“Ellie, that’s not—”
“No, listen.” She cut her off, a storm brewing behind her eyes. “Being my Portman has put us both through so much, but I’m so thankful to have you. It’s hard seeing you constantly put yourself in danger for me. I never want to be the reason you’re hurt. You’re the most important thing in the whole world to me, and until we’re safe and we really can be free, I have to trust that you know what you’re doing and stop blaming myself. Until then, until I know what I’m feeling, I can’t play with your emotions.”
It took Lottie a moment to realize she’d stopped breathing, and when she finally took a deep breath she saw they’d reached the top. Tears brimmed in her eyes, making the world turn blurry.
“Ah, geez, I made you cry. I’m sorry.” Ellie began fiddling with her sash again and pulled out a paper fan. “I got this for you, to apologize. I had Saskia and Anastacia pick it up from town.”
Lottie didn’t think she could possibly feel any more overwhelmed, but when she looked down at the gift her whole heart lit up, spreading warmth through her body like sunshine. It was the daisy paper fan she’d seen in Harajuku, the one that reminded her of her mother, Marguerite.
“I saw you looking at it, and it made me think of your mum and—”
Lottie wrapped her arms around Ellie, enveloping her in the cotton of her yukata. She squeezed her tight enough that they might melt together, and in return she felt Ellie’s arms fold around her back. Beams of twinkling embers from the glittering festival below surrounded them in their colorful cloud as they floated into the moonlit sky.
“Thank you,” Lottie whispered. “And please always remember that nothing that’s happened to us is your fault. None of it.”
Machinery creaked around them and they slowly began to descend back to earth, the lights and scents of the festival washing over them.
“I’ll try to remember,” Ellie replied, the two of them squeezing each other once more before pulling apart. “Now, did you have something you wanted to tell me?” Ellie asked. “I feel like you’ve been about ready to burst.”
Lottie had almost forgotten about her discovery in the forest.
“I found something,” she said. “When I ran away, that night we had an argument. It was the strangest thing. In the forest I found a carving in a trunk of bamboo that was so big it looked like it should have split the ground in two.” Lottie looked up, checking Ellie was following, and found her eyes glimmering. “It was Liliana’s crest, a lily. But it doesn’t make any sense.”
“Why?”
“Because Liliana was alive during the Sakoku period in Japan, when their borders were closed to the rest of the world, so . . .” She mulled over the image in her head again—all the questions it raised. “How did she get here? And why? What’s the connection between Takeshin and Rosewood? I can’t stop thinking it’s a clue to the hidden treasure.”
“How can I help?” Ellie asked, a grin spreading over her face.
“Well, actually, I’ve already asked Binah if she can get Liliana’s diary to us.”
“So that’s why you keep checking your phone!” Laughing, Ellie stared up at the sky as if she’d just solved her own personal puzzle, before turning back to hold out her hand for Lottie to take. She looked like Ellie again, gallant and handsome in a moonlit frame. “Another mystery for us to solve together.”
With a creak of metal, they reached the ground, where Saskia, Anastacia, and the twins were waiting for them. But they didn’t see the happy faces they’d been expecting. Something was wrong. Badly wrong.
“Do you guys know where Jamie and Haru went?” Anastacia asked, and all thoughts of Liliana and the hidden treasure vanished.
“They’re not here? They said they’d be waiting.” Ellie marched forward to Saskia, who looked equally as confused.
It was impossible for Jamie to have wandered off. He would never allow himself to be anything other than professional. Even the twins were fidgeting uncomfortably, squeezing each other’s hands like nervous children.
Lottie felt her heart rate quicken. She could see that Lola and Micky were frightened, flashbacks to the Tompkins Manor scraping at their brains. Whatever had happened here, she couldn’t allow them to remain and risk more trauma.
Be brave, be kind, she told herself. Act how you would want someone else to in this situation.
“I’m sure it’s fine.” She tried to sound as reassuring as possible, even though there was dread in the pit of her stomach. “You two should go back to the school. We’ll go and find them; they’re probably not far away.”
The twins nodded, before hurrying off into the crowd.
Lottie glanced at the others, the sounds of the festival expanding around them until it felt like a haze of chaos. The only Partizan left in their group let out a long whistle, looking out over the masses of people.
“This is bad,” Saskia said, shaking her head. “Very, very bad.”
15
THERE WERE TOO MANY PEOPLE. Everywhere they looked bright colors and sticky smells and people, people, people. It had turned from enchanting to dizzying and Lottie could hardly move in her yukata, not used to walking in geta, traditional wooden sandals. She’d tried calling Jamie on his phone, but there was no response, so she’d left one simple message: “Jamie, please come back.”
“They have to be here somewhere,” Saskia said. “Jamie wouldn’t just leave unless—”
She stopped herself mid-sentence. Jamie wouldn’t leave unless there was a threat, unless Leviathan were here.
“Anastacia, stay close to me.” Saskia no longer tried to blend in with the crowd. Her sash had come
