“L yric!”
I gasped awake, staring blearily up at a face too close to mine to make out. I slashed my arm out, grabbing the air around me like a cloak and throwing it over the person. They moved effortlessly out of the way, but something broke across the room.
Scrambling for purchase, I blinked against the darkness, glanced at the chair where Adam had been when I drifted off, then swallowed when I found him missing.
The shadowy form hovering in the room was too small to be Bay.
“Shout in her face again. That worked so well the first time,” a high-pitched voice I didn’t recognize snipped. A pixie zipped to me, tilting her head. “It’s just us,” she said gently.
“Tinkerbell?” I blurted, squinting at the boy behind her. Peter . Was I dreaming?
Tinkerbell buzzed right back to him and sat on the rim of his hat. “I think she’s okay.”
“Where have you been?” Peter demanded, throwing his arms out. “Do you know how hectic it has been around here since you left?”
I stared at him, mute. It made no sense for him to be here. How would he have known I was here?
“Well?” he prompted, his voice pitching higher.
“Neverland,” I replied in disbelief. If this were real, Adam would be seated in his chair like he was when I’d fallen asleep, and Whisper would have heard us by now.
Almost on cue, the door to the back room creaked, and light flooded the space. I squinted through it as Peter whirled on Adam and Whisper.
Adam stood protectively before her, holding an oil lamp, but there was a significant amount of murder in her tired gaze as well. At least, until she saw Peter.
“What are you doing here?” Her eyes went wide.
Peter folded his arms. “Doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?” He dismissed them both and directed that question at me, frowning. “There are pirates everywhere , and I haven’t been able to find you for weeks. Why didn’t you come home?”
I swallowed, my heart rate picking up. “I,” I began, my eyes filling with tears, “I didn’t think you’d remember me.”
His arms loosened, and his shoulders drooped for half a second. Hurt flickered through his gaze, but he shook it off. “Stupid.”
“It’s a valid point,” Tinkerbell chimed mercilessly, kicking her legs through his hair.
Peter ignored her. “Well, I do remember you, so come home. We’re on the edge of a war, and it’s not just here either. This whole world is falling apart.”
“I know that. I’m supposed to fix it.” Though how exactly was another topic.
“Fix it?” He blinked at me, incredulous. “I don’t think so. You’re going to stay safe and let me handle this. It isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with pirates.”
After everything, he thought I was just going to sit by and let him fight this battle alone? I rose off the couch, folding my arms as I faced him in the air. “It isn’t exactly my first time dealing with them now, either.”
“Lyric,” he warned.
“No. I don’t want to hear it. You’ve kept me on these islands for my entire life. And, sure, maybe when I left, I wasn’t in the best mindset, but even then, I survived. And not only did I survive, I survived a place that’s more dangerous than anywhere I’ve ever heard of. I came out of it all stronger.” My fists clenched. “Skyla is my home. I’m going to stand beside you and defend it.”
“This isn’t an adventure!” he yelled. “This is war! And I’m—” His voice cracked. “I’m not going to lose you to it.”
“For the love of the stars,” Tinkerbell sighed dramatically, “Peter, she’s two feet off the ground without pixie dust. I think she’s learned a lot on her adventure. We’ve always known this day was coming. Or at least I have. Did you forget?”
He glared upwards, but didn’t reply to her.
“What does she mean you’ve always known this day was coming?”
The annoyance on their faces disappeared. Peter’s arms dropped by his sides, and his eyes went huge.
Whisper coughed, sidling up to me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “Yeah, she also understands pixies now. So maybe it’s time to stop treating her like a child?”
Tinkerbell’s breath seemed to hold, then she murmured, “So you really have been to Neverland, and it decided to grant you our tongue.”
“I have. And we know that Hook is coming to try and take Skyla. And we know that he’s not alone; he has magic, an enchantress backing him up.”
Whisper nodded. “And also, he has my mother hostage.”
Peter’s concern was blank, but Tinkerbell’s eyes shone with something deeper, and she whispered, “Hook is back, and he has Tiger Lily?”
