Chapter 6
THE BODYGUARD
They are going to kill him.
He had one job, and he fucked it up. Royally.
It has been months since he’d been to Neverland and the second his boots hit Neverland soil, he sighs and turns his face to the starlit sky, breathing in the island air.
But it’s only a moment of elation until reality sets back in.
He doesn’t feel right. A dull ache is pounding behind his eyes. There is a throbbing pulse at the back of his neck. And despite being a semi-immortal fae who regularly works out in the makeshift gym he created, his joints are aching like he either has a fever or somehow aged a century overnight.
All of this, however, will be the least of his worries once he’s at the treehouse. Once he’s told the twins and Winnie and Pan and Vane just how badly he’s failed.
There’s a party pulsing in the night air. Ember and gold light flickers from behind the house. Voices filter out along with the snap and crackle of a bonfire.
In the distance, waves crash against the sandy shore and farther out, the howl of a wolf.
As he comes around the corner of the house, he scans the group, about thirty or forty people, and spots Pan first on the edge of the bonfire light, a drink in his hand.
Vane is on his left leaning into him, whispering something that has Pan nodding.
But the attention of both men is aimed across the bonfire.
It’s Winnie caught between the twins. Kas’s hair is wound up in a bun, several long strands hanging in his face. Bash is shirtless, his wings flexing along with the drumbeat of the music.
While the shadows still hold him, he stops and takes another deep, settling breath. There is no escaping the consequences, whatever they may be. So he might as well get it over with.
One more breath. Okay, maybe another. Just to settle the nerves.
Fuck.
Shaking his head, he steps out and into the ring of light.
Pan spots him first. It’s impossible to withstand the attention of the star god without feeling like your insides are being liquified, and an involuntary shudder runs through him.
Pan’s expression hardens.
And as soon as Pan reacts to his arrival, Vane is not far behind.
Peter Pan and Vane are different monsters, from different islands, but where one goes, the other follows.
They aren’t lovers, but the next closest thing, surely.
The din of the party simmers to a whisper.
Winnie comes around the bonfire and to his side. “Leo. What are you doing here?” Her gaze skitters past him, scanning the surrounding woods. He can’t tell if it’s a look of hope or one of dread.
He swallows, but the lump in his throat persists.
“I…she…Merry…”
He closes his eyes and tries to make sense of it all, where he fucked up, how he fucked up, could it have been avoided? His head is so foggy, it feels like he’s walking in a dream.
Or a nightmare.
Vane and Pan cross the yard. The twins join them.
“Spit it out, kid,” Vane says.
“I don’t know what happened,” he finally admits. Because it’s the truth.
“My mother…” Winnie trails off. It’s a question missing the conclusion.
“Gone.” Leo swallows and finds some relief.
They all share a look.
“How?” Pan asks.
“I don’t know.” Leo casts his gaze to the sand, afraid to meet their eyes. “Merry and I were out…every night…we…to the park…and then…just…she was just gone.”
Winnie makes a stuttering gasp.
“Fuck,” Bash says and runs his hand through his hair.
Pan calls to someone beyond the fire. “Pour Leo a glass of fairy wine.” Then the star god’s attention is on him again, and Leo sways on his feet. “Come upstairs, kid. You’re going to have a drink, and then you’re going to tell us everything you know. Every fucking detail.”