The school grounds were empty, fog hanging low and dense. Trudging through the grey, Jamie shivered in his limbs.

The chimes at the Ivy Wood gate welcomed him, their hollow sound echoing through his head. All the while Jamie sensed Haru lurking, his words following him through the baffling mist. He recognized the symptoms of shock, the numbing cold, the dream-like calm, all of them pushing his legs forward. All he knew was that Haru was waiting, and so was his princess.

The gravel crunched beneath his feet as he approached the side of the building with the girls’ dorm. By the time he’d reached the front door he was already starting to feel his senses returning, as if he was waking from a strange nightmare.

What am I doing? Going to accuse his princess and the girl he’d sworn to protect of lying to him? None of it made sense.

Catching sight of his reflection in the glass of the door, he paused. His eyes had turned from golden to green, an emerald sheen like staring into the heart of a forest. There was nothing controlled about the figure staring back at him.

This was all wrong. He should tell Ellie and Lottie that he knew about Haru, demand they hand him in, and fly the three of them back to Maradova. Yet Haru had let him go. He’d trusted Jamie not to turn him in. He’d agreed to vanish forever if only Jamie asked.

As his hand hovered over the door handle, a familiar stubborn howling drifted over, and a big lump of spoiled cat appeared. Vampy began weaving round his feet, nudging his legs until he had to take a step away from the door.

A sound tore through the fog, setting his body on fire. A sound drenched in pain. Lottie.

‘You’re lying!’ he heard her cry.

Jamie began running round the side of the building, following the sound like a beacon at sea. Skidding in the mud, he stopped at the corner of the building, peering round to see the girls’ balcony door open. The two of them stood framed in the light of their dorm. Lottie and his princess intertwined, tangled together, locked in a kiss.

The fire inside him slowed to a simmer, and he felt it rising to his throat like acid. It boiled inside him: betrayal and treachery. He didn’t realize how hard he was gripping his fists until he felt blood in his palms from where his fingernails had dug into the skin. He watched, sick to his stomach, as Ellie brushed Lottie to the side with a cruel smile. She mumbled something he couldn’t hear, something that had Lottie gasping.