Page 38 of The Last Lost Girl

Trapped? My chest heaves as panic slams into my chest. I’ve never been claustrophobic, but Neverland suddenly feels like the most confining space I’ve ever occupied. Worse than that, it feels like a prison. A very dangerous one.

Belle claimed I didn’t have a shadow when she found me. And she told me I could never go to Neverland.

I press my eyes closed as realization dawns.

She knew that if I ever went to Neverland, I would never be able to leave it.

I don’t believe she has my shadow, and I’ve never been here before so Pan couldn’t have taken it, but now… I have no way home.

My heart feels like it’s pumping too fast. The rhythm is erratic.

Hook looks concerned. “Lifeguard, I think you should sit down. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

I press a hand to my chest. “Okay.”

My knees are Jell-O as Hook guides me to his bed, where I sit and try to process everything he just said. He crosses to his desk and pours water into two glasses, gripping the rims between his fingers and carrying them over to where I sit.

He pauses at the bedside and I take both glasses, then hand one back to him. He graciously ignores the way my hands tremble, troubling the water inside it. “Is it okay if I sit down beside you?”

I nod and take a cool sip. The water is fresh. Rain to my dry desert of a throat.

The pirate makes himself comfortable beside me and mirrors my position, with one knee crooked and the other hanging off the bedside. For a moment, we drink our water in silence.

“I have a proposal for you,” he says, breaking the silence in a tone that sounds like honey languidly slipping over gravel.

“I’m listening.”

He wets his lips. “While we sail toward town, I’ll tell you everything you want to know about Pan and Neverland, about me and my crew – anything you want – if you agree to tell me what you know about Tinkerbell.”

“I want to know about the shadows,” I say.

He quirks a brow in a not so fast kind of way. “We have a deal, then?”

I blow out a tense breath. “I’ll agree to your deal if you’ll grant two concessions.”

His eyes narrow. “Never in my life have I conceded, Ava.”

I shrug. “There’s a first time for everything.”

Hook smirks and tilts his head. “Tell me your demands, so that I can consider them first.”

I clear my throat. “The first is that you allow me to remove the mermaid from your ship.”

His smirk falls as his stare sharpens. He looks like he’s about to deny the request, but I’m not negotiating these concessions. Either he agrees, or he gets nothing from me. I press forward before he can say no.

“The second is that you give me your word not to harm Belle or me, and that you won’t allow anyone on your crew to do so.” The pirate isn’t pleased, but I don’t care.

“I am not responsible for the actions of my crew,” he offers cautiously.

Not good enough. “Yes, you are. You’re their captain. When you give an order, they follow it without question. I’ve seen it.”

I don’t know much about the men who sail under him, but the entire ship teems with men who are eager to make his whims reality. He is their leader. He has their respect and admiration. They will follow his orders.

A muscle works in his jaw. I wonder which demand irks him more…

“And if the mermaid tries to drag you into the water – which is inevitable, by the way – do you want me to intervene on your behalf?”

Ah. The mermaid irks him the most.

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