Sunlight gleamed through the window, catching on Adam standing patiently in the hall. Dawn meant we hopefully had another day before Hook could reach us. I landed with my feet on the floor and found my bag where I’d discarded it beside the couch the night before. It had definitely seen better days, but it would still carry food for the trip to the Fountain. Other than that, my spyglass and pan flute were all that had survived Neverland. I hesitated before picking it up. “We have to find and destroy the Fountain of Youth before Hook even has a chance to reach it. He wants to use the magic for himself and in whatever plot the enchantress has set him on.”
Tinkerbell flitted off Peter’s hat and waved her hands before my bag, blocking me from grabbing it. “You know about the Fountain?”
“Yes. Do you know where it is?”
Her gaze dropped, and she landed on the flap of my satchel. “I vaguely remember.”
“Home, right?”
She straightened, holding herself in a hug. Her huge eyes met mine, and she swallowed, nodding.
“No way.” Whisper threw her hair back and blew out a breath. “All this time, the Fountain has been in your home?”
“Hidden under it.” I snatched my bag strap, and Tinkerbell moved out of the way so I could pull it around my shoulders. My eyes caught on the feathers marking my arm, and I clenched my jaw. Exhaustion punctuated my movements, but I would have to accept the fact I hadn’t had much sleep. “Right under my nose, just like the temple spirit said.”
“Forgotten in time by the only one who had ever been allowed to find it.” Tinkerbell exhaled, looking at Peter. “It was ages ago, back when Skyla had first appeared in this world as a refuge for those fleeing Neverland’s tyrants.”
“How do the other Lost Boys share his eternity if only he found it so long ago?”
Sadness made Tinkerbell settle back into the dip of Peter’s hat, her legs pulled tight against her chest. “After the first war with Hook, Peter took a blood oath, promising to protect the Lost Boys who survived; unknowingly, he bound them to the power running through his veins.”
Peter scratched his head, peering at us all like we were talking in another language. At least, he understood both of us, though. Whisper tugged on my sleeve, a brow quirked in question.
“They shared blood,” I said.
“Oath blood,” Peter added, and something lit in his eyes, but it was gone in the next second. He pumped his chest. “None of whatever you’re talking about matters. If pirates are on their way, we need to secure Skyla. And that means getting you home.”
I frowned. “How did you even know I was here?”
His expression didn’t change as he tried to push me toward the door. “Doesn’t matter.”
“You don’t remember, do you?” Whisper accused.
Peter glared at her, but that was exactly it.
I looked directly at Tinkerbell, even though she had sunk deep into the groove of Peter’s hat, hiding everything but her leaf-clad feet from view. “Someone told us. The other boy who also glitters with pixie dust.”
Bay .
He had followed us? He was here?
My heart wouldn’t settle from the moment it knew Bay had followed us back to Skyla. I floated in a daze toward home, ignoring all Peter’s complaints about “strangers discovering the base” even as he led us there. Whisper ignored him too, guiding me along behind her like a balloon. Periodically, she shot me a worried glance, but I tried to smile and reassure her when I noticed.
He was here, in the shadows. He knew where our home was. Had telling Peter where I was been to distract him? Had Bay figured out where the Fountain was, even though I’d never said anything specific about its location?
Worry ate away at my gut, and I tried to temper it. Bay was still Bay. Even if what he’d done concerning Tiger Lily was unforgivable, he wasn’t the kind of person who would…go behind our backs and burn down an entire civilization of people, right? I had seen in his second temple test that he had boundaries.
I squeezed Whisper’s hand and hoped. He had proven himself to be like his father in too many ways. My heart still wanted to believe in him, but I couldn’t afford misplaced trust in these dire moments before what could be the devastation of the entire world.
Peter grumbled the entire way down the tunnel into the base, swiping the furs aside. Whisper followed. I followed behind her, spotting the Lost Boys at the table, their hands filled with food. They peered at one another, then back at Whisper, but no recognition touched their gazes.
“Ah…” Slightly began, “Who’re these girls, Peter?”
A part of me chipped away. Peter had remembered, but they hadn’t? I looked between the Twins, but they shifted their gaze to one another, exchanging shrugs. Tootles’ brows were lowered with concentration, but nothing sparked, and for some reason, that made him deflate in sorrow. One by one, each turned away to wait for Peter’s answer.
“What do you mean? It’s Lyric,” Peter snapped, finding his chair and plopping into it.
