‘I only want to avoid any unnecessary trouble,’ he replied coyly, tilting his head with a pout that made him look almost cute. If Lottie hadn’t seen what was beneath that mask, she could easily have fallen for it. ‘It’s come to my attention that you are aware of my alignment, and we can’t have you hurting anyone with your misguided attempts to interfere.’

Lottie baulked. ‘Me? I’m not the one hurting people.’

Something flashed across Haru’s face, sharp and deadly, and it made Lottie take an involuntary step back. She was glad it was her here and not Ellie. She could get through this if it meant keeping her and everyone else safe.

‘You have no idea what you do,’ Haru said, his smile quickly blooming again, leaving Lottie with little time to process what he meant. ‘Who else knows?’ he asked, the two of them facing each other head on across the empty pool.

She kept her mouth firmly shut, refusing to throw Anastacia, Saskia and Ellie under the bus, which only made him laugh – and, worst of all, it was a honeyed laugh, the kind that made her feel like they were both in on the joke.

‘Never mind.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m pretty certain I know already, and I think it’s wise that none of you told Jamie. Very courteous of you.’

Lottie bit her tongue, furious that she hadn’t persuaded Ellie and Sayuri to tell him, but now it was too late.

‘It’s your responsibility to make sure they don’t interfere, and your reward will be their health and safety. Now …’ Haru said, taking a seat at the edge of the pool and gesturing for Lottie to do the same until their feet were dangling over the ledge. The bottom smelled like wet dirt and there were old leaves and debris beneath her black pumps. ‘While you were away, I found something in the woods, something that had been entrusted to me. It didn’t take long for me to piece together where it had come from and what it meant.’

Claude’s wolf pendant, Lottie thought, feeling the weight of her own round her neck. It was the one thing all the Wolfsons shared, proof that she’d been welcomed into the pack. She’d had to leave Claude’s broken pendant in the woods when she’d run away from Ingrid.

‘Your uncle sends his regards, Princess. In fact, he wants to keep in touch,’ Haru declared, snapping Lottie out of her thoughts.

‘What?’ She was still trying to come to terms with what Haru knew, and now he was telling her that Claude, the Goat Man, the Master of Leviathan himself, wanted to keep in touch with her? The very thought made her shudder.