Peter shakes my shoulder. “Wendy? Wendy, wake up!”
I blink my eyes. I am tired. Exhausted, really-I gasp and sit up. Moira. Moira, the fairy queen, is my mother.
My mother.
A sob wrenches through me. Why would she lie to me? And am I even right, what if I’m merely reading the facts wrong? Surely she would have told me! Why wouldn’t she?
Because my father is Jas, the evil fae who was banished. And I was their only child who was sent into the future for my protection.
Well, that sure worked well.
“Wendy,” Peter crouches next to me. In his hand is a dagger.
Oh, no. I struggle to breathe. No, no, no.
I reach for my belt, but there is nothing hidden there. He knows. But maybe-maybe he thinks it is just another dagger.
“How did you get that?” I ask innocently, my mind still whirling with images of a fairy queen in a forest and a dark fae I never met. Who might have cursed this very island.
“I didn’t mean to. You fell and I tried to catch you-and I felt your dagger.”
I shift my eyes away. “Daine gave it to me-to practice whittling. Although I’m horrible at it and he said-”
“Don’t lie to me!” Peter glares as he turns the dagger over in his hands. “You think I don’t know gold and fairy dust when I see it?”
He had already figured out why the fairy queen-my mother-let me return to Neverland. But surprise still crosses his face.
I’ve betrayed him.
His mouth twists. “How could the queen be so foolish? She must have known this would never work.” But does he know that it will destroy Neverland? Or does he only think she wanted to kill him because of how powerful he is becoming? He shakes his head. “And you, Wendy, are so predictable.”
Then why does he still seem surprised?
“You’ll never use this.” He runs his finger over the embroidered handle. I was always too scared to look closely at the dagger. It is beautiful, but lethal.
“How can you be so sure?” I swallow. Everything is spinning out of control.
“I told you, you aren’t a fighter.” He slips my dagger into his belt. His smirk returns. “And besides, you ignored my every warning. You didn’t believe me even though I told you so many times. I am Peter and I am Pan.”
I narrow my eyes. What is he getting at? “I know that.”
“Ah, but you still fell in love with me.” Peter grins as I look away.
He can’t read my thoughts, but he can still read me. But I don’t love him. I mean-I do, but in the same way I might love Daine or Jacob or any of the lost boys.
Well, I guess it isn’t the same thing. Blood rushes through my head.
Peter flicks the dagger hanging next to his own knives. “Have you forgotten one little detail? If I die, he dies because he is me. You probably think I never wanted you to like me. But I did. It makes this all so much easier.” His words are measured, soft and sharp. “I warned you. Hate comes so much easier than love. If you had listened, then maybe you would have the strength to destroy me now. But it is too late.” His intense eyes bore into mine. He lowers his voice. “I have your heart. But you’ll never have mine.”
It doesn’t make sense. He wanted me to love him? Then why did he keep pushing me away? “I-but you said hate was stronger than love.”
“No, I said that it was easier to hate than love. And that is true, which is why you were right, love can be stronger than hate.” He leans even closer to me, his breath warm on my face. “And now you have played your part perfectly. You love me.”
I glare at him, my breath catching in my throat. “I-I do not.” I lie.
Peter, I mean, Pan gently brushes his fingers across my cheek. “You know better than to lie, Wendy Darling.”
“Stop saying my name, Peter Pan.”
“Why? Does it hurt you, Wendy Darling? You can’t blame me. It is your own fault. I warned you, didn’t I?”
“That’s not fair.”
“I’m the one who makes up the rules. This is my game, and you are losing.” He rests his hand on my shoulder.
I think of every moment we shared. Our laughter and jokes, how he would smile one minute and frown the next. Could he really have been acting all along? “You tricked me.”
“Don’t call me a liar.” He tightens his grip.
“I didn’t.” I shrug off his hand.
He smirks. “It was implied.”
Crouched next to him in a treehouse that once held me prisoner, I have to accept the truth. Peter did warn me, but I wouldn’t believe him.
No one is behind the scenes manipulating us. He is the darkness and he is the villain. And I’ve played right into his hands. He has our only hope-a dagger he knows I will not use.
Everything is right where he wants it.
But there are still some things, some details, which he doesn’t know because I just figured them out. The most important one is that my mother is alive and powerful. She must be able to help us and I have to believe she has some sort of backup plan.
And one other thing. I may look weak, but I have strength of my own. Moira believes in me, so do Tink and Tigerlily. They are counting on me.
And I will not fail them.
Peter brushes back my curls, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I swallow hard. The bravery is there, buried under the surface. I just have to reach it.
“Why would you want to kill me anyway? I’m just a boy-”
“-who happens to be centuries old.”
He shrugs. “A technicality. Besides, time works differently here.”
“No, it doesn’t work at all. It just stands still. You are under a curse. This whole island is. I can help you!”
“Help me? It’s my curse, Wendy, my island. I don’t need nor want your help. Everything is going exactly the way I want it to.” He gestures at the dagger tied to his waist. “I can’t trust you.”
Guilt pulls my heart. But it soon dissolves in anger. He is only playing with my emotions.
“Fancy a thimble?” Peter laughs. He grabs my hand before I can hit him. I’ve never slapped a boy before, but then again, none of them have vexed me so.
I narrow my eyes and keep my voice steady. “I do not love you.”
He shakes his head. “A little late, don’t you think? I tried to push you away during the day, but you fell anyway. And then you came back! This was much too easy. I was expecting a challenge.”
“Peter…” Frustration wells inside me. I don’t love him. Not in the way he is implying. I don’t know what that kind of love feels like, but I know it isn’t this.
“I prefer Pan, actually. Besides didn’t you once promise to never call me Peter? And you say I am a liar.” He frowns.
Actually no I didn’t. I trust him and a small part of me still does. I trust that it wasn’t all an act. If it was a game, how could he have manipulated me so well? He must be bluffing.
He leans toward me, his smirk returning, although I doubt it ever left. It always seems to be lurking behind those green eyes.
“I hate you.”
“No you don’t. Although this would be easier for you if you did.”
Peter doesn’t stop me when I fly away. He doesn’t follow when I hovered in the sky. He’d made his point very clear. Everything is part of his game.
He has my dagger and according to him-my heart.
But he’s not the only boy I care about. Others are at risk and I won’t let him stop me from saving them.
Even if it is too late for him, there is still hope for the rest of us.