“Lyric?” Nibs scrubbed the edge of an empty bowl against his head. “Is that a new friend of yours?”
Peter sighed, waving a hand at them, and a sliver of brokenness splintered over his face. He wiped it away when he looked at Whisper and I. “Your room is untouched, and there should be enough food in the stores.”
Swallowing the lump burning in my throat, I nodded and crossed to the door.
“Her room?” Chubs and some others chorused behind me.
“I always wondered why we had that.”
Someone said with a scrunched nose, “So girly.”
My stomach tightened, but I pushed into my space and let the familiar glowing mirabel, bed, and random bits and bobs calm me. They did a poor job.
“It’s just like I would have imagined!” Whisper laughed, though the sound was strained. She lifted a hand-made arrow off a dresser and twirled the shaft between her fingers. “I can’t believe it took this long for me to finally see your home.”
I couldn’t believe it took me this long to really see how fractured my family was. What did the world look like through their eyes, when everything was new and remade and the games they played again and again were always the same but never recalled? I didn’t know how often the Fountain’s magic reset them, but it was clear only Peter knew how to tamper with it.
And he fought. He fought to keep me.
A sob swallowed me up, and I gasped, leaning against the dirt wall and covering my face with my hands.
Whisper set the arrow down and was at my side in an instant. “Hey,” she said softly, “it’s okay. Let it out.”
Tears poured down my cheeks, and strangled breaths left my chest. I hadn’t cried like this since that night I thought I’d lost her. Now, she held me, letting me muffle my pain against Adam’s shirt, the one he gave her after she showered with his soap; she smelled like a stranger, and that made my sobs worse.
I stayed in her arms for several long minutes. Eventually, the tears dried, but the ache in my chest remained. “Let’s find that accursed Fountain and get rid of it,” I whispered. I took a few spare moments to change out of the clothes I had borrowed from a native camp in Neverland. Promising to avenge them once and for all, I pulled on my own familiar shirt and pants.
Whisper scratched her moccasin against the corner of my rug. “You said the Fountain was under your home. How do we get under this?” She looked at the hard dirt floor, and her nose pinched. “Do we just dig?”
A flutter zipped into the room, and Tinkerbell swept her gaze over me before tilting her head. Some emotion filled her eyes, but neither her voice nor her countenance conveyed it. “I can lead you to the entrance. The Fountain itself is under our home, but you can’t reach it by digging.” She flew within an inch of my face and narrowed her eyes. “But before I take you to one of the most powerful relics in the world, how do you plan to destroy it exactly?”
I scrubbed my cheek, taking deep breaths, then muttered, “I don’t know. The spirit of the temple—”
“The temple?” she chimed.
“In Neverland.”
Her eyes widened, and she jerked back. “You’ve spoken to the spirit of Neverland? You survived those tests?”
Dumbly, I nodded.
“What did she say?” Her words came airy and breathless, reverent, and her hands clasped in prayer.
“‘All wind that rises must fall.’ I don’t know what it means. I just assume it has something to do with my powers.” I wiped my hands on my shirt and offered Whisper a weak smile. It was all I could manage. “Tink’s going to take us to the Fountain.”
Tinkerbell shook her head. “No, no. I’m going to lead you to the entrance, but I’m not going there again. That magic is a drug. If Neverland trusts you to handle it, then I will too, but I can’t go back. I just can’t.”
“What did she say?” Whisper asked.
“She’s leading us to the start, but we have to make it from there on our own.” Biting my lip, I clenched a fist around my bag strap.
Tinkerbell raised her head, eyeing Whisper haughtily. “Does your friend have what it takes to make it out of there, Lyric? If Neverland entrusted you with this, I’m sure you’ll be fine, but…”
“Whisper made it through the temple’s tests, as well.” I frowned.
Tinkerbell zipped to my ear, brushing my hair aside and whispering like someone else in the room could understand her. “But, she can’t even fly.”
I swatted at her. “Yes, she can.”
“Oh, really?” Tinkerbell’s brows shot up, but her expression remained indignant. She fluttered over Whisper, then pulled back and crossed her arms as pixie dust rained into my friend’s light curls.
