Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
So they all stood back, and let him see, and after he had looked for a little time, he did not know what to do next.
“Just back up and let me work.” Nibs shoos Coy away from my side and inspects the bite. “It’s not great, but it looks clean.”
“The pirate did that.” My lip wobbles when I say it, so I clamp my mouth shut.
“Pirate?” Slightly’s head whips up, his eyes large. “You saw a pirate?”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
Slightly and Peter exchange a look, but Peter waves him away. “Is she going to be okay?” Peter stops at the base of the giant bed, his gaze on my leg.
It pulses with pain now, not the burning agony of earlier.
“She is. I don’t think it has any venom in it. Doesn’t look like it.” Nibs dabs at it with a wet rag. “The mermaid must’ve just been having a nibble.”
Why does everyone here make light of mermaids? They’re fucking terrifying.
“Clean it up.” Peter hands Nibs a water bowl. “Make her as comfortable as possible.”
“Will do.” Slightly kneels beside the bed and starts unwrapping some more light cloth, probably for a fresh bandage.
Peter grabs the pirate’s sleeve, my blood soaked into the threads, and tosses it angrily into the hallway. “I should’ve been there.”
“Not your fault.” I lie back as Nibs and Slightly fuss over the bandage.
Peter runs a hand through his hair. “Why were you up there in the first place?”
“I …” I glance toward the door. Tinker Bell isn’t hovering around where I can see her, but I get the feeling she’s listening.
Caution bells ring in my head, and I wonder if I should hold back and not tell Peter about her betrayal.
If I rat her out now, what will she do to me?
She already tried to put me in harm’s way, but if I actually cross her, would she do worse?
I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out.
And more to the point, if I keep her secret, it’ll be something I can use against her later if need be.
She’s cunning and cruel, and I need to fight fire with fire.
“I got lost in the cave and accidentally made it out.” I shrug. “It’s kind of confusing down here.”
“So why didn’t you just go back down when you realized you were in the woods?” Peter asks, his gaze on me.
“Because …” I hiss as Nibs tightens the bandage.
“Sorry.” He straightens his glasses and leans back.
“It’s okay.” I drape the blanket over me.
“Because why, Moira?” Peter crosses his arms over his chest.
“Because the pirate was there. He caught me.” That part isn’t a lie.
The pirate did come out of nowhere. In fact, he did it twice.
The blood in the water tries to cloud my mind, and I shake it away.
I don’t want to cry anymore. I want to sleep.
I want to sleep away all of this and wake up in my dorm room.
Even if it doesn’t work, I just don’t want to think anymore.
I’m beyond exhausted, my body aches in places I didn’t know existed, and my heart feels heavier than it ever has before.
Maybe even more so than when my mother died.
At least I knew that was coming. The pirate, though … He was different.
“You shouldn’t have been outside! I told you to stay in the cave!” Peter’s sharp yell pulls me from my thoughts and makes the entire room go silent. “I don’t know why you keep disobeying me when it always ends in pain!” His eyes flash. “Fuck, Moira, I thought you’d be smarter!”
I recoil, pressing myself against the pillows. Something sick swirls in my stomach, and I clamp my mouth shut to keep my chin from wobbling. I won’t cry. I refuse.
Nibs and Slightly are completely still, as if afraid Peter’s ire will land on them if they move.
“I’m only trying to protect you.” He lowers his voice though a vein pulses in his forehead.
Kneeling by the bed, he reaches for my hand.
I pull back, but he takes it anyway and holds it.
“You know I only want to keep you safe, right?” The twinkle returns to his eye, the anger fading as Nibs and Slightly return to their work.
“I know.” My voice is small. Like me. Like my heart as it withers under the refrain of Peter’s words. But maybe he’s right. I disobeyed and got captured by the Guardians, then disobeyed again and almost got handed over to Captain Hook. Is he right? “I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. You’re here now. You should rest.” Peter rises and sits beside me.
“You’ve been through enough.” He strokes a limp strand of hair from my forehead.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” He leans closer.
“I won’t let it happen again. From now on, you stay here in the cave. It’s where I can protect you best.”
“I’m all right.”
“No, you’re hurt. I was too busy fighting pirates to know you’d been taken. There’s no excuse for it.” He places a light kiss on my cheek. “Can you forgive me?”
“Of course.” I fight the urge to turn toward him, to seek comfort against his golden skin. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I have to keep you safe from Hook until the time is right. We’ll strike him after the next full moon. Once I’ve captured him, I’ll bring him to the tree and do what needs to be done to restore the island’s magic.”
“What do you have to do with him?”
“You’d rather not know,” he says grimly. “But once it’s done, you’ll be safe, and you can return to the mainland if you wish.”
Fear echoes through me, the dark kind that leaves a mark. “I don’t want anyone else to die.”
His fingers stroke along my cheek with featherlight touches. “If we can take Hook out, then no one else will. We’ll save everyone.” He says it with such hope, that boyish charm back in his tone.
I don’t want any more blood in the water, no dead fairies or Lost Boys. “Okay.” I nod. “If that’s what it takes.”
“That’s my girl.” He takes my hand, holding it between his again. “I know you’re tired, but could you tell us a story before you fall asleep? It might help relax you.”
“Better?” Peter takes my cup from me.
“Yes.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, the tension still tight behind my eyes. “I don’t know why I’m like this. I don’t remember having such a hard time with headaches.”
