The museum was a piece of history frozen in time—only it had a guest. In the milky moonlit reflection Sayuri knelt down over the ancient low table in the center of the tatami, facing away, moving with ghostly speed, where she trawled through papers from a small unlocked chest. And beside it, open to the exact same page, was the book Lottie had found in the library. The book that told of Takeshin’s secret treasure.
Everything became clear, and just as it crystallized in her head the ghost on the other side of the glass turned and Lottie’s eyes locked with the Pink Demon’s.
Lottie could now see the mask for what it was, a fanged catlike creature, with the drooping round eyes of an evil spirit. If Lottie had seen such a thing by surprise, she would have been sure it was a menacing yōkai come to play a trick on her.
There was no point in shying away, no use in trying to back out of this. Lottie reminded herself to be brave, and slowly she pushed open the door.
Silence enveloped her, the door closing behind her without a sound, shutting out the regular world, specks of dust illuminated in the air. It was dreamy with the scent of pine, and alive, golden cats painted on the age-old chest staring out at the room, guarding the artifacts. Starlight hit the glass, the school beyond obscured, like she’d traveled back in time.
The two of them stared at each other, Sayuri still hidden behind her mask, surrounded by shadow.
“Leviathan are looking for the secret treasure, aren’t they?” Lottie asked at last.
On the table she could glimpse a collection of carefully organized papers, yellowed with age and covered in characters Lottie couldn’t read. She knew Haru must have been looking through the same box, and guessed there were clues in there that he hadn’t been able to solve.
Without a word, Sayuri swept up the papers into the box and locked it away in a large chest. Turning back to Lottie, she lifted the mask, letting it rest on her head like a second pair of eyes, but the face beneath was no less scary.
She looked furious, only it wasn’t the anger of betrayal or malice directed at Lottie. This was the distinct frustration of helplessness, and Lottie knew it all too well.
“You’re trying to find the treasure before Haru does.”
It wasn’t a question; it was obvious, and it explained Sayuri’s behavior when she’d found them in the library at the start of the course.
“You shouldn’t have followed me.” Her voice was cold, with no semblance of her usual tranquil air. “I could have you fail your course if I wanted to.”
“What’s the treasure?” Lottie asked, letting the threat roll off her.
“We don’t know, and you should stay out of it.” Sayuri rose slowly, not taking her raven-black eyes off Lottie.
“Sayuri, don’t you see . . . ?” Lottie tried to take hold of her hands, but it only made the other girl scowl. “We’re on the same team. I can help—”
“No, don’t you see?” She took a step forward, face low enough that the mask on her crown flashed its eyes at her. “That’s probably why Leviathan want you here, to solve this mystery for them. Seeing as you’re so good at that.”
“We don’t even know for certain that they do want me here. It’s improbable.”
“Is it? Or is my connection to my family so frayed that I’ll never, ever be able to solve this mystery?”
For the first time since Lottie had met Sayuri, a moment of complete honesty bloomed on her face like a rare flower. There was no Pink Demon, no queen of the school, only a lonely girl trapped by burden, forced to push back against the pressure put upon her.
Lottie knew what it was like to feel alone in the world without a connection to your family, and she knew how difficult the burdens people placed upon themselves could be, and she didn’t want anyone else feeling like that. Even without knowing the details of Sayuri’s family life, her instincts told her to help.
“What if it can’t be solved?” Lottie said firmly, taking a bold step forward. “What if it’s impossible unless we work together?”
“What nonsense—”
“I saw something in the Kiri Shinrin. The lost princess Liliana—”
“Why were you in the Kiri Shinrin?” Sayuri’s eyes narrowed on her, understandably suspicious.
“I followed a cat, like Miko told me to do.”
Sayuri looked completely lost for words, and before she could respond Lottie finished her story.
“Liliana’s the founder of Rosewood, and I saw her house sigil—a lily—carved in the forest.”
“I thought the founder of Rosewood was a man?”
Lottie faltered. “Look.” She took another cautious step toward her, and Sayuri allowed it, the two of them close enough that Lottie could smell the fiery tang of gas fumes. “Rosewood has many secrets, and I believe Takeshin does too—and that they’re linked.”
It was strange to be so close to her, like one of the cats from the school, eyeing each other, not sure how either would react, but they needed to trust each other.
“The founder of Rosewood was not who they said they were. She had to pretend to be a man in order to be taken seriously; it was the only way she could start the school. She was really the runaway princess Liliana Mayfutt, who was my ancestor. I have a feeling that she knew Kou, that our ancestors are trying to tell us that we need to work together. I have Lili’s tiara, and I’m waiting to get her diary. Maybe once it arrives we can—”
“Your ancestor?” Sayuri pulled away from Lottie quickly.
“Yes, we’re both descendants of our schools. On my mother’s side I—”
“You’re not the princess of Maradova.”
There were no words to be found, only crushing silence as Lottie drowned in the deep black of Sayuri’s eyes. That she could have made such a stupid, obvious mistake sent waves of nausea through her, the prickly heat of sickness making her sway.
“I, let me . . . What
