“Oh. Right.” Her lips pressed tight, and I closed my eyes to avoid seeing the sorrow in her gaze. She gasped. “Moth prince! Adam lives by himself in the woods where the moths and silkworms breed. It’s closer anyway, just past the goat stables.”
No wonder she hadn’t seemed worried about him. The island that housed a majority of the animals was at the opposite end of the disaster. “Will he be okay with us appearing in the middle of the night?”
“He’s an introverted young man. I doubt he’ll mind two pretty damsels on his doorstep, one of whom is very, very into him. If he does, I think he’ll get over it.” She began dragging me in that direction, murmuring, “Besides, what choice do we have? Hook’s on his way, and you can barely walk.”
I shuffled along with her as best I could. Crossing the swaying bridge, we found ourselves bombarded with the soft bleats of goats and sheep. A single shepherd lay snoozing at the pen exit, his staff laid against his side. Other than him, the few homes tucked among the fairy oaks were dark and hushed, void of life.
We continued through the spattered woods gleaming with silver dust until they thickened, and a simple cottage covered with vines and huge white flowers appeared. Whisper breathed a little sigh. Obscured by the trees as this place was—and not in the habit of stalking poor, innocent, young boys—I’d never seen where our prestigious Silk Moth Babysitter lived. It looked plucked straight from a fairytale. Huge moths with forest green wings the size of my hand dallied from one flower to the next to rest and seek mates.
“Isn’t this enchanting?” she whispered like she was sharing a secret and didn’t want Adam to hear. “I’m going to live here one day.”
“It fits you perfectly,” I whispered back, and she smiled. Airwoman, it was good to see her smile even if nerves still wound tight in her limbs.
She knocked on the door and waited, fidgeting slightly. A look of sheer terror overcame her, and her hand rushed to her tangled, unwashed hair, but it was too late. The door eased open a crack before swinging the full way.
“Whisper!” Adam’s wide blue eyes clung directly to her, ignoring me like I didn’t exist. “You…you’re okay?” He swallowed and shook his head, scrubbing a hand over his short, dark hair. “I’ve gotta be dreaming. I saw…I saw your name on the list of people we lost in the attack.”
She blushed, holding her gaze on the ground. “It’s a long story.”
He looked at his bare chest and turned an impossible shade of red that stood out even on his brown skin. “I— I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting—” He glanced at me as though seeing me for the first time.
I lifted my hand in a pitiful greeting.
His brows lowered, and he looked past us, scanning the bloom-invested area. “Is everything okay?”
Whisper’s smile wobbled. “Not really. Can we come in?”
He nodded without hesitation and stepped aside. Whisper helped me into the modest living room strewn with crocheted blankets and embroidered pillows. I landed on top of a pillow boasting the same kind of moth that lingered outside and reclined gratefully into the couch.
Adam sat across from us in a loveseat, moving aside a most recent embroidery project that made my brows furrow. He wasn’t what I’d call a small guy or the type to live in this pastel-washed place.
“You live here alone?” I blurted.
Whisper jabbed me with her elbow. He laughed, smiling kindly. “It’s okay. Yes, I do. My friends like to call my home, ‘Grandma’s Cottage.’”
I swept my eyes over the room again, rested on Whisper’s tiny frown, and mumbled, “Really? That’s odd. No idea why.”
She shook her head and sighed, pushing my comments aside. “We need a favor. The pirates that attacked us several weeks ago aren’t finished.”
Adam’s smile dropped away, and he cupped a hand against his mouth, leaning forward, pensive. “I know. There have been more sightings. As we’ve worked to rebuild, we’ve also been preparing for the worst. We know they have magic. Any time Peter and the Lost Boys get close to one, they use a spell and vanish.”
Whisper’s wide eyes turned on me. “What are they doing? You don’t think…”
“Probably.” I nodded. “They don’t play fair. They are going to get all the information they can about where they’ll be fighting and what they’ll be up against.” Thing was, Skyla didn’t have a formal military or army or fighting force. We merely had our location that kept us separate from the world and a handful of children who practiced with wooden swords as it crossed their fancy. Something told me that this time, a group of pre-teens wasn’t going to cut it.
