Girl of Iron and Magic

24.

24.

PRESENT DAY

Lotte didn't know who she was saving and why future Rowan had sent that message to her. She knew the seal was fading fast because of all the extreme enchantments she was doing. Poe had warned her to keep to simple things.

But he'd never told her it was because of another enchantment.

Maybe Rowan thought that whatever Lotte was going to do in the future would kill her.

"Lotte," Maloru said, standing up. "There's something you're not telling me. I can feel it."

Lotte wasn't very good at hiding her expression.

And although only a handful of days ago, she hadn't known Maloru, in that time, he somehow learnt to read her like a book.

"You know what this seal is, don't you?"

She didn't want to lie. Hiding the truth and lying were close relatives, they were even the same thing. It was easy not to talk about things when she couldn't talk in the conventional sense.

She didn't want to lie to him, so she told him.

Maloru, unlike Blue, took the news considerably well. His mouth was stretched into a grim line, but he didn't cry. He drew in a deep breath and held Lotte's hand. "You're not going to die," he said. "I can feel it."

"Wait, what?" Rowan cried.

"You're not going to die because we're together," Maloru continued. "We're connected. Did you forget what I am?"

Maloru... Lotte felt warmth rush into her chest, comforting and ensuring. That was what being next to Maloru felt like. He was a Yomi elf, a bringer of life and peace. A heart as gentle as a summer breeze, but as deep and powerful as the earth.

"Come on, what're you two walking about?" Rowan demanded, and Maloru had to explain. Lotte watched him speak, white teeth flashing in a smile, that lively gleam in his dark eyes. She reached over and patted his coarse hair.

You said you felt my magic in your heart, she thought. I can feel yours too.

He turned a smile towards her. She would be fine. Maloru would stay by her side long enough for her to figure out how to survive on her own.

The journey passed quietly. The world rushed by their window. Maloru brought a pair of dice and they played for a time, though Rowan kept cheating, claiming the it was a habit hard to break. A food trolley came by. Rowan brought over their meals. Lotte ate slowly, in leisure. It was as if there was no war going on. They weren't on the run. They were just friends on a journey to visit a faraway place.

Night fell. Their window showed a deep valley before they plunged into a tunnel only to come out again. They were now in the mountains. Port Kelt was walled on one side by Mount Kelt and on the other side by the sea. It was said that Mount Kelt used to be an ancient volcano that erupted constantly and that the land upon which Port Kelt had been built was made of dried lava. Maloru watched the darkening sky apprehensively whenever they existed a tunnel.

Have you ever stayed up at night before? Lotte asked.

"A few times," he said. "But it feels wrong. I'm so small and the night is too dark."

"You're not that small anymore," Rowan said. "Your voice is changing."

"It is, isn't it?" Maloru said, bouncing in his seat. "Puberty, here I come!"

"I wouldn't be that happy about puberty, if I were you," Rowan said. "Then again, it's not as bad for boys."

"What's the difference?" he asked.