“You know what else ended up in the lagoon,” he says, his voice a rasp.
“Don’t even go there,” I tell him. “I don’t even want to think about it.”
A chill crawls up my spine.
Then Darling stretches beneath the sheet and issues a yawn. And when she opens her eyes and sees the wolf beside her, she lets out a startled yelp.
4
WINNIE
There is a massive wolf lying on the bed beside me. Heat radiates off of him. He turns his head to me, peers at me with bright blue eyes.
Kas and Bash are beside me in an instant. “It’s all right,” Kas says. “Apparently he likes you. Came straight to your bed this morning and wouldn’t leave your side.”
I instantly feel a connection to the wolf. And I swear he says to me, It’s going to be all right.
I rub the sleep from my eyes and try to shake the fogginess from my brain.
Am I still dreaming?
In fact…
“Did you two bring me to bed?” I ask the twins.
They shake their heads. “You don’t remember?” Bash asks.
“Not entirely. I remember the pirates and Vane and Cherry and then…”
Why can’t I remember anything after that? I’ve been blackout drunk before, I’m almost certain I didn’t drink after the pirates.
Cherry asked for my help, but after that, everything is a muddy blur.
“Wait,” I say. “Did Pan get his shadow?”
The twins grin.
“He did.” I breathe out with a sigh of relief. “Thank god. Where is he?” I throw the sheet back and set my bare feet to the floor.
“I suspect he went out to greet the sunlight,” Kas says.
“And Vane?” I ask.
Bash rolls his eyes and picks at a torn fingernail. “Brooding as usual. As if he has anything to brood about.”
He says this dismissively, but I get the distinct sense there is more he’s left out.
I go to him, or no…that’s not it, exactly. I feel pulled to him. I feel like I need to…reassure him?
I can feel him.
Which is odd.
It’s this distant hum of energy not unlike the hum I’d feel when Mom and I lived beneath a major power line in Wisconsin.
There’s still blood smattered across Bash’s face, red blood and blood that glitters like fish scales. I remember their sister using us as hostages.
I sense the twins’ hurt but they won’t speak of it and it’s weird to sense it, isn’t it? Or is this some new dynamic between us? Some kind of empathetic power now that the Never King has his shadow back?
I don’t know what Neverland is supposed to feel like with the Never King whole again.
I reach up on tiptoes and wrap my arms around Bash’s neck. “I’m sorry your sister did that to you,” I tell him.
He’s stiff for a second before he melts into the embrace and breathes out, his shoulders drooping.
And then I go to Kas and hug him too. He doesn’t shy away from the affection and his hair slides around us, tickling my arms. “It’s all right, Darling,” he says. “We’ll be all right.”
I pull away and take his gorgeous face in my hands. His dark brow is furrowed over his bright, golden eyes. “I know you’ll be all right but I know what it is to be betrayed by those who love you.”
He nods.
I catch the barest shift in their demeanors. Just a sliver of the hurt ebbing out.
We still have work to do for the twins and the fae court, but first…
“Where is the Never King? Is he different with his shadow? I want to see.”
“Just as domineering as ever,” Bash says with a grunt. “I’d check the beach.”
I make my way to the hall but stop in the bedroom doorway. “Will you make us pancakes? To celebrate?” My stomach growls at the mention of food. I’m starving and even better, I have an appetite. “I’ll go fetch the Never King while you go pick cloudberries? Sound good?”
The twins look at one another and I hear the distant chiming of bells.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I say and then head into the hall.
I had intended to go to Pan alone, but I hear the distant clicking of wolf nails on the hardwood floor as I leave.
The loft is empty when I come out, but the birds are chirping loudly in the Never Tree.
“Good morning,” I tell them and several take flight from the branches and follow me in a swirl of feathers and a flap of wings.
The wolf comes up alongside me.
I’ve never had a pet. Well…scratch that. I did have a stray cat at one of our apartments years ago. I fed it dollar store tuna fish straight out of the can. He stuck around for a few months until winter set in and then I never saw him again.