Page 35 of The Last Lost Girl

The mermaid lets out a keening wail that makes my hair stand on end.

If she can last until nightfall, I’ll help her. Even if doing so gravely injures her. I can’t stomach leaving her up there any longer. And though I don’t understand what she’s saying, I get the feeling she would gladly accept my help, whatever the cost.

“Are you feeling ill?” Paris asks, tilting his head to assess me.

I am, but not from the ship’s rocking motion. However, I seize on the excuse. “I’ve never been on a boat or a ship this large before. It’ll take a little getting used to.” I clear my throat. “Where are we going?”

He leans back against the ship’s rail as if he’s on a plush couch and folds his hands behind his head. “To the northern side of the isle to pick up a few of our crewmates who went ashore.”

My eyes widen. “Isn’t that dangerous? Wouldn’t Pan sense them?”

Hook and Smee thought Pan sensed me. They also thought he might have been anticipating me, but even if he called Belle home, he couldn’t possibly have known she would drag me along with her.

I would bet he was looking for Belle and found me instead because I couldn’t keep up.

Paris leans forward and props his elbows on his thighs. “When we go ashore, we can only hope that he does, mon amie.” It’s the first time I’ve seen darkness in Paris’s demeanor or heard it in his tone, but it’s there – the seething hatred he has for Pan. “But no. He cannot, and I will not elaborate.”

Based on the salve and enchanted skiff, I’m guessing magic is involved in their concealment.

“Fair enough. What about after we find your friends? Will we anchor there?” I ask, trying to sound like I’m merely curious and making conversation. “Does the ship have to stay near the shore?”

“Non, the vast Never Sea is ours to sail as we wish. But after this stop, we will sail to town.”

My brows kiss. “Town? On Neverland?”

“Not exactly,” he says with a wink. “I cannot ruin the surprise for you.” He nods toward the captain. “He is watching us very intently. Either he thinks you’re up to something, or he doesn’t like it when I lean in to talk to you – like this.” Paris scoots a little closer, leans in, and smiles like we’re sharing some sort of sordid secret.

“I’m absolutely positive it’s the former,” I deadpan.

Paris purses his lips. “And… would he be right? Are you plotting something sinister?”

I return his wink. “I can’t ruin the surprise for you.”

Paris’s deep peal of laughter almost drowns out the mermaid’s anguish.

We drop anchor in deep water just off the northern shore of Neverland. The mermaid survived the voyage, and Paris remains by my side. We stand at the rail and stay out of the way as Hook somehow summons another sunken skiff and sends it to the shoreline where Juneau, Kauai, Surat, and Kingston wait.

The little boat literally lifts from the sea, pushes water from its belly, and does whatever Hook asks. The magic here is as confusing as it is overwhelming, but I have benefited from it, so I won’t complain.

The sun set over an hour ago, but it’s still incredibly bright, like a clear night when the moon is full and not waxing as it is. In addition, an astonishing amount of light is being cast from the twin stars shining directly above us.

The moment that star could be seen in our sky, it upended my life. Would it disappear and lock us here like everyone else?

“How long will the Second Star shine?” I ask Paris as fear chills my blood.

“It always shines on Neverland,” Paris tells me.

“Hook and Smee said it might have something to do with me ending up here,” I tell him.

He nods. “Something with it perhaps, but the star cannot act as anything but what it is. The star shines for Pan alone. It is his bright net, even if occasionally other fish become entangled in it de temps en temps.”

Hook claimed it was a beacon, not the vessel that carries the called.

The Parisian regards me for a long moment, like he’s trying to see if he can tell what I’m thinking and learn my secrets. But he’s not nearly as intimidating as Hook; Paris only seems interested, quizzical. And he lets the matter drop when I refuse to speak further about the dual stars that cast their light over everything in this strange world.

“Juneau is fast, and incredibly impatient,” Paris notes, pointing to the men as the skiff stops just shy of the breaking waves.

Juneau darts into the water and jumps inside the skiff first. His shaggy red hair is pushed back by the wind. “That is Kauai,” says Paris as a second sailor trudges into the water and takes Juneau’s outstretched hand before climbing aboard. He’s shorter than the other men and has long black, curly hair.

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