She looks at me, her eyes sharp despite the milky haze over them. “Tell me a story.”
“Will that drain you?” Widow sits beside me, her cutlass at the ready. She clearly doesn’t trust Ari. Smart move.
“I don’t know. I think when Peter did it, he was taking without my permission. Nessie seemed to think that’s why it hurt me so badly. Well, that and the fact I didn’t have my full fae strength.” I wiggle my wings.
Widow narrows her eyes at Ari. “She can tell you a story, but the moment I see anything fishy, we’re done here.”
“I want the only fishy thing to be me.” Ari holds out her hands. “Please.”
“You’re certain that’s what you want? To go back to the sea?”
She nods. “I know who I am, girl. I know what I choose.”
I take her hands. They’re so light, and I try to ignore how thin and skeletal she seems. She’s suffered so much for love. I suppose it makes sense she wants to run—or swim—as far away from it as she can.
What story should I tell? I close my eyes and try to feel magical. Maybe I’ll sparkle, or float, or do something particularly fairylike. Nothing happens.
“Go on,” Ari encourages.
I take a deep breath and settle, rooting myself to the sand, to the magic of Neverland. At least that’s what I think I’m doing.
“Once upon a time, a girl wanted free food from the Greek organizations. Now, those organizations are routinely filled to the brim with a wide variety of fuckboys. However, on this occasion, the girl was hungry enough to deal with that aspect in order to snag some hot dogs. While there, she ran into a handsome man. He was older and had a strange way about him, so much so that the girl was intrigued. But the girl was wary and returned to her home to study and work. That night, she was kidnapped, swept away to a land of never and night where Lost Boys roam and pirates lurk …” I get lost in my own tale of betrayal, love, and loss. My words spill from me, warming me inside and out as I weave the tale of my time in Neverland. When I get to the part where Hook saves my life, I seem to heat even more, my body humming with some unknown song as I tell about how brave and fierce he is, how his heart beats only for me.
When I reach the Neverstorm, I still burn, still ache to tell what happened. As if somehow the story of it could mend my soul. But it doesn’t, and the hum and my voice fade away as I retell how Hook saved his crew from the storm but lost his life to revenge.
“A sad ending is fitting for me.” It’s Ari’s voice but somehow sweet and melodic. “Perfect, actually.”
I open my eyes and realize we’re in the water, a golden orb all around us.
“What—”
“You did it.” She smiles, her face beautiful, and her sharp teeth in line with those of her sisters. Her hair falls in golden curls to her waist, and her skin is a pale blue, luminous and bright.
“I did?” I don’t know how. I just … told my story. That was it. “I did.”
“You have more power than you realize.”
“I don’t even know how I did it.” I shake my head, disbelief roaring in my head.
“Your heart knows.” She bows her head. “Thank you.”
“I … you’re welcome.” I don’t know what to say. I hold out my hands to see if they’ve aged. They haven’t. I feel the same. No headache. Nothing. When I glance back at the shore, Widow is standing there, her hands to her mouth as she watches, wide-eyed.
“We’re floating without fairy dust.” I look around at the orb that encircles us.
“It’s your magic. You pull it from the island. It lives inside you.”
“I don’t understand.”
The water splashes beneath us, and two mermaids appear.
“Ari?” Quenith asks, her beautiful face the one that likes to haunt my dreams.
The golden orb begins to flicker, and before I can even try to stop it, it disappears entirely. I fall into the sea, the cold water rushing over me.
I sputter and flail, then realize I can touch the bottom.
Once I’m on my feet I spin around and hold out my hands. “I’m not for eating!” I scream.
