“Be careful. If something starts to go wrong, you come right back, and we’ll figure things out from there.”
I nodded. Dread showered me, cold and murky, but I didn’t let it show. She let me go, and I faced the magical pool of golden ichor. Crossing over the pit of waves and secrets, I felt a hot pour of the spirit’s words come to the forefront of my mind.
All wind that rises must fall.
Was I supposed to somehow push the Fountain into that pit, into the ocean?
I landed on the other side, and sweat coated my skin. Doubts bombarded me. If I couldn’t even fly Whisper here, how was I supposed to—
“Are you still okay?” Whisper yelled.
My mouth was dry; my palms were clammy. “I’m fine!” I called back, not looking at her. “I think I need to get this thing in that thing.”
“In the hole?” Surprise coated her tone, but when she spoke again, it had mellowed. “That makes sense. Do you think you can use your wind to get it there?”
No. “I’ll try.”
First things first, I tried to shake off the overpowering sensations burrowing into my skin. With every step closer, it seemed impossible. It was so strong. And I wasn’t. No wonder Peter could do so many insane things. And I couldn’t. He had drunk this stuff. And I hadn’t.
My hand shook as I uncorked the vial and hovered the glass above the pool of water. A gentle mist fell before my eyes, the closer my fingers got to the liquid. To fill the vial, I would need to touch it. Touch the magic that had enough strength to provide people eternal life.
“Still okay?” Whisper’s words were nearly lost beneath the sound of water.
I swallowed. I wasn’t. I wasn’t okay at all. So what if I believed in myself a little more now than I did before my adventure in Neverland? I still had to face a pirate that not even Peter had been able to get rid of.
I wasn’t strong enough.
“Lyric?” Whisper’s voice pitched.
I closed my eyes and filled the vial. Magic touched my fingers, permeated my flesh. It flooded my veins. If I wasn’t strong enough, this would be. It had to be. Too much relied on me when I couldn’t even rely on myself.
“Lyric!” Whisper yelled. “Lyric! No!”
Her scream filled my head the second I brought the vial to my lips. My fingers trembled, and I blinked, but it wasn’t enough to draw me out of the haze. I needed this. If I didn’t have this power, then I wouldn’t be able to save Whisper, or Peter, or anyone on Skyla. This wasn’t just a battle for Skyla, either. After this, should I succeed against Hook, I had to help save the world.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I—
“Nope.” The firm word was said directly into my ear. A strong chest hit my back, and someone’s hands gripped mine, stopping me from throwing the water down my throat. The person wrestled the cork out of my grasp and secured the vial before meeting my gaze. Hazel eyes.
Bay. He wasn’t supposed to be here . They had warned me to make sure he didn’t drink from the Fountain. It…didn’t look like he was drinking? Brows drawn, he stared at me. My vision blurred, but I felt his lips against my cheek, and his exhale shook. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Everything went dark.
29th November
C omfortable heat. Security. The gentle scent of ocean brine and magic. I breathed it in, drifting softly back into my dreams. Someone jostled my body, and that jerked me fully awake. My eyes snapped open, and hair brushed my cheek.
“Careful!” Whisper snapped. “You’re going to drop her.”
Bay hitched me up again. “Well, I don’t see you offering to carry her.”
“Give her here.” Whisper shot him a tight-lipped smile and opened her arms.
“I knew we shouldn’t have slept back there. First rule of life: don’t sleep in a magic-tainted cave.” Bay shook his head, and his loose hair tickled my cheek. “It’s made you delusional.”
“What else were we supposed to do? We’d been walking all day; she had fainted.” She folded her arms. “I’m well-rested. I can carry my friend now.”
“You really can’t,” Skye muttered. “You’re like half her size, and while she’s asleep, she isn’t aware enough to even unknowingly make herself lighter.”
“Excuse me? What did he say?” she demanded.
“You’ve already got your shoulders full with Skye.” Bay sighed, adjusting his hold on my thighs again.
It was in that exact instant I realized he was holding me by my thighs and keeping my chest pressed against his shoulder blades. I floundered, flailing backwards.
“H-hey!” he stammered, grappling for purchase, but I tumbled out of his grasp, managing to perform a backflip midair before finding the ground with my feet. Bay blinked at me, looking me over. “I guess you’re awake now?”
“Lyly! You’re okay!” Whisper pounced, wrapping her arms around me in a full swing that made Skye retreat off her shoulder.
Memories flooded back, and I swallowed bile, the sensations of fog in my mind not fully abated. Lifting a hand, I jabbed a finger at Bay. “You followed us! We told you not to, but you did! We asked you to trust us, but you didn’t. You didn’t trust me! Again!”
“What ?” He balked, an injured expression melding with exasperation. “I heard Whispering Meadow scream and came to the rescue. I’m your knight in shining armor.”
“You didn’t trust us!” I swayed into Whisper, and she held me up, grunting under my weight.
He folded his arms, ignoring how tipsy I was. “I did. I sat still, and I waited, and I developed a nervous habit of bouncing my leg, and then I heard a scream and thought maybe it was code for, ‘something is wrong; send help.’”
