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Back Princess at Heart Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. The Rosewood Chronicles
  4. Dedication
  5. Prologue
  6. Part One
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. Part Two
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. Part Three
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. Author’s Note
  48. The Rosewood Houses
  49. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

His hair was just as fluffy as she remembered, with a splatter of freckles across his nose like constellations, and big brown eyes with heavy lashes behind a pair of thick brown glasses. The moment he caught her eye his mouth split open in a smile so soft it felt like lying down in freshly cut grass. She could almost have believed that he was simply a sweet and kind Partizan on sabbatical, but she knew better. She knew he was part of Leviathan, a spy with an unknown plan, and that somehow this was his doing.

It took all her strength not to scream when he turned his smile on Jamie, leaving her to watch, helpless, as Ellie’s Partizan returned him a nod of respect, oblivious to the true identity of the young man he called his friend.

‘With you all here, we would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a new member of staff.’ Dame Bolter held out her arm, gesturing for Haru to join her, which he did to more whispers from students who were already falling for his charms. ‘Haru Hinamori will be joining us as a teaching assistant for the year, all the way from Rosewood’s sister school in Japan. We hope you will give him a warm welcome.’

A slow applause started up among the student body that gradually became more enthusiastic when the Partizan waved bashfully out at the crowd, sharing one of his tooth-achingly sweet smiles, instantly winning everyone over with his perfect performance of a charming and innocent heart-throb. It was just as the applause was dying down that she caught the moment – so fast she nearly missed it – when Haru latched on to her, the flicker of a shadow falling over his face. The mask dropped, revealing his true self for a split second.

A thought sliced through her mind like a blade. He knows you know.

The sickly fear that accompanied it made the hall feel like it was spinning, and all she wanted to do was get out of there, to the safety of her dorm as fast as possible.

They had to tell Jamie about Haru, she decided. Despite her promise to Sayuri and Ellie’s stubborn determination to deal with their problems by herself, they couldn’t keep Jamie in the dark, not when there was a fox hiding in their coop. She had to persuade Ellie this was the right thing to do.

Dame Bolter clapped her hands twice, making a boom like a thunder crack. ‘You’re all dismissed.’

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