40.

PRESENT DAY

Shards of metal and wood rained down to the floor as Lotte's feet touched down. The key fell limply on its chain, settling near her heart.

"Poe?" she said, her throat so choked that her voice came out as a mouse's squeak. She unsteadily moved over the rubble. "Poe?"

There, he was sprawled on the floor. She rushed towards him, her toe stubbing against something. She crashed down by his side.

He wasn't moving.

"Poe. Oh no, Poe..." On her hands and knees, she crawled towards him.

His long hair covered his face that was turned away from her. All along his body, there were cuts oozing gold blood. On the right side of his throat was the Yomi triple helix tattoo for healing. It was still bold, but fading rapidly.

What had she done?

With eyes blurred by tears and shaking hands, she dipped her finger into his golden blood and began to draw on his arm. Again, and again the simple enchantment that gave force to healing.

The tiny clatters of her tears were drowned out by the thundering echo of rushing feet down the stairs.
Lotte moved his hair away, touching his cheek. "You can't die," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his. "Please Poe. I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I couldn't control it. Please, Poe. Please don't die."

The footsteps behind her stopped.

"Come with us," said a cold voice behind her.

Lotte didn't move.

"I'm asking nicely, half-breed. Come with us."

She scooped up a handful of her tears in her blood coated hand, crushing them inside her fist as she rose, and turned.

Prince Fintan stood before her, flanked by Monthes on one side and Briaad on the other.

"He's dead," she said flatly. "Do you know what that means?"

She held the dragon heir's gaze, but he was merciless, unwavering.

"It means you killed him," he replied.

"I've got nothing more to lose," she said, hand going to the key at her throat.

"What're you talking about? He's still alive!" Monthes cried, pointing. "Take him to Enchantress Yuralar."
At his command, three virata came forward.

"Don't touch him," Lotte said, raising the iron key. The enchantment hadn't faded yet. It was still strong and active. "There's plenty of iron here. If anyone so much as moves, I'll—"

"You'll what? Kill the new Dragon King?" Fintan sneered. "Come off it, half-breed. You've lost. Now come along quietly and we will give you a slow death."

"Death? But your majesty," Briaad said. "Surely, this was all an accident—"

"Lady Briaad, would you care for a tour of the prison?" Fintan asked. "I already told you that in my kingdom, a single murder is punishable by death. How many people died upstairs? Can anyone say?"

"They were just criminals, your majesty," Monthes said with a laugh.

Fintan turned on Monthes with blazing fury. "They were my subjects," he barked.

Lotte thought she knew what he was doing. Or maybe she didn't. Either way, she bent down to Poe.

"They had a sentence to fulfil and should have been protected here," Fintan went on, voice rising.

She hooked her arm behind Poe's head and under his arm. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Where could she take him to keep him safe? Somewhere with no iron, where no one could get hurt.

"How dare you treat their lives like they don't matter!" The Prince was yelling, capturing everyone's attention.

Maloru, she thought. I need to get to Maloru.

The light blue glow of the key encompassed them as the enchantment was reawakened. Poe stiffened as the key yanked them off the floor. They charged towards the group of Fintan and the other virata with such a speed that those who didn't jump away were knocked to the floor.

Lotte wanted to close her eyes as they passed again through the prison. There were too many forms lying on the floor with the sticky smell of blood. Her stomach twisted. She had done this. This was, all of it, on her.

But soon they were out, in the open air, flying over the waves of a turbulent sea, back towards the city, its streets criss-crossing underneath her. Lotte could make out the black dots of virata on the horizon, fighting to keep up. The procession she had seen earlier had moved on to somewhere else, they moved south, to a part of the city where the streets were narrower and the houses, made of brown stone stood closer together.

They were going lower and slower and the pain along Lotte's arms was reaching new heights, causing her head to spin.

It was over, the enchantment was running out. She tried to lower them, closer to the snow-topped shingled roofs that were only about thirty feet below. But just like before, she had no control over the key's flight.

Although she knew it was coming, it gave way all at once. With a little jerk, the key in her hand disintegrated into dust and they were falling.

A then, suddenly, Poe came to life, his body straightening and his arms tightening around her. He kicked in midair, sending a burst of magic towards a nearby roof, making roof-tiles and snow fly in all directions.

The force of the blow returned to them, slowing down their fall. He landed like a cat on his feet, holding Lotte in his arms.

"Poe," she whispered.

He smiled, gently putting her down.
She gaped up at him, awed. "How...?"