Whisper looked at me, shaking her head. “Oh, no. No, I don’t think— Not after…”
“You said it before, even if I didn’t realize it then. You weren’t flying because you trusted Skye.” I held out my hand. “You never trusted them, and you were right. I should have listened closer to what you were telling yourself in the temple, but why could you fly?”
She looked at my hand, her brows knitted. I floated off the ground, and realization overcame her. “I trusted you wouldn’t let me fall.” Clasping my hand, she grinned, throwing a sassy look at Tinkerbell before curtseying into the air. “Guess both our heads were a little jumbled after all that, but yes, little miss priss, I can fly.”
“Hmm,” Tinkerbell tittered, “interesting. I’ve never seen someone regain their ability to fly.”
“Maybe she never lost it. Maybe she just needed to remember that she wasn’t afraid of falling because there was still someone who wouldn’t let her, no matter what.”
Tinkerbell shrugged. “Well, nothing regarding Neverland is straightforward or makes sense, and we—the pixies—were birthed there, so naturally, our magic reacts in questionable ways. One thing is clear, you both were accepted. And if Mother accepts you, so will I.” Her eyes darted, and she huffed. “Come, I’m sure we don’t have much time.”
I landed as soon as Tinkerbell zipped out of the room. Whisper landed beside me, skeptical. “You’re still not feeling well, are you?”
“Barely any sleep after flying us both between entire worlds? No wonder I’m not in my best shape.” I sighed, squeezing her hand. “We’ll get through this. After all,” I straightened, fluttering my lashes, “we have been treated to mythical moth prince tea. Don’t you dare think I didn’t notice you both coming out of the bedroom an hour ago.”
She flushed. “There was a lot on your mind. Of course, you didn’t notice.”
“His hair was all ruffled, and I’m certain the dark promise in your gaze was a reaction to interruption, not threat.”
She snatched her hand out of mine to press against her breast. “My my, Lyly. How soon we forget. It was you who told me to tempt him. But don’t we have more important things to dwell on, aside from my dreams coming true in the moments before the world could very well cease to exist as we know it?”
“Yes,”—Tinkerbell zipped back into the room, her hands on her hips—“we do. Now hurry up!”
Whisper glanced at me, then at Tinkerbell’s trail as she left once more. “I almost understood that one.” She chuckled, touching my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I peered at the mostly closed door, hearing the Lost Boys murmuring beyond it, and took a deep breath before nodding. “I’m trying to be. Peter remembers. Relationships can be rebuilt. We just have to make sure there’s a place to rebuild.”
“Let’s do just that.”
I thought I’d explored every nook and cranny on two Skyla islands: the mainland and home. Turns out, I had missed a hidden cavern nestled a ways past Peter’s tree. Beyond the pond where we always played while I was growing up, within the cleft of a sheer rock wall covered in brambles, there lay a single section of vines that clung to nothing but air. The opening was little more than two feet across at its base, and we would have to crawl through there since it only narrowed into a crack at the top.
“Be careful,” Tinkerbell said, giving my cheek a quick hug. “The closer you get to the magic, the stronger its allure. You’ll find reasons you need it, but nothing is worth that power.” Her eyes flicked to Whisper, and she pressed her lips together. “Be each other’s strength.”
“How did you overcome it?” I asked.
She puffed her chest and folded her arms like I had insulted her. “I have no use for such a thing when I’m beside Peter. A pixie’s life is extended through belief. As long as he believes in me, I will remain. And I will protect. And I will love.” Her cheeks tinted crimson, but she nodded before saying more, and she was gone.
Whisper nudged aside the brambles and looked at the small space we’d have to squeeze through with pursed lips before judging her midsection and bosom with an exaggerated sigh. “Any final wisdom from her ladyship?”
“We have to be one another’s strength to make it through this.” I crouched, squinting into the dark. It lightened toward the end of what I could see, the same flowers that grew on my ceiling blooming along the walls. “Also, I think she’s in love with Peter, which is just weird on a million levels. I’m sharing so I don’t have to suffer that knowledge alone.”
Whisper’s nose scrunched. “Okay, I’m more than happy to face certain doom to get that picture out of my mind. Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Together, we slipped into the coolness of the cave. A tingle ran down my spine, and the hair on my arms raised the second I was immersed in the space. Whisper met my gaze, took a deep breath, and tugged Adam’s shirt sleeves over her hands.
