They stopped a few feet away from the King. He towered over them – even Peter, who Maggie once thought to be the tallest man she had ever encountered. Up close, Maggie eyed the grooves of his deeply carved muscles that lined his abdomen. Maggie felt heat rush to her face as only one thought entered her mind:the King of Atlantis is cute.She wouldn’t dare say such athing outloud, though. A man like Neptune might find a word as simply ascuteto be more of an insult than a compliment.
Neptune’s face contorted angrily as he eyed them, his frustration growing particular on Peter. “Girls,” he snapped, his voice slamming through the room like a tidal wave upon a quiet shore.
The Princesses rose, rushing to their father’s side.
“You two ought to stand beside these thieves as criminals!” The girls winced as he tore into them, not a thing capable of stopping his oncoming rage. “What sort of look does it give our Kingdom that the future leaders of Atlantis are as careless as thieves? Assurface dwellers?”
Selina inched forward. “Father, we –”
“Silence!” Neptune’s arms snapped out to either side of him, causing the water to rush and pull around him, as though he was his own current. “I might as well haveallof your heads, no matter your titles! I thought I raised dutiful girls, wise girls, respectable girls. Instead, I am delivered thieves who’d rather take what rightfully belongs to their father!”
Coralyn made the mistake of snorting.
“Do you find that funny, child?” Neptune sneered, whipping around to face his daughter. She cowered under his gaze, immediately apologizing. “You snuck in outsiders, lied to our royal guard, to our staff, and broke into my precious Treasure Room!” His attention finally turned to Maggie and Peter, his piercing blue eyes even more flaming than before. “Tell me, thieves. What do you have to say for yourselves?”
Peter drifted forward with his chin high. “Your Majesty, the blame does not lie with your daughters. They were simply doing us a favor.” He breathed in deeply as if in preparation. “Maggie Hart and I have been trying to heal the Everything Plant for quite some time now.”
“Yes, yes,” Neptune murmured. “I know all about the damming of the cove and the Moon Coral. We have nothing more to do with your Everything Plant, Peter Pan.”
He offered him a smile, though the Sea King was in no mood for it. “Of course, your Majesty,” Peter grumbled. “But it seemed that a statue Captain Hook and his crew considered their good luck charm fell into your waters, and thus into your Treasure Room. We only sought it to return the final thing keeping the Everything Plant from thriving.”
Neptune nodded slowly. “That is the same story my daughters said, but how can I say that it justifies stealing from a King?”
“The Everything Plant kept my island fed, Neptune, it –”
“Kept,” Neptune repeated.
Peter frowned. “What?”
“You saidkept. As in, itdidbut doesn’t anymore. Gossip from the shore reaches even our depths, Peter. This girl is your famed cook, is she not?” He nodded to Maggie. “What need is there for your Everything Plant if your island is already being well fed?”
They were faced with a stunned silence. Maggie couldn’t believe that the King managed to talk around them so effortlessly. He had a startling obvious point, one that left them grasping for straws at what else to say.
King Neptune sighed as he returned to his throne, taking a seat alongside his daughters. “Due to your recklessness, Peter Pan, I have decided that you shall send Atlantis one thousand fairies for our next celebration. They will use their magic to light up our Kingdom, and brighten our festivity properly.”
“You got a deal, Neptune,” Peter replied, the relief almost soaking out of him.
“And as foryou.”
Maggie gulped. The King’s steely blue gaze was fixed on her.
“As goes all thieves in Atlantis, you will be imprisoned for one thousand nights.”
Sheer, utter panic gripped Maggie’s heart. Her legs wobbled and she staggered, even though they were hundreds of feet off the ground. Beside her, Peter’s strong grip latched around her waist, quickly keeping her upright.
“Did you miss the good news, Neptune?” Peter laughed and teased. “And here I thought you caught all the gossip down here!”
Neptune’s eyes narrowed.
“Maggie and I are to bemarried,” Peter exclaimed, pulling gasps out of all who heard. “She will be the Queen of Neverland, and is hereby protected by the same rights that protect me.”
Neptune settled back into his seat, the anger slowly fading. “Very well,” he murmured, one hand tapping the center of his chin.
Maggie was gaping, but Peter’s squeeze around her waist was enough to make her mouth snap shut. It was a ruse, she told herself. A means to keep the King off her. A means out of there, a means to get back home. But her pulse was racing in a way that almost frightened her. Peterhadsaid those words, didn’t he?
To be married.
Selina leaned forward. “Father,” she cooed, “I hope you aren’t forgetting that it was Maggie Hart who prepared you that unforgettable lunch. Weren’t you calling it your favorite mealever?”
