“Okay!”
Wendy paused at the door so Disa could land on her shoulder. She could see his blue glow from the corner of her eye. “Start now, please.”
He blinked out of sight. “Good?”
“Good. Now, if I tell you to, or if you think I’m in danger, go get Tam or Davi. Do you know who they are?”
“Tam from Neverland. Davi with the big eyes.”
“Right.” Wendy sighed, then squared her shoulders.
One hallway from her destination, she realized she hadn’t asked Disa to check on Leq’s whereabouts. A handy quirk of sheerie-dom was the ability to know where any of their kind were at any given time. As long as Disa knew which sheerie Wendy wanted to locate, he could tell her where they were.Sort of. Unless Disa had been there before and could name the place, he could only describe what he saw of his fellow sheerie’s surroundings. Wendy wasn’t entirely certain how it worked, but any detail about Leq would be welcome.
She rounded the corner and slowed her steps. Up ahead, the door to Hook’s quarters was ajar. Wendy swallowed twice, unable to dislodge the sudden sensation of her heart in her throat. The flutter felt more like excitement than she wanted to admit. The ship must have hit a larger wave or something, because the door swung open more as she approached.
Smee and Hook were tinkering with the obscenely large prosthetic attached to Hook’s wrist.Really, does it need to be that big? And does it need to be a hook? Wouldn’t another shape be more useful?Wendy didn’t have time to contemplate more advantageous limb shapes, as Hook caught sight of her and swiftly tugged the ruffled lace cuff of his shift into place again.
Chapter Four
In Which Strategies are Discussed and Discarded
Wendy waltzed into the room as if she owned the place, feigning a confidence she did not feel. Bypassing the table and chairs where Smee and Hook sat—and pretending the nook that housed his bed didn’t exist at all—she dropped onto the single chair set perpendicular to a longish couch. Both had a great view of the windows that showed the ship’s wake, and both were bolted to the floor. Wendy figured she could use that leverage to kick Hook in the chest with both feet if the need arose.
Smee’s grin hit the room at large on his way out. Wendy wasn’t sure what he was so happy about. He shut the door behind him, but not before Mirai sashayed in. The cat trotted overto the couch and arranged herself in such a way as to observe the entirety of what was surely her domain.
“You betrayed me,” Wendy said under her breath with a narrowed look at the beast.
Mirai responded with what Wendy could only describe as a feline smirk, then closed her eyes.
Captain Hook took his time sauntering toward her. She placed her hands on the arms of the chair and hoped he couldn’t see her white knuckles.
“I seem to recall asking how you came to be on my ship,” he said, picking up where they left off, “and you refusing to answer. How do you explain that?”
Wendy wrinkled her nose. “You are a notorious pirate. You feature heavily in a Verified History as the villain. Why would I tell you anything that could be used against me?” she asked, scornful that she had to spell it out for him. He knew what he was.
“And as we all know, the Verified Histories areinfallible,” Hook drawled.
She darted her eyes toward the carvings on the cabinets behind him. “Right . . .”
“Ah.” He folded his right arm against his chest and tapped his hook on his chin. “You don’t sound so convinced. What do you know?”
She rolled her lips between her teeth as she weighed the risk of telling him everything. He hadn’t harmed her yet. And hisinteractions with Rahma’s family and his crew suggested there was more to him than pure evil. Plus, if the Verified History had misreported Peter’s character that badly, maybe they got Hook wrong, too?
Her adversary waited for her to think it through. His face revealed no impatience, nor did he move from his spot at the other end of the couch. When he continued to stand with a relaxed posture that said he could do this all day, she made up her mind to confess. To a degree.
Wendy released her death grip on the chair. “I’ve been living on Neverland for the last two months.”
Both eyebrows lifted in gentle inquiry. “And was it everything you expected it to be?” he prompted when she didn’t volunteer more.
“Well, at first—”
“Yes?”
Wendy’s lips turned down. “Tinkerbell’s a shrew.”
That response startled a genuine laugh out of Hook. The deep rumble and accompanying smile warmed his whole face. “She is that. Has been for years.” He rubbed a knuckle under one eye after regaining his calm. “What else?”
She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair and glanced at the puffy white clouds she could see through the glass. “Well, the Lost Boys are rambunctious, loveable scamps. And Neverland is beautiful.” Wendy fiddled with the hem of her sleeve and chewed the inside of her cheek.
