‘We were waiting to speak to you about that,’ he signed, his weary gaze cast downwards. ‘Lola and Micky … their dad has taken a turn for the worst; we’re not sure he has very long left, so for the moment –’ he shrugged, hesitating over his next words – ‘I don’t want either of them coming to these meetings. I warned Micky it would upset him too much and, well, you can see for yourself.’

Everyone’s faces dropped, a reminder that there was more going on; there was always more. This was what they should all be able to focus on, exams, clubs and their friends and families, not this stupid Leviathan stuff – this should be Ellie’s problem only, but she’d infected everyone with it.

Ellie turned to Lottie, whose eyes were glossy with tears, probably already taking on this burden too, then slowly she looked at her Partizan.

Jamie was as unreadable as ever, but as soon as he locked on to Ellie she knew they were sharing the same thought, a wordless agreement that came out in a long sigh.

‘This meeting is over,’ Jamie announced. ‘Let’s reconvene next week. There’s clearly a lot on people’s minds with the PoP, exams and family matters, and we don’t have any new information, meaning there’s no point in keeping you all here.’

Lottie opened her mouth to say something, but her focus was on Ellie, and slowly it closed again, locking away whatever thought had almost spilled out of her throat.

‘Is that really OK?’ Raphael asked, looking like a guilty dog. ‘We’ll stay if you need us.’

‘No, it’s fine,’ Ellie said, clearly shocking Lottie with how controlled she was. ‘Everyone, go. Go and live your lives.’ And then she did something she’d never done before; she gave the room that fake smile she had learned from Lottie, praying that she could hold it long enough to convince them.

There was only a moment’s hesitation, with Percy the first to make a move, unashamed that he’d rather be comforting his boyfriend than be deep in the bowels of Rosewood, dishing up old and awful memories. Raphael was next, giving Jamie a wave at the stairwell, followed by Binah, then Anastacia and Saskia.

Ellie spotted a look of panic on Lottie’s face, like her mind was trying to scrape something together.

‘How about we meet up next weekend after we’ve had some time to think?’ Lottie offered, her fist meeting her palm and a determined look that was completely at odds with what Ellie had witnessed a second ago. Because this one was fake.

Anastacia seemed to pick up on something, pausing at the lip of the stairwell. ‘How about a self-care day in my room?’ she replied. ‘To take our mind off things, just us girls?’