Without looking, Jamie knew what was inside. Watching curiously, the big black cat rubbed against the bag.
“Vampy!” Jamie chastised, but the cat only stared at him.
Reluctantly he picked up the bag, cursing himself while he unzipped the front pocket. It still smelled like his room in Maradova, cinnamon and spice, proof that he hadn’t touched it the entire time they’d been away.
He pulled out a royal blue velvet box, so unassuming and simple, yet what it held had been whispering in his ears for months.
He watched his hands take the lid, and all the while soft fur rubbed against his bare legs, Vampy moving in little figure eights between his shins, purring at him in satisfaction.
“Okay, you pest,” he grumbled, and with furious distaste he opened the box.
A silver wolf stared back at him, glittering gems awoken from a long slumber.
It had been a long time since he’d properly looked at his wolf pendant, and seeing it now felt like rediscovering a lost part of himself.
The wolf—the one thing they all had in common. If you had one of these, you belonged to the Maravish royal family; you were part of the pack.
He remembered how tense he’d been when they’d given one to Lottie, knowing the responsibility it carried, only to discover it was he who didn’t feel worthy of it.
Shaking his head, he put the box down and made his way to the door.
The cat moaned again, vibrating at his feet.
“Sorry, Vampy.” He slipped on his running shoes. “I’m still not ready.”
Lottie awoke to the endless thumping of a heartbeat pounding away like a drum against her chest. In her sleepy, confused state she thought it was Mr. Truffles, come to life in her arms, and she quickly pushed him away.
Only once her stuffed pig was lying on the floor, drooping to the side in outrage at his mistreatment, did Lottie realize the sound was coming from inside her.
“Sorry, Mr. Truffles,” she said, placing him back on the bed and planting a kiss on his forehead.
Her recently fixed phone screen read 7:15 a.m., fifteen minutes before her alarm was due to go off. A few other international students might start arriving at the school over the course of the day, so she needed to do this now, while she was sure she could be alone.
“Hey.”
Lottie nearly jumped out of her skin, frozen in the act of putting her pink sweatshirt on.
“You’re awake? It’s quarter past seven. Who are you, and what have you done with my princess?” Ellie stretched out in her black bedding among pillows and fluffy cushions.
Even though they had both been very tired, Lottie had demanded they take some time to remake the room, refusing to let Ellie sleep on a bed with no sheets, which she was clearly thankful for now, and besides, Ellie needed a good night’s sleep with what was coming their way.
The wooden floor was warm beneath her feet, sun streaming in through the chiffon curtains in amber streaks that made the floor look like gold. Their room felt like home again, with handmade decorations and a motley collection of books and posters. It was strange the way the once clear-cut divide between Ellie’s and her own stuff had begun to blur, melting into each other like a Rorschach test made of pink fluff and teenage rebellion.
“You going for a run?” Her eyes were already closing again.
“Yes, I’ve a lot on my mind. A run might help.” Lottie watched her princess’s breathing begin to steady.
“I’m so glad we’re home,” Ellie murmured, a smile spreading before she completely zonked out.
“I’ll see you in half an hour,” Lottie replied. A small part of her felt guilty for leaving Ellie behind, but she knew that it was better she wasn’t there. This was something she needed to do alone.
“Sorry, Ellie,” she whispered, putting on her wolf pendant and squeezing it until the polished silver dug into her palms, leaving little red marks. Tucking it under her top, she grabbed the envelopes Sayuri had given her: one with her hair, and one with the mysterious metal fragments.
Closing her eyes, she meditated on what she was about to do, visualizing the exact spot in Lili’s study where the proof was hiding, taking it and going into the Rose Wood to be completely alone before she revealed the truth. Only then would she bury Sayuri’s hair under the great oak tree. It didn’t seem too difficult.
As she bent down to pick up her backpack, the wolf pendant freed itself, dropping over her chest, the little gem eyes reflecting the rose-gold velvet box that held her tiara.
“I’m afraid you’re sitting this one out,” she told it, turning to leave.
On her way out, she thought she heard the debris inside the envelope rattling ominously. She knew she was only imagining it, but it didn’t stop her from feeling uneasy.
35
TIPTOEING DOWN TO LILI’S STUDY, Lottie crept closer to the heart of the school with each step. At her side in a bag was Sayuri’s hair, her only friend in the darkness, and she imagined her like a spirit beside her, willing her forward, reminding her that she had to do this, no matter what it meant.
Liliana’s study was creepy without anybody to cushion the haunted feeling, the shadows looming larger, the air cold like ghost breath on your skin. The flashlight made big yellow circles on the floor.
It would be so easy to turn back. So easy to ignore the truth. But instead Lottie clenched her fists, marched to the desk, and slid open the left drawer. There, right where she’d left it, looking back at her in the topaz light, was the letter she’d received at the start of summer from the king. And at the bottom was his symbol.
The very same symbol that was at the bottom of the love letter to Sayuri’s aunt.
Stupid.
Ingrid could hardly believe how stupid the Rosewood Hall setup