We moved on. I waited for something to take over, for some sense of magic to overwhelm me and steal my thoughts away, but minutes passed, drifting into an hour, and only the flowered walls met my view. The tunnel wound like a snake, twisting and coiling, sometimes inclining and sometimes declining.
“Are we actually getting any closer?” Whisper asked after any initial fear or resolution had worn off.
“I can’t tell,” I replied, exhaling. I checked the air to see where we stood and what we might be looking forward to. There were only two streams of wind flow, a massive, rushing one before us, and a quiet, seeping one behind us. But there were two touches of something more back there too, something irregular.
I froze.
“What is it?” Whisper asked.
I swallowed, gripping my bag until my knuckles went white. “He’s here.” He’d followed us. But, of course, he had. We already knew he’d come with us to Skyla, and finding the Fountain had been his sole purpose all along. My empty sheath weighed more on my thigh than it did when it was full, and my fingers found it with a level of dread. Even if I had my knife, could I fight Bay with it?
Perhaps the real question was: would he fight me with the knives I knew he had?
The thought broke my heart.
When the path jackknifed, creating a bend where we wouldn’t be seen, Whisper and I stopped, waiting. Sure enough, after several minutes, Bay drifted around the corner silently, spotted us, and went still. Our eyes locked, and my chest pinched. Before I could say anything, he raised his hands and blurted, “You can’t destroy the Fountain until I save my mother. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
Whisper snarled, “Oh, so now you’re interested in saving mothers, huh?”
True remorse seemed to flicker through his gaze when he looked at her, but he shook his head and pinned his eyes back on me. “Please. Try to believe me. This is all I’ve lived for since I lost her. It’s only Skye and I. Any friends I had are more than twice my age now or no longer have any qualms about beating me to a pulp.”
I wanted to believe him. Believing in the people I cared about came so easily to me, but he’d abandoned Tiger Lily and didn’t tell us. Worse, he led us to believe she was okay, knowing his own lie.
Whisper gripped my hand. “We don’t believe liars.”
“Wind Song,” he begged, disregarding her completely.
I dropped my gaze. “We are going to save your mother, Bay. I still have the vial, and I will make sure the water gets to her.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I snapped, glaring. Releasing Whisper’s hand, I took a deep breath and raised my head. “We can collect water just as well as you can. Unlike some of us, we aren’t in the habit of ignoring people our friends care about.”
“Maybe try trusting in us for a change.” Whisper tossed back her hair and huffed. “If it bites you in the rear, you deserved it.”
Skye clenched his fists and fluttered before Bay. “These walls are lined with the same magic that courses through the temples in Neverland.”
“He’s right. The further you go, the stronger the magic gets. It’s safer toge—” Bay pleaded, hands outstretched.
“Thank you.” Whisper scoffed. “We already know that.”
“Tinkerbell told us what to expect.” I held his gaze, though the desperation in it burned in my gut. “We have each other; we know we can count on each other.”
He deflated, hearing what I hadn’t said. He’d proven that we couldn’t count on him. He couldn’t be trusted.
“I’ll know if you follow us,” I said. “So don’t.”
Lamely, he nodded, looked at the cave wall, and floated to it, sliding to the ground. “I’ll be here then.” He drew his legs up and clasped his hands between his knees, no longer daring to glance at us. “Good luck.”
Before I was sure I had done the right thing, Whisper grabbed my arm and pulled me along with her. When I peered over my shoulder, Bay’s head was in his hands, and his whole body shook with tears.
It didn’t take long after we left Bay to come upon the Fountain. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen, and neither of the temple visions had done it justice. The mirabel clinging to the cracks in the ceiling tripled in mass, boasting luminous blooms twice the size of my head. The blossoms flooded the space with light, revealing a pit that led into churning waves.
That pit stood between us and the Fountain. It sprayed gold, glittering water over the edges of several wide bowls. Intricate designs depicting a history I hardly knew decorated the pearl dishes. Just the sight of it all left me breathless.
