She squirms to breathe, and I jump to my feet, running over to him, but he kicks me back in a manic, violent way.
I lunge for him, but he kicks me again, harder.
“Courageous.” He nods. “I’ll take that too.”
“We had a deal!”
Charles gives me a look. “I’m not killing her,” he says, staring down at me on the floor.
I pick myself up, staring over at him suspiciously.
“I can’t very well have her free and conscious now, can I?” He continues to cut off her air. “If I let her go and she’s coherent, she’ll help you.” Rune eventually goes limp in his hands, and he lays her on the table. He nods at her little body. “Come see for yourself. There’s a pulse still.”
I walk over to her and rest my pinky on her chest.
He’s right. She is still breathing.
I look at him and nod once. “Okay.”
He gestures towards the door. “Shall we?”
I take a deep breath, and I don’t even flinch when he takes my arm with his hand.
What’s that thing my grandmother always used to say Peter said?
Something about dying.
Then—smash! From behind us. Glass flies everywhere.
And standing in the window with his hands on his hips is Peter Pan.
“Unhand that girl!” Peter tells him. “She’s mine.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
“Well.” Charles grins. “What a treat!”
He pushes his glasses up his nose, eyeing Peter as best he can in the fading light.
“Oh, that wonder of yours will bottle nicely.” He nods at Peter, who stares at him unfazed.
“Peter.” I shake my head at him. “Go. He’s awful. He—”
“He’s no match for me, girl,” Peter says with a big grin as he jumps down from the window and waltzes into the room.
Charles considers this briefly. “Potential heir,” he says to himself. “I wonder what powers you possess?”
“More than you,” Peter tells him coolly. He lifts his hand from his side, and then from behind him, water rises from the ocean that seems to be under Peter’s control. I’ve never seen him do this before.
Peter thrusts his hand towards Charles, who’s knocked clean off his feet, tumbling into his precious shelves.
Peter sniffs a laugh and walks over to him casually. He summons the water again, blasting him in the face for what feels like too long.
He’s calm while he does it. Watching on as the man scrambles to try to get away from the water.
“Peter!” I call his name, shaking my head. “Stop!” I tell him, worrying he’s enjoying it.
That gives Charles a chance. He reaches for a jar that’s fallen to the ground—a shimmering, deep blue liquid.
He cracks it open, his eyes eager, and then he drinks it.
Peter looks over at me, confused. Our eyes catch, and honestly （surprisingly?）， I feel relieved to see him.
And then something unexpected happens.
The blue shimmers through Charles. Down his throat, through his arms, down his body to his toes, and then he snaps his fingers, and Peter unwillingly flies through the air towards him.
Charles grabs him by the throat with one hand and rattles the empty jar in my face.
“The soul of a wizard.” He gives me a pleasant smile. “A strong one too,” he says before he squeezes Peter’s throat.
Peter starts choking, and I lunge at Charles, but he knocks me back.
I fly across the room, falling onto some of the shelves.
Charles lifts Peter into the air, dragging him under a light, and then he adjusts his spectacles. He looks over at me, and his head pulls back.
“How wrong you were,” he tells me, intrigued and annoyed. “Did you not know, or are you dishonest?”
I stand up with a frown, eyeing him carefully. “Did I not know what?” I ask quietly.
“That he loves you,” the bad man says, and my wide eyes fall on Peter’s.
His are wide too with this horrible fear. It’s not just fear for his life, not fear that a madman is choking him. It’s fear that I now know what was just spoken.
My eyes fall from Peter’s and back to Charles.
“I didn’t know,” I say softly, weakly, maybe.
The man gives Peter’s throat one last squeeze before he slams him to the floor.
Peter sputters a bit. It’s just for a few seconds that he’s down, and then he’s back on his feet again.
“Daphne,” Peter says to me, but he doesn’t move his eyes off of Charles. “Go stand by the window.”