The Jiminy Cricket on her shoulder was relentless. She wished she’d brought something to protect herself, perhaps sneaked out the ancestral sword that was still lying under her bed or grabbed a particularly heavy book, anything. As it was, all she had were her own two legs that were still sore from running away from Ingrid only a week ago. Despite how good she’d become at running, she couldn’t kid herself; she’d only got away from Ingrid because she’d surprised her, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do the same with Haru.

Pushing open the gate, she winced at the furious shriek it made. Her body was on high alert, waiting for the inevitable ambush that she’d walked into.

The last time she’d seen the outdoor pool was two years ago when they’d foolishly broken in during New Year’s. Back then, water still filled the green tiles up to the lip of the pool, reflecting the black sky until Jamie had fallen into it, shattering the stars. Now, the water had been drained, the stones cracked where the weeds broke through, and there was an empty hole in the ground waiting to swallow her up.

‘Hello, Princess.’ Haru’s voice was as soft as butter, his freckled face appearing to her from the gazebo like a trickster spirit of the woods, a Puck or Pan. ‘I hope you were not too alarmed by my letter; it was simply important you took it seriously.’

He sauntered down the steps and along the side of the empty pool, the light through the trees casting shadows over his skin, his features constantly warping, impossible to pin down.

‘Thank you for being on time.’

The way he spoke always had a formal quality to it, one that was both delicate and detached, at odds with his fluffy hair and doe eyes. He smiled at her from the other side of the pool. Only this wasn’t his usual summer-breeze smile that left you forgetting you should be afraid; this one made her feel small, like she was a dog who’d pleased her master.

Lottie was torn, not sure if she should continue to pretend she didn’t know who Haru truly was, or dive right in and get it out of the way. Haru watched her the whole time, a laugh teasing the corners of his mouth, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

‘Please don’t patronize me with this fake charm,’ Lottie said at last, using all her willpower to keep her voice steady. ‘Why are you here? What do you want?’

Lottie noted that Haru didn’t approach any further; he stayed at the other side of the pool with his hands out in the open, almost as if he was doing it on purpose, to put her at ease.