He raised up his arm where she had drawn enchantments with his blood. Most of the gashes she had seen were nearly closed up. "Your enchantments were quite round," he said. "We cannot heal with our magic, Lotte, but you were wise to break no corners."

She had so many things she wanted to say at once that she was utterly speechless.

"You have to go," she finally said. "Hide with the Serades elves. I don't know where their Solles forest is—"

"I know where it is. Aren't you coming with me?"

"There's something I have to do," she said, looking over her shoulder at the virata that were flying ever closer. "Go, run."

He hesitated for a moment, looking torn. But he nodded his head and turned.

She'd seen a number of elves on her journey. In fact, she had been an elf herself for a few days. But none were as graceful and fast as her Poe.
He disappeared down below, and Lotte, clutching her aching right arm to her chest, waiting for the virata to catch up.

***

As far as she could tell, she was taken back to the palace. She couldn't see much of the room they put her in. Leather braces fixed her wrists to the arms of the great big wooden chair she was tied to. Her captors were neither angry nor agitated. In fact, Lotte got the sense that now that they had a taste of her power, they were excited to see what she could create.

Lotte couldn't forget the sight of the explosions in the prison and how her magic fed on the devastation. She had sharply felt how alive she was at that moment and that life was terrifying.

The hours trickled by. From the window somewhere behind her, orange sunlight peeked into the room for a few minutes, before slipping away.

Her eyelids drooped, but she fought to keep herself awake. She had to think. All she had done by saving Poe and sending Maloru away was to buy herself more time.

Even if the Yomi elves could protect Poe and Maloru from sorcery, what would happen if Briaad and Monthes chose to use their control over Fintan to reach her friends?

The only way to truly be safe was to free Fintan from the curse, a thing she didn't even know how to begin to do.

Lotte's mind kept drifting to sleep, until she couldn't hold it back any longer.

She blinked several time.

She was sitting in a white armchair, free of bonds, across from Fintan who was, thankfully, alone.

"They locked me in here," he said matter-of-factly. They were in the small audience chamber she had visited on her first night here. "They know you somehow visit me in my tower," he continued. "So they won't let me go there."

"You remember?"

"I'm...I'm not sure." He sighed, leaning forward, arms dangling between his knees. "I don't know. I'm so tired."

"What's making you tired?"

He looked up at her with a smirk. "You are."

"Are you the Dragon King now?"

"Not especially."

That surprised a laugh out of her. "What kind of answer is that?"

"I am the Dragon King, but you've probably heard that I can't fly."

"And why's that?"

He huffed, looking annoyed again. "Because I'm cursed. They broke off a part of me when they cursed me. The part that was broken kept all the memories. I think I'm losing my memories because I'm missing my right wing."

"And what does that mean?"

Without a word, Fintan got to his feet. He began untying the strings on the back of his shirt between his wings. His sleeves began sliding down his arms, exposing the expanse of cool brown skin of his right shoulder.

"What're you doing?" Lotte squeaked, heat rushing to her cheeks as she looked away.

"Are you sure you don't want to see?" he purred. "You won't regret it..."

If Lotte dared be honest with herself, it wasn't that she didn't want to see. But this wasn't the appropriate time to—

"Look," he commanded.

She reflexively looked, before she could stop herself.

His torso was bare. It was quite similar to a human's torso, except his muscles were more clearly defined, especially his shoulders and back—the muscles he used for his wings.

But Lotte's attention was robbed by the blue, teal and turquoise markings that ran all alone his body, from his navel to his chest and down his left arm. It was a luminous dragon, its head at his heart, its wings spread over his arms and made travelling down his abdomen.

It reminded her of the Sky Dragon they had seen circling before the Rugar.

But a piece was missing along the right side of his chest and his right arm.

Lotte was finding it hard to breath.

"You like it that much?" he asked, grinning as he flexed his muscles.

Lotte shook her head, reaching behind her neck to undo the buttons of the high-necked blouse she wore.

"Oh, so we're doing that now," he said, snaking towards her. "I didn't expect it, but I'm not going to object." He leaned down, catching himself on the armrests of her chair.

"No, Fintan, listen to me," she finally managed to say. "I know where your right wing is."

His face hovered inches from hers, but his expression changed from playfulness to frightful alertness.

"Where?" he demanded.

She managed to free her right shoulder from her blouse, exposing the blue mark. "Here," she said. "It's the thing keeping me alive."