Haru took another step forward, but Jamie couldn’t muster the sense to push him away, and when he spoke it wasn’t at all what he expected.

‘Jamie, you are so much more than you know. You think you are the knight, but you are the one who needs rescuing.’

The world seemed to rock on its axis. Jamie felt the earth beneath his feet, the drizzle christening his skin. He felt as though he was sinking into the ground, an open grave ready to swallow him.

‘Your princess, she sold you out.’ The very mention of Ellie made him even more dizzy. ‘She made a deal with me at the start of the year and traded you and your ignorance in exchange for information.’

Jamie tried to cling on to the world around him, to the belief that Haru was lying, but he wavered. ‘You’re lying,’ he repeated, but it felt more like he was trying to persuade himself.

The rain was getting heavier. He could almost see them in the haze. Lottie and his princess. Lottie who would do anything for his princess. Lottie who’d become so corrupted by the wolves of the royal family that they’d twisted all that was kind about her.

‘Go. Ask her,’ Haru demanded, snapping Jamie out of his vision.

‘What does my princess know?’ Jamie was shocked at the venom in his voice.

‘Everything you don’t.’ Haru snatched up his jacket and began to pull it around himself, covering up his scar. ‘This whole time your princess and her friends have known who I am, and I had to watch them keep you in the dark, waiting for them to prove themselves, but they disappointed me.’ Each syllable fell out of Haru’s mouth like a poison dart. But they weren’t painful; they were transformative.

Jamie felt the demons inside him coming to the surface. All the secrets, all the lies, all the misplaced trust … Before he knew it, he was a growling beast. He punched the tree behind him, his knuckles exploding with pain. It felt good.

‘Strange, isn’t it?’ Haru continued smoothly like Jamie was a wild animal that needed soothing. ‘Why would they keep such a thing from you? Why don’t they trust you?’

‘Why would they –’

‘Ask her.’ Haru said it again so simply, as if it were the most obvious choice, and it snapped Jamie’s attention back to him. ‘I’ll be waiting for you at the main gate when you’ve learned what they’re keeping from you. I’ll take you where you need to go. And I promise that if, when you learn the truth, you decide to stay here, we will leave you alone forever.’ He placed a hand softly on Jamie’s shoulder, his thumb resting over the jugular until he could feel his heartbeat. ‘It’s time for you to know who you are.’

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