The same thoughts rolled through Whisper’s eyes like a storm, and she looked at Adam, biting her lip. “My mother comes from a magical place called Neverland. That’s where she took me when our home fell. That’s where Lyric and I have been. Now, she’s been captured by Hook, and we know he plans to attack.”
“Hook?” Adam breathed, straightening in his chair. “But that… He’s always been just another one of Peter’s fairytales, the villain behind his trophy pirate ship.”
“The pirate ship is Peter’s trophy for defeating Hook.” I swallowed rising bile. “But I guess he didn’t defeat Hook quite as well as he thought.”
Adam’s calm never broke, but he mussed his short hair and breathed deeply, pinning Whisper with his gaze. “You said you needed a favor? How can I help? Anything you need, anything at all…”
Her cheeks darkened as her eyes ran over him. “Just a place to stay for tonight. Lyric’s exhausted, which is something of another story. In simple terms, she’s our only hope of defeating Hook again, and then she’s a piece of a much larger picture. Our world is in trouble.”
“I apparently have eleven siblings that our goddess mother abandoned in each kingdom to protect from villains just like Hook. As we come into our magic, it no longer is a barrier over our homes.” I didn’t let the shock on Adam’s face faze me. “I’m supposed to find them and save the world after I destroy a magical relic and after I save Skyla.”
His mouth opened and closed twice before he managed, “Sounds…simple enough.” He shook his head, moving forward in the conversation. “Of course you both can stay here. I’m sorry I don’t have much space, but you’re welcome to the couch, and then Whisper can have my bed in the back room.” He glanced at her, linking his fingers between his knees. “If you’d like?”
Whisper murmured, “Where are you going to sleep?”
He chuckled. “If I can sleep after this information, right here. I expect, instead, to finish that, though.” Gesturing at the half-complete embroidery circle, he shrugged. His smile softened, and there was love in it as he traced patterns on the rug with his toe. “I’m really glad you’re okay, Whisper. I didn’t know what to think when I saw your name with the…missing. After what happened at your birthday party, I thought that would be enough excitement for a while.” His clasped hands tightened, and his lips pursed, emotion clogged in his throat as he repeated, “I’m just really glad you’re okay.”
Whisper sat still beside me, watching him as her eyes glassed. Sighing, I jabbed her with my elbow and motioned with my eyes for her to get her pretty little ass over there. She looked at me like I had grown two heads.
Adam cleared his throat, and the moment was gone. “I don’t mind you both staying here, of course, but why didn’t you go to Peter? Is the secret of his home that strict?”
My heart sank. “Not really. Not right now, anyway. Just…” My voice faded, and I took a breath. “Well, you know Peter. Everyone knows Peter. I’ve been gone for a while. I don’t think he—” My throat closed, and I closed my eyes to avoid unleashing tears. Today had been hard enough without dwelling on this.
Whisper slipped her hand around mine and squeezed the same moment Adam said, “Oh. Right. His memory.” He took a breath, then added, “I’m so sorry,” like he was wishing me his condolences. Adam stood, delicately setting the matter aside. “If either of you would like something to eat, or a shower, or just anything, you’re welcome to it. I can make tea?”
I’d seen why Whisper liked him before, but he was absolutely a prince, an angel. An angel with a four-pack. Airwoman, there was nothing bad to say about him. Except that he made me think about my demon.
Whisper kissed my hand before releasing it and standing to meet him in the middle of the room. “A shower and tea sound incredible.”
Every muscle in his body relaxed, and he brushed her tangled, curly hair away from her forehead before bending to peck it. He whispered something to her that I couldn’t make out, but whatever secret it was, she turned a deeper shade of cherry red.
Without missing a beat, Adam met my eyes. “Tea?”