Whisper touched my shoulder, her eyes pinned on the magnificent structure. “Can you believe it? All this time, right beneath our feet.” Her voice drifted off, and I checked to make sure she was still with me. Nothing glassed her eyes when I met them, and I exhaled with relief.
A distinct tang of magic vibrated in the wind, skating down my throat when I parted my lips. “It’s beautiful.”
Moments passed, each of us staring and waiting.
“Do you feel any different?” Whisper asked finally.
My head shook. “No, you? Any urge to join the forever-twelve cult?”
“Pardon you. I’d be forever nineteen. And I think I’ll pass.” Holding my wrist, she leaned to look into the swirling ocean. “The only way across is over. How are you feeling?”
An ache spread through my chest before dipping into my stomach. “Still incapable. I’m not sure I’m willing to take the risk. If I drop you…” Bitterness overwhelmed the taste of magic on the back of my tongue. “I’m not willing to take that chance.”
Her brows furrowed. “What are you saying?”
I sifted through my bag, drawing out the vial and clasping it in my hand. “The faster I get over there and back here, the better. It should only take a moment.”
“And if something goes wrong?” Lips pursed, she narrowed her eyes. “You’re also supposed to destroy that, remember? How are you going to manage that quickly?”
Sensing skepticism, I smiled. “I can see you’re getting defensive, but trust me. I’ve lived with the forever-twelve cult. There is no way I’m joining it at any age.” I lifted off the ground, but she didn’t release my wrist.
“Be careful. If something starts to go wrong, you come right back, and we’ll figure things out from there.”
I nodded. Dread showered me, cold and murky, but I didn’t let it show. She let me go, and I faced the magical pool of golden ichor. Crossing over the pit of waves and secrets, I felt a hot pour of the spirit’s words come to the forefront of my mind.
All wind that rises must fall.
Was I supposed to somehow push the Fountain into that pit, into the ocean?
I landed on the other side, and sweat coated my skin. Doubts bombarded me. If I couldn’t even fly Whisper here, how was I supposed to—
“Are you still okay?” Whisper yelled.
My mouth was dry; my palms were clammy. “I’m fine!” I called back, not looking at her. “I think I need to get this thing in that thing.”
“In the hole?” Surprise coated her tone, but when she spoke again, it had mellowed. “That makes sense. Do you think you can use your wind to get it there?”
No. “I’ll try.”
First things first, I tried to shake off the overpowering sensations burrowing into my skin. With every step closer, it seemed impossible. It was so strong. And I wasn’t. No wonder Peter could do so many insane things. And I couldn’t. He had drunk this stuff. And I hadn’t.
My hand shook as I uncorked the vial and hovered the glass above the pool of water. A gentle mist fell before my eyes, the closer my fingers got to the liquid. To fill the vial, I would need to touch it. Touch the magic that had enough strength to provide people eternal life.
“Still okay?” Whisper’s words were nearly lost beneath the sound of water.
I swallowed. I wasn’t. I wasn’t okay at all. So what if I believed in myself a little more now than I did before my adventure in Neverland? I still had to face a pirate that not even Peter had been able to get rid of.
I wasn’t strong enough.
“Lyric?” Whisper’s voice pitched.
I closed my eyes and filled the vial. Magic touched my fingers, permeated my flesh. It flooded my veins. If I wasn’t strong enough, this would be. It had to be. Too much relied on me when I couldn’t even rely on myself.
“Lyric!” Whisper yelled. “Lyric! No!”
Her scream filled my head the second I brought the vial to my lips. My fingers trembled, and I blinked, but it wasn’t enough to draw me out of the haze. I needed this. If I didn’t have this power, then I wouldn’t be able to save Whisper, or Peter, or anyone on Skyla. This wasn’t just a battle for Skyla, either. After this, should I succeed against Hook, I had to help save the world.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I—
“Nope.” The firm word was said directly into my ear. A strong chest hit my back, and someone’s hands gripped mine, stopping me from throwing the water down my throat. The person wrestled the cork out of my grasp and secured the vial before meeting my gaze. Hazel eyes.
Bay. He wasn’t supposed to be here . They had warned me to make sure he didn’t drink from the Fountain. It…didn’t look like he was drinking? Brows drawn, he stared at me. My vision blurred, but I felt his lips against my cheek, and his exhale shook. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Everything went dark.