BooksBarbecue
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

‘Jamie-kun? Are you OK?’ Haru said, his voice softer now, and Jamie felt as if he were landing in it, a pillow to cushion him after such an awful thought. But then Ellie reformed in his head, standing over him with the light at her back, more like a prince than a princess, making that promise, swearing them both to protect Lottie by distancing themselves. He had to trust her; he had to believe she could hold up her end of the agreement.

‘I’m fine,’ Jamie said, standing up in one swift movement. ‘Come on.’

Holding his hand out like an invitation, Jamie gestured for Haru to take it, not shying away from his touch any longer. This was his way of saying thank you, of letting Haru know he’d earned his trust. The Partizan smiled up at him, the empty pool where his legs still dangled looking like an unknowable, unending void. It was easy to pull him up, and in seconds Haru was looking down on him again and the intimacy between them was palpable, their warm breath mingling like perfume in the air.

Haru had done him a huge favour. He’d offered him an ear and given him more clarity than he could know, so it was time for Jamie to return the favour.

‘About what you said,’ Jamie began, facing it head on. ‘Back in Dame Bolter’s office …’

‘Does it bother you?’ Haru asked, taking a small step back.

‘No, it’s just …’ Feeling shy in a way he didn’t know he was capable of, Jamie pushed his hair out of the way, thinking about all the times he’d seen Ellie do something similar. It was a peculiar and unknown realm to know that someone else had feelings for him in that way, someone he admired. ‘The truth is I don’t think I’m in a position to be thinking about anything like that,’ he said, feeling strangely guilty for the vague response.

Haru smirked down at him, clearly finding Jamie’s unexpected bashfulness far more funny than he did. ‘That’s OK. I’m happy if I can simply give you some comfort. I don’t like to see you lost, even if my persistence for us to get closer has been an annoyance.’

‘Well, you’ve done that.’ Jamie tilted his head to the side, the corners of his mouth inching into a smile. ‘I’m glad you were so persistent.’

Having reached a comfortable truce, the two boys walked back through the nearly deserted school with only the moon watching them, and Jamie thought with a sigh what a relief it was to finally have someone who understood him, someone he could trust.

19