route left in the room was through the window. Florin looked over to Callister. 

He knew all too well the terrible things he had done. Killing him here would benefit the general populace more than letting him live. But could he do so? Remembering that his mother's death was still unclear, Florin decided to interrogate him first. 

First, he asked Kol to imbue his sword with the solar flame. Kol did as he asked. Next, Florin slapped Callister on the face, waking him up. 

"Wha…"

Florin held Callister by the neck with one hand, while holding his flaming sword in the other. The moment he set eyes on the sword his face twisted momentarily in fear. Florin forced Callister to look him straight in the eyes. 

"What did you do with my mother?" Florin asked in a cold voice. 

"What I did?" Callister smirked as he echoed Florin's words, "I didn't do anything."

"Liar!" Florin yelled as he tightened his grip around Callister's neck, "I know it was you. You were the one who sent those assassins after us. Those were your men! Those were your orders!" 

Callister struggled in Florin's grasp. But he refused to give up any information, "So what if it was? If you were competent enough, perhaps you would have been able to rescue her. You're a disgrace to the Royal family! You're noth-"

Florin drove the sword through Callister's chest. He bared his fangs and sunk them into his neck. Callister yelled out in agony as he burned from the inside out. Florin drank his fill of blood.

Realizing Florin could seriously get injured should the flames of the sword burn him, Kol pulled him away; just as Callister was reduced to dust before their eyes. Neither of them had time to react, as the door to the room was about to be broken down. 

Kol grabbed hold of Florin before lighting a spell circle beneath their feet. By the time the door was broken down and the guards entered, there was no one left. Kol transported them back to Princess Kalfina's base. 

She was pleasantly surprised to see the both of them materialise right in the middle of her Drawing Room. As they got up on their feet, Kalfina was casually sipping a cup of Blood Moon Tea. 

"Ah, you've returned from your mission," she declared as she put down the cup and saucer on the table.