When I wake, I am keenly aware of four other heart beats in the room.
I am used to waking to darkness and silence.
Their heartbeats are a comfort.
Darling, Vane, Kas and Bash.
Darling is lying at the foot of the bed with Vane wrapped around her from behind. She’s got her head resting on Bash’s chest.
I’m at the head of the bed with Kas on the other side.
We need a bigger fucking bed.
Now that I have my shadow, I barely sleep and I am hungry for sunlight.
I slip out of the bed and leave the room. I might as well take advantage of the quiet and the light while everyone else is still asleep.
Things are better on Neverland.
Winnie and Vane have the shadow. The twins…well, the twins still need help, but that will come. The fae queen must be desperate now. We’ve defeated her around every turn.
If it was up to me, she’d be abdicating her throne and giving her brothers what is rightfully theirs. There are no more schemes for her to implement.
All of her cards have been played.
I make my way to the kitchen and to the balcony doors, but there is no sunlight beyond. Only dark, rolling clouds.
I almost go back to bed until I spot a figure on the balcony.
Ice fills my veins and dread fills my gut.
My hands are shaking when I reach out for the door handles and yank them open, praying to all the gods that this is a terrible joke.
An illusion.
I even check over my shoulder to see if the twins are there, burying their laughter.
But there is no one and the figure remains.
And when she turns around, she fills the balcony with light. All of her is glowing. From her bright, shining face, to her bright golden wings.
Pixie dust glitters in the air around her.
“Hello, Peter Pan,” Tinker Bell says.
