Page 47 of Lost Starlight
No.
No!I did not want any harm to come to her; she must have told Dominick about my note, and they had come to save me.
If she steps foot onto this island, will the pixies still keep their promise to leave her alone? Or will they steal her away again?
A few pixies were still with us as we peeked through the ferns to see the ship. Those pixies began to chime with excitement that more people were coming.
I turned to them.
“If I am going to save your starlight gems or whatever from Hook, you have to promise me that you will notharm any of my friends aboard that ship–or force them to remain here. No deals,” I said.
“Peter, Peter, Safe—Friends, Friends safe, Safe, Safe.”
With a nod, I looked back, watching with happiness and horror as boats were sent from the ship toward the shore.
I desired more than anything at that moment to pull Gwen into my arms and kiss her senseless, but if she was there, then she was in danger again. I did not want that. At least, the pixies would not capture her. I held myself back, observing, just to make sure it was not a trick of some kind.
Chapter Twenty
Gwendolyn
Present Day
The sand beneath my feet felt strange, yet comfortable. I had no idea how both things could be the same at once, and yet, there it was. I did not want to ever see that island again. I tried to close my eyes to the horrors I had experienced there, although as I looked about—because, really, not looking was out of the question—I was not met with horror, only beauty.
A beauty I had never noticed before. The island was bursting with spring flora, so many different hues and shades of pinks and yellows, reds and oranges, all against the tropical green foliage; it was breathtaking. Was it that lovely before? Maybe it was, or maybe it was merely the hope of finding Peter that caused me to see that beauty.Whatever the reason, as I stepped upon that shore under the bright warm sun and tropical breeze, it was beautiful on Pixie Isle.
“I forgot how beautiful this island is,” Meria said beside me with a wide grin. “When we left Peter here last time, I was amazed. So many of thoseflowerthings–”
“They are just calledflowers. And yes, it seems this island is in a never ending spring,” Dominick added.
The last time we were on that island, Meria and Prince Dominick dropped Peter off so that he could find me and save me from the pixies.
“I hate that he had to come here to save me.”
“I think all things happen for a reason. If I had not been banished from Marren, I could have never saved Dominick from his shipwreck.” She looked longingly at her husband. “Sometimes, thebadthings that happen just get us to the more fortunate parts of our life stories a bit sooner,” Meria said with a soft smile. Her white-blonde hair with hues of pink, blew in front of her face as Dominick came up to her and pulled the hair away from her face.
“I should have braided it this morning,” he said.
He braided her hair?
She often wore her hair around her shoulders or in one braid that looked like a rope down her back.
“There was no time,” she said, but I watched in awe as Dominick quickly braided her hair and tied it off with a part of his shirt, which he tore off for that purpose.
“Nick! That was a brand new shirt from your mother!”
“I have like ten of these shirts,” he shrugged. “Stay close to me, my mermaid. I do not want you captured,” Dominick said, kissing her on her cheek. He always called her his “mermaid,” and it was adorable. Peter would often say my name with fondness as I read to him.
“No pixies can fool me. I am also a magical being, so they can try, but I can breathe underwater so–” Meria said with a smile. Dominick smiled back at her and motioned for her to walk with him. She gave me a small nod before walking away.
“My, they are very–” Michael began from beside me; then he paused.
“Very affectionate?”
“Yes, Mother would lose her mind.”
I laughed. “Yes, she would. But I do not think I care much anymore about what Mother thinks. I think it is good and well to have propriety and morals, but when I have a husband—”