“It has to be the island. Maybe the magic messes with your head?” He smooths a hand over my hair. “I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” I sit up a little bit more.
“Sounds fun. How long have I been in here?” The time since the mermaid bite has run together.
Sleeping and dreaming, waking to find Coy or Peter watching over me, and telling stories—how many have I told, what did I even say?
I can’t remember. All I know is that I’ve been in this bed for a lot longer than I want to be. I need fresh air.
“You’ve been feverish off and on, sleeping a lot.” He peers into my eyes. “But you seem better now. It’s been three days.”
“Three?” I rub my eyes. “Seriously?” I reach down and touch the bandage around the wound. “It doesn’t hurt as much. Just an ache.”
“I’m glad you’re better.” He offers me a plate of neverberries.
“No, thanks. I’m good.” I’ve pretty much lost the taste for any sort of berry at this point. I wrinkle my nose at them.
“They’re not so bad.” He pops one in his mouth and chews.
That’s when I notice how young he looks. No more the older, hot professor. Not even the slightly older smoke show. He looks my age. “How?” I stare at him as the realization settles deep into my gut. “How are you getting younger?”
He smiles. “I’ve always been young at heart. Maybe that’s finally cutting through Hook’s curse.”
“Is everyone younger?” I glance toward the hall.
“Yes. We’re all looking more like our former selves, though we still have a way to go.”
“But you don’t know how it’s happening?” I can’t believe the change in him. Not a wrinkle on him. Not a smile line. His hair seems thicker than ever, and even his movements are more powerful, more lithe.
“I don’t. It must be a sign. It’s time for me to take on Hook and end his curse over the island.”
“Hmm.” I sit back and try to put my thoughts together, but they’re disjointed. I can’t get them in a straight line. There are dark gaps in my memory, huge leaps between my synapses that aren’t being bridged. “When?”
“Soon. But first, your surprise.”
I may be a little out of it, but I’ve always loved surprises. “Hit me. I’m ready.”
He holds out his hand, and I take it. When he helps me to my feet, I’m a little wobbly at first. The bite aches with my steps, but it’s bearable.
“I’ll take you to it.” He loops my arm around his back and holds onto me as I hobble down the tunnel, past the waterfall, past the kitchen where Slightly waves at me, and down another hallway where water runs along the edges of the floor.
Coy stands at a doorway ahead of us. “It’s ready.”
“Tell me what it is, Coy. Peter is being an ass and won’t give me a hint.” I smile up at him.
His gaze roves my face, and something dark crosses his eyes. He’s younger too, his copper hair even brighter than before. “Peter …” He stops himself, whatever he was going to say dying on his tongue.
“Never mind him.” Peter keeps drawing me past Coy and into the cavern ahead. “Look at this.”
The room is warm and steam eddies and curls through the air and along the walls.
I stop. “Is that … Is that a bath?” I squee.
How long has it been since I’ve had a proper bath?
All I do is bathe in the sea and almost get drowned or eaten while I’m at it.
A shadow darts across my mind, a memory of something.
A dream. One where I’m beneath the Nevertree and I’m covered in something sticky, something wet, something that tastes like a penny on my tongue. It’s—
“All for you, Moira.” Peter waves a hand, cutting through the tendrils of steam so I can get a better view of the stone tub.
He helps me to it and sits me on the edge. “Here, let me.” He reaches for the top of my tunic, which makes me wonder when I changed clothes.
“No, I can do it.” I try to move his hands away, but he’s too quick for me.
“I said let me.” His voice floats on the surface of my mind, then sinks slowly, dissolving and fizzing into all my nooks and crannies. My head starts to swim and ache as I give up.
With deft fingers, he undoes the laces and strips it away, then helps me to my feet and pulls off my loose breeches.
He looks me over, his eyes growing heated as he finally meets my gaze again. “You’re so beautiful, Moira.”
A shiver courses through me at the compliment. No one’s ever thought I was beautiful before. Only Peter.
He leans closer. “I’ve wanted to give you a kiss for a long time now. You’ll let me, won’t you?”
Of course I will. Why wouldn’t I let him? I close my eyes and wait.
When his hands graze down my back, a soft moan catches in my throat.
“You belong here, Moira. With me. Forever. Soon, I’ll show you just how much I need you.” His fingers trail between my breasts and lower, stopping just below my navel. “Soon.”
His warmth leaves, and when I open my eyes, he’s disappeared into the steam. “Enjoy your bath,” he calls.
I shake my head and try to clear it, but all it does is grow foggier.
Maybe the bath will help me figure out what the hell is going on with me.
Did I just throw myself at Peter Pan? And did he walk away from my offer?
Why would I do it in the first place? That’s not like me at all.
My head mirrors the cloudiness of the room, a mess of precipitation that can’t land and coalesce into anything. Only mist and confusion.
“Oh my god,” I grumble and pull my leg over into the tub, then get in, though I’m careful to keep the bandaged leg up. “I’m an idiot.”
The steam has the good grace not to answer me back in the affirmative, so I close my eyes and pretend it didn’t happen. After all, none of this is happening, right?
The water feels amazing, warm and sweet as it sinks into my pores and washes me clean. It’s a perfect cocoon of warmth, and it soothes all the aches that seem to be mounting inside me. A gift. One I sorely needed.
So why do I still feel cold inside?