“Your mother made a deal, too. That’s why she was lost to you, why I couldn’t send her back, and why Peter has never been able to kill you.”
ChapterThirteen
“Ineed to sit down.” I do, plopping my ass on the weedy ground as the fairy with all the answers but none of the solutions gracefully eases to the ground beside me.
The moon is higher now, glowing down on me with what I hope is pity. The stars, though, they’re still twinkling and laughing. ‘Hahaha, Moira is such a dummy for thinking she can ever beat Peter at his own game.’ I close my eyes and try to suss through it all, to get to the heart of it, the heart of the island. The thing I keep coming back to, out of all the multitude, is the fact that Hook put this all into motion because he wanted love. Something so simple yet so true. He wanted love, and the island gave him this twisted wreckage instead. Is it because he’s a villain as he happily admits? Is it a punishment that his wish for something pure became so ugly and filled with horror?
“It’s not Hook’s fault,” I say weakly as I wipe away tears.
“I didn’t say it was,” the Spinner says gently. “I assign no more fault to him than he deserves. Just as I do for Peter and for your mother.”
“What did she wish for?” I already know. Of course I know.
“She bargained for your life, saving you from Peter but losing herself.”
A sob breaks free before I can lock it down. Skeletal hands beat on the filigree box I keep buried deep under layers of rock and dirt. My mother’s memory demanding I let her out and let my grief run free.
She reaches out and puts her hand on my knee, making the skin on my shoulder blades tingle anew. “The island doesn’t give anything for free. Your mother lost her ability to be with you. Peter lost his soul. Hook lost the ignorance that he reveled in while he did every dirty deed imaginable. They all had to suffer to gain their hearts’ desires.”
“It’s cruel.” I sob into my hands.
“Magic must balance, Moira. Just like everything else in our worlds. Tipping the scales even a little bit can lead to disaster.”
“I don’t know what to do.” I take a deep breath, but another sob breaks right through my attempt at calm. “I don’t know what to do! You can’t heal me. Peter is growing stronger. Hook is in love with me when I’m not even his. And, and, and …” God, it hurts to even say it. “I’m in love with him.”
She sits quietly as I cry. “It seems cruel. I know.” She sighs. “But if you look at it outside of time, outside of right and wrong, it’s a simple balance that the island is trying to protect.”
“Nothing about this is balanced.” I sniffle and let out a frustrated yell. “I’m dying. How is that balanced? I can’t save myself or the people I love if I’m dead.”
She goes on, her tone patient, “I told you that magic must balance. For me to restore you, I’d need a sacrifice. Something in-kind.”
I meet her opal gaze. “I’m practically dead. You mean you’d need someone else’s life for mine?”
She nods. “A powerful one at that.”
Another brazen laugh rips from me, the sound shot-through with tears. “Look around, Spinner! Do you see any powerful people lining up to die for me?”
She directs a pointed glance at Hook.
“No!” I get to my feet. “No way.”
“You said it yourself. He’s in love with you. He’d do anything to save you.”
I glare at her. Tinker Bell’s demeanor makes more and more sense to me as I speak to the Spinner. The cold, calculating way of the fae isn’t particular to just Tink. Though it’s not malicious. If anything, it’s the soul of practicality. Transactional.Tit for tat. Balance the scales.
She bows her head. “I’m sorry. I’m only trying to help.” She turns to the side quickly, as if she’s heard something. Her pointed ear seems to vibrate as she listens.
“What?”
“He’s coming for you.” She looks up toward the moon that’s almost directly overhead. “Peter will be here any moment.” She bares her fangs.
“I have to wake up.” I look at my body still huddled in Hook’s arms. “Wake me up!” I yell at the Spinner.
She darts forward and presses her thumb to my forehead.
I jolt awake.
“Moira!” Hook yells.
