Whatever you decide to do with the child after what I am about to tell you, please refrain from contacting me. There is nothing either of us can do to change this.
You know better than anyone how important my family is to me and all that I must do for them, and I beg you to remember this when I tell you my solemn news.
My mother has arranged a bride for me from another royal family and I am to be wed in five years’ time. I must vow myself solely to her and use this time to establish a strong and beneficial relationship.
This will not be easy for me, and I will think of you—and the life we made—often, but I have a duty to my country that I cannot turn my back on.
I do not expect forgiveness, and I will carry this with me until I die.
I am sorry, and I love you.
Lottie felt tears stinging in her eyes, her heart aching for this woman she’d never met and her terrible lover, remembering what Miko had told her about how Sayuri’s mother’s sister had passed away, that sadness had consumed her.
“I don’t understand,” Jamie grunted. “Why would Leviathan want any of this?”
Then Lottie saw it. The mark at the bottom of the letter where there should have been a signature—a mark she was sure she’d seen before.
It made her feel sick, the very idea that what she was seeing could be true, that what she was thinking might become real.
“We need to go back to Rosewood,” she said faintly, taking the letter from Sayuri. “I think I’ve seen that symbol before, and there’s something in the school that could prove it.” She felt her fingers shaking, but she continued, knowing she had to face this head-on. “I’m probably wrong, but I want to make sure.”
“What is it?” Ellie asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry.
“Can we just . . . ?” Lottie looked at Ellie, her heart hurting. “Let’s not talk about it until I’m sure, please.”
They all stared at her, not knowing what to say; she hardly even knew what to say herself, dreading what this discovery could mean for all of them.
A question played over and over in her head. Why would Leviathan want this?
“If it’s okay, Sayuri, may I borrow this?”
Sayuri slowly nodded. “Take care of it.”
“We need to head back.” Jamie kept his face neutral, but Lottie could see the concern creeping in, absorbing Lottie’s unease like it was his own. “We don’t want anyone finding this place, and it looks like whatever Leviathan might have thought was hidden here is gone.”
They silently began burying the chest again, putting all the pieces of history back in the ground—everything except the sword and the letter. Lottie allowed herself one more glance at the coil of hair, that glowing part of Liliana, the tendril of gold that she’d cut away and buried with her friend’s secrets, and she wondered how much more to their story there was.
Dirt covered the history once more, and yet that same pounding wouldn’t leave Lottie’s head. It weaved and spluttered inside her, snaking into her consciousness with a terrible burden. It was time to go back to Rosewood and figure out who the Master of Leviathan was. She felt it deep inside her that the truth was just over the horizon. So why was she suddenly so scared to find out?
Part Three
しょうがない
Shōganai
Japanese phrase: “It can’t be helped.”
32
THE CARS WERE WAITING IN a formal line along the driveway of Takeshin, a colorful brigade ready to take the international summer-school students to the airport.
It should have been a moment of relief. Lottie knew she’d gotten the scores to make up her grade—Sayuri had confirmed it for her—but she couldn’t relax, knowing the truth was waiting for her at Rosewood, whether they wanted it or not.
“I’m actually gonna miss this place,” Ellie said with a laugh, wrapping an arm around Lottie’s shoulder to take in the school one last time, completely oblivious to the fear growing inside her friend.
Down at the end of the driveway, Takeshin Gakuin looked almost like a castle, an ancient fortress of secrets. The Kiri Shinrin lived in the same space as the Rose Wood, and as much as Lottie had grown to love Takeshin, it was time to go back. And to face the final secret.
Watching her fellow Rosewood students bask in their last moments in Takeshin’s grounds, Lottie couldn’t help envying them. Soon, things were never going to be the same; a pounding drumbeat of truth had followed her out of the bamboo forest, and it promised to alter their lives forever.
“I’m going to miss it too.” Lola looked like she was about ready to burst into tears, clutching Micky’s arm like he was a teddy bear. “We should come here every year.”
It was obvious to everyone that Lola and Micky had thrived at Takeshin more than any of them, completely unaware of all the Leviathan trouble, basking in the sweets and the attention they got from all the students who found them so cute.
“Don’t worry, guys.” Lottie patted Lola on the shoulder with a smile. “We’ll take a little bit of it with us, I’m sure.”
Like magic, Miko appeared in front of them, hands firmly on her hips, with Rio and Wei towering behind her. The little blue heart she’d drawn at the side of her eye winked at Lottie behind a loose strand of hair.
“Kabocha-chan.” Miko nodded at her.
Lottie returned the gesture, mirroring her stance.
“The boss wants to see you.” Rio couldn’t resist ruffling Lottie’s hair as they wandered past her to say goodbye to the twins and Ellie.
“Good luck,” Wei added, not even a twitch on his face.
Just before she continued on her way to the twins, Miko paused and grabbed the
