Potential for Darkness (Peter Pan)//(Robbie Kay)

58 ~ Exchange

Eyyyy I updated earlier than usual, yay me

Buckle up your seatbelts ladies and gents from now on the chapters are going to take a turn

<<<Day 239>>>

"Why didn't you try to save Felix?" Adelina asked in the morning's silence, clutching at the covers with one hand as she rolled over to her side to better look at Pan. The thought had been pestering her mind ever since she had woken up, nagging at her until she gave in. She couldn't forget the conversation she'd had the previous day. The lost girl had been reluctant to utter the question and, if she was being honest with herself, she feared Pan's answer. Still, she needed to know. "If every fey spell is reversible, why didn't you try to save him?"

The atmosphere, that had until then been relaxed, shifted. It wasn't exactly tense, yet Pan could be seen clenching his jaw a couple of times. They had been lounging in his bed, basking in the heat imprint their bodies had seeped into the covers, enjoying the calm, intimate bubble their shared mornings created before they had to join the camp's noisy bustle.

"The queen told you that, didn't she?" He didn't meet her gaze as he looked off into the distance outside his window.

"Answer the question."

"The fey cannot physically lie, yet they have mastered the art of telling half-truths," Pan said slowly. "You shouldn't blindly take their word on such matters."

Adelina sat up in the bed, aggravated. "You're still avoiding the question."

Pan sighed, exasperated, finally looking her in the eyes. "What she said was true, every fey spell can initially be reversed."

Adelina's breath caught in her throat. "Then why-?"

"But," he cut in before she could get too riled up, "what she failed to mention is that every spell is also anchored to an object. Destroy that object and the tie the spell had with our realm disappears."

"Oh," she breathed, understanding. "And you think the pirates destroyed whatever they'd tied the spell to?"

Pan nodded grimly. "It's the first thing they would have done."

The grief that had been ready to resurface into tears settled back down into its quiet, steady ache. A blanket of numbness had submerged it. For some reason, the knowledge helped her; his death had not been pointless, it hadn't simply been due to the uncaringness of her leader. The thought comforted her.

Slipping out of bed, she added, "Thank you for telling me."

Pan watched her wordlessly as she got dressed, a discreet frown drawn on his features. Now came the moment he had been dreading. Oh, how she would hate him... At last, once she was ready and about to leave, he asked her, "Where are you going?"

"To have breakfast with Gabriel," she replied with a small smile which made Pan's chest feel like it was being crushed underneath a mountain. "Why do you ask?"

"I need you to come with me first," he said vaguely, materializing clothes onto himself and leading her out of the door.

Adelina was faintly confused as she followed him down the hanging pathway, yet didn't think much of it. It was well in Pan's character to leave her hanging and without explanations until the last possible moment. He led her all the way down to her own treehouse, then opened her door and motioned for her to enter. Obligingly, wondering what he had in mind, she complied.

"I'm sorry." His voice was small and choked, so guilt-ridden that Adelina couldn't reconciliate the words with the person who had spoken them.

Turning around, she saw Pan, glowing green hands on either side of her doorframe. Scared, she tried to reach him, yet was stopped right at the door by an invisible barrier.