“Off and on for years.” He nods. “Not just here, though, she traveled all the worlds. I even heard tell of her swimming to the darkest depths and meeting the old god who lives at the bottom of the sea. She had a magic of her own, one borne from Neverland. A particular sort of fairy folk, she was. No control over when she appeared, mind you. She complained mightily about it. In between all that, I asked her about you. She told me all sorts of things, and most of all, she told me how much she loved you.”
A sob catches in my throat.
He reaches up and wipes my tears away. “She told me you would hum to yourself while doing homework, you loved every cat you ever met—even the one that left this scar—” He lifts my hand and shows me the little check-marked scar on my wrist, then kisses it. “You had the messiest room she’d ever seen, but you always knew exactly where everything was. You had dozens of notebooks, all of them filled with stories. She would often say you had more stories than time to tell them.”
It’s all true. She told him about me. Sherememberedme. I can’t talk. No words form as I try to process what he’s saying. My mother traveled? That’s where she was when she left? And she told him she loved me?
“She didn’t even have to say she loved you, lass. She threatened to cut off my bollocks if I ever hurt you.” He laughs. “She was nothing like Wendy, thank the saints.”
“You didn’t make her leave me.” I cry and bury my face in the crook of his neck. “Y-you didn’t make her leave. Peter lied.”
“Shh now, lass.” He rubs my back and rocks me to the rhythm of the waves. “I don’t think she had any say in how her magic worked. It was a wild thing, one that swept her away. What part I may have played in it, I can’t say. Ididask her about you. In fact, there were a few times I’d chase down rumors of her and try to catch her just to find out more. But she was wily, a fae through and through. I just missed her off the coast of El Dorado the last time I’d gotten wind of her. Word was that she was traveling to Neverland to look for the Spinner again. She’d tried several times already but never found her.”
“Why?”
“To get a handle on her magic, I would guess, so she could get back to you for good. But that’s the last I ever heard of her.”
“She died here? On Neverland? That’s when she died on the mainland?” I gaze at the slope behind Hook, at the greenery in the forest beyond. Did she roam this same ground?
“Very well could have. Can’t say for certain.” He leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, lass. I didn’t know how to. Or maybe I didn’t have the guts. Either way, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard him utter those words to anyone.” Tiger Lily crosses her arms and looks up at me. “Well done.”
I wriggle in his grip. “Down, please.”
“No.”
“James.” I push against his chest. “Put me down.”
He lets out a long-suffering sigh and slowly lowers me to the sand, making sure I feel every hard inch of him on the way down.
I turn to Tiger Lily. “Are the Guardians going to be all right?”
“Of course. If the Lost Boys come back, we’ll be ready.” She takes my hands. “You have to make it to the Spinner. She’s the only one who can set you on the path to heal yourself and the island. I believe that now. But you need to leave now.” She glances at the forest. “Peter won’t let you go. He’ll do whatever it takes to stop you.”
“Unless he has a pirate ship, I don’t think he’s going to have a chance.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t underestimate him. He knows this island. If you’re on it or near it, he’ll find you.”
That sends a shudder through me.
“He’ll find the point of my sword while he’s at it,” Hook growls.
She squeezes my hands once more then lets go. “Go now. We’ll stay here until you’re well away.”
“Thank you.” I act before I think and wrap Tiger Lily in a tight hug. “For everything. Thank you so much.”
She returns my embrace. “All our hopes go with you, brave Moira.”
I remind myself that I won’t cry anymore as my eyes begin to water. “I won’t let you down.”
She lets me go, and Hook scoops me up and stomps out into the waves.
“You can’t say goodbye?” I gawk at him.
“They know we’re leaving. They can see my arse, can’t they?” He shrugs. “I’m not wasting another second on land. Not when I know I can protect you on the sea.” He turns his head away from me and lets out his piercing high-low whistle.
“I’m rowing as fast as I can,” Skylights yells over the waves. “Hold your rudder!”
