I limp back to my bed and sit hard on the mattress with a groan. My seagull, who I’ve named Sally, still perches on her window, her shrewd eyes on me. “No treats today, I’m afraid. Widow saw me trying to hide some hashbrown from breakfast for you, and she scolded me.”
Sally laughs and shakes her feathers before returning to watching the shore outside. A breeze drifts in from the ocean, and the moon glow shows me a glittering sea that stretches far to the horizon before disappearing in a hazy fog. Neverland is out there. I can’t see it, but I can feel it. Like it’s lashed itself to my bones and pulls my strings.
I hear footsteps in the hallway and recognize them as Huran’s. He knocks and enters, his usual teal robe replaced with a white one.
“You’re looking spry today.” He smiles and kneels by the bed to inspect my leg. “Very nice. Let’s keep leaving it unwrapped. Thestitches came out nicely, and everything’s healing up well.” He stands. “You’re a lucky woman.”
“What’s with the new outfit?” I ask as I lean back against the pillows.
“This old thing?” He spins for me. “You’re too kind. Blackbeard has called a meeting of pirate captains. I have to make a good host for the event.”
“A meeting? Why?”
He looks away. “Oh, you know, just usual pirate things, I suppose.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“I know.” He sighs and sits on the edge of my bed.
“How about the truth?” I probe.
He pats the back of my hand. “All you need to know is that you’re safe here, all right?”
“So it’s about me?”
“It’s about Neverland.” He puts his hand to my forehead, likely out of habit. “But you’re part of Neverland now that Peter’s claimed you as his boon.”
“What does that mean?”
He pulls back, his eyes widening. “Oh, nothing.”
“Huran, please. I’ve been here for days. I’m losing my mind, worried Hook will come and kill me or worse, and?—”
“You’re safe.” He rises. “And James isn’t going to kill you.”
I see I can’t convince him. He’s bought into whatever lies Hook’s been selling him about his intentions for me. This is going nowhere.
I lie back and pretend to let it go. “At least tell me what time the meeting is?”
He glances at the moon. “I’ve got an hour or so.” He hurries to the door. “I need to check with Widow. She said she wanted to try to make soufflés, and I have no idea if she can pull it off.” He pauses in the hallway and turns to me. “After the meeting, we’ll talk, all right? I know you have questions. Once Blackbeard decides our safest course of action, I’ll be able to tell you more. Okay?”
I force myself to smile. “Okay.”
He nods and closes the door. Huran’s kind. He’s also an amazing healer. But he’s not too clever when it comes to subterfuge.
I throw off my blanket and get to my feet, then limp to the window. Sally only fluffs her feathers a bit as I stand next to her.
The beach curves away from us, palm trees waving in the breeze, dancing under the starlight. Leaning out the window, I peer along the left side of the house and out toward the pier that juts into the sea. Across the water and beyond the breakers, great ships are anchored and shrouded in mist. I count only three, but I know there are likely more buried in the swirling fog that hovers over the ocean.
Raucous voices pull my attention back to the pier where a rowboat has pulled up onto the beach. A pirate with an almost comically large hat steps into the sand, followed by two others.
“Don’t forget what I told you. Stick to the plan. Bloody hell! Look at this fucking place, lads. Gussied up like a fresh whore. Goddamn Blackbeard reminds me of my grammy, only with more lace and less mustache.” He laughs, the others joining in as he climbs up the beach and disappears under the palm trees.
“He sounds nasty.” I exchange a look with Sally. “But his boat looks promising.” Getting back on the water isn’t something I have any desire to do, but there’s no other way to return to Neverland. As long as I stayinthe boat, it should be okay. That’s what I have to tell myself even as my stomach churns at the thought of rowing through the pearly fog that separates the cay from Neverland. I can still see Hook’s map in my mind, the cay marked in his slanting black ink.
“I don’t know if I can do it, though.” I sigh. “I’m still not 100 percent, you know? Then again, if I stay here, it’s only a matter of time before Hook comes for me.”
Sally ignores me.
