“I still have to go, Tiger Lily.” I regain my balance, my feet already aching from the pressure on my wounds. “The longer I stay here, the more danger I put all of you in.”
“We aren’t scared of Peter or the Lost Boys, not now that we know the truth.” She swipes the dark cascade of her hair over one shoulder. “If anything, we’re angry. Peter has been lying to us for so long. The elders and I are in agreement—Peter is an enemy to us and to the island.”
“Look, I know you’re brave.” I lean a little harder on the wood. “You’re brave in a way I only w—hopeI could be.”
She nods at my hasty avoidance of the w-word. “You’re brave, Moira.”
“I’m not. When Hook first took me and jumped into the sea with me in his arms—nuts, I know. He told me then to be brave. I’m anything but. I’m scared of Peter. Hell, I’m scared of Hook.”
She dips her chin a little, her gaze more direct.
“Okay, notscaredof Hook, not like that, not like I am of Peter. But he’s still an unknown quantity to me. What if he hurt my mother? I can’t forgive that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. But I also want you to be honest with yourself.” She takes me by the shoulders, her cream-colored sarong flowing out behind her. “You were brave enough to save yourself from Peter.”
“I had help.”
“You were brave enough to open your heart to Hook,” she says softly.
I sigh, her words like a knife to my gut. “Why does he have to be so … bad? Villainous? Evil?”
She presses her forehead to mine. “That’s precisely what drew you to him, and what drew him to you. Two sides of the same coin.” She pulls back.
“Tiger Lily?” I know I shouldn’t be asking this.
“Yes?”
“Have you ever been in love?”
She smiles tightly, her lips thinning into a line. “A long, long time ago. I’m afraid it’s not a story I like to tell.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” She glances behind me. “Shiner’s here with lunch. Rest some more, and we’ll talk later about when you’ll have the strength to make the voyage.”
It’s not the answer I wanted, but I suppose I have to take it. “Okay.”
I walk back to my cot and plop down.
Shiner hands me a plate as she gets settled in by the fire. Cobweb and Wraith are already finishing off their food and poking at the berry dessert.
“Valinx is doing us proud today.” Shiner forks a pile of greens from her plate and stuffs them into her mouth. “So good. Hey—” She peers at my plate. “Is he still giving you extra?”
I shrug. “He likes me. I went by and chatted him up the first day I went walking around. Honestly, I’ve yet to meet a cook who doesn’t take a liking to me.”
“Probably because they pity how weak you loo—Ow! What?” Cobweb yells when Wraith elbows her in the ribs.
“It’s okay. I know I’m not in top form.” I try not to think too much about my appearance, but it’s hard when I see my hands. The backs of them are so strange now, like a grandmother’s hands got transplanted onto me. Splotchy with veins and sinew that poke up from beneath thin skin, they make me glad I haven’t seen a mirror anywhere in this village. I don’t know how many more stories Peter had me tell while I was roofied, but from the looks of it, it was plenty.
“You’ve gotten stronger.” Shiner uses her fork to point at my hands. “Those bandages are almost ready to come off.”
“I don’t mind them,” I say quickly.
They all look at me curiously.
“It’s just—” I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud. “I like not being able to see the backs of my hands all the time. They’re … scary.”
“Pffft.” Shiner scoops up a piece of her dessert. “It’s not that bad. I’ve seen way worse.”
