‘No.’ Lottie said it without thinking, and in that split second she really felt like she could take Haru on, a trained Partizan, if it meant keeping Jamie safe. Haru didn’t look angry. On the contrary he seemed pleased with her response.

‘You have my word that no harm will come to your Partizan, as long as you keep everything secret from him. I only want to get to know him.’ He spoke earnestly, and in spite of everything she felt a strange connection to Haru, as if they’d both just discovered they were fighting the same war. But she must not have looked convinced because he put his hand on his heart with not an inch of irony, and continued, ‘If any harm comes to your Partizan under my watch, I will turn myself in and leave you alone forever – that is, so long as you keep to your side of the bargain. If Jamie so much as suspects me, I cannot be held responsible.’

Lottie nearly choked. ‘What do you want with Jamie anyway?’ She could feel dandelions in the cracked tiles by her palms.

Haru smiled again, as if her question was endearing. ‘We only want to put things right.’

Lottie felt like she was back in the Rose Wood again, Ingrid whispering in her ear. And, despite herself, her fingers twitched, as she wondered what might be in the letter Haru held.

‘So how does that sound?’ he said, interrupting her train of thought and flicking the envelope in his hand around, taunting her. ‘You follow my rules, behave yourself and keep your friends in check, and I promise nothing bad will happen to any student at Rosewood Hall.’

It was a tempting proposition. Lottie thought of Ellie and the purple marks under her eyes that wouldn’t go away. The idea that all she had to do was say yes and Leviathan would give them a semblance of normal school life, that only Lottie would have to carry this burden and everyone else would be free, left her feeling like there was no other choice.

‘You promise that everyone will be left alone? That we can just go about school as normal?’ Lottie asked, feeling guilty.

‘That’s what we want,’ he said.

Letting out a long breath, she hardly needed to reply. It was clear from the way her body went slack that he’d won. ‘OK.’

All of a sudden Haru jumped down into the empty pool, taking long steps towards her, his feet crunching against the leaves. She was too frazzled to consider moving, but he didn’t reach up to touch her; he only bowed slightly, holding up the letter like a gift.

‘For you,’ he said, and Lottie noticed that his head was at perfect kicking distance from her foot.