The scene dropped out of my sight, and I blinked at a long cave tunnel lined with glowing moss. At least, it looked like moss, but it breathed. The whole of the stretching path before me swelled and deflated with breaths like I was standing within a living creature, and panic filled my chest.
Peter hadn’t wanted me.
The thought entered my mind when the creature surrounding me inhaled. It left with my shuddering exhale. My lips trembled as they parted.
Peter hadn’t wanted me.
He had taken me, but he hadn’t wanted me either. Only whatever my mother had told him convinced him I was worth the trouble.
“Skye?” I choked, squeezing my eyes shut.
“Yeah…?” Torment filled his soft voice, but he was here; he was still here.
“What do you see now?”
It took him a second, but he mumbled, “Creepy cave.”
“Glowing, mossy walls?”
He half-scoffed. “That’s not moss, but sure.”
“Well, at least we’re in the same place now,” I snapped, not needing the reaffirmation that the walls were indeed not harmless moss. “I just saw my mother abandon me with an unwilling Peter. So that’s nice.”
“Peter’s twelve, Lyric. He’s stuck in an eternal cootie phase. Of course, he wasn’t thrilled to be handed a baby girl, but the point stands that he kept you when he could have given you to any number of people on Skyla.” He tugged on my hair, and I winced. “Don’t let this place get in your head, Daughter of Pan.”
Daughter of Pan . I hadn’t heard that for so long.
He’s right . Peter kept me. Because of what my mother told him that made him take me? I opened my eyes and glared at the tunnel. I would have shaken my head if it wouldn’t have sent Skye flying. Skye was right , I confirmed again, harsher. Besides, it doesn’t matter now; Peter’s forgotten you. The new thought sliced a deeper gash, and I swallowed, blurting, “What did you see, Skye?”
“Bay.”
The vague answer led to a rush of annoyed thoughts. Just as well since they pushed out the darker ones.
“Let’s get moving,” he said.
“We’re going deeper into this thing?” I tensed, eyeing the monster.
He sighed. “What else can we do?”
I glanced behind me, immediately wishing I hadn’t. At my back, the moss closed off wherever we’d come from, and it was closer than I’d ever want to be to the breathing walls. At least, solid ground rested beneath my feet, but when I blinked, it turned neon in a flash, softening like flesh. I blinked again, and it returned to stone. “I don’t like this. What the hell is this?” I wrapped my arms around my chest and stepped forward to move away from the back wall.
“You can’t trust anything in here, Lyric. Remember that.”
That’s right. Thank goodness he was here with me. I don’t know how I’d be able to do this on my own. Taking a deep breath, I walked forward, grounding myself in the light weight on my shoulder.
Of course. The grim thoughts bubbled to the forefront of my mind. The Nixies knew you wouldn’t be able to handle this alone.
“Airwoman,” I breathed, talking myself through it, “the voices are incessant.”
He hummed in agreement, and I gnawed my lip, glancing at him. His eyes were dull, and his lips rested in a firm line. Worry ate away at my gut.
“More specifically, what did you see?” I asked.
His gaze found mine for a moment, then it drifted away. “I saw what they did to him. That’s all.”
The pirates. Bay’s torture. Sickness tightened my stomach. “What angle are the voices taking with that?” Somewhere in my heart, I knew I shouldn’t pry, but talking kept my mind off my own demons. At least, until my thoughts wandered. Demons. That’s what the Nixie said Whisper and Bay were facing. Demons just like this. And I had to save them somehow. I didn’t even know if I could save myself.
“They’re saying I wasn’t there for him. They’re blaming you for that, trying to make me leave you alone in this. But I won’t.” His brows furrowed, and I didn’t mind the pull on my hair. “Sure, I wasn’t there for him then because he told me to make sure you were safe, but I could have refused. More than that, I don’t have to take responsibility for what they did. I know the real enemy. I can’t be turned against myself or my friends.” He offered me a weak smile that was the strongest thing I knew in that moment. “Pixies are pretty loyal little assholes, aren’t we?”
Despite myself and my terrifying surroundings, I smiled back at him, my soul feeling a little lighter. “They sure are.”
The second the last word left my mouth, he disappeared.
My soul jerked out of my skin. “Skye?” I called into the darkness. Nothing responded.
You’re alone.
The walls breathed. I stood in the belly of some magical beast, alone. Alone with my thoughts. They screamed in my head, reminding me how little I had accomplished in my life, how everything up until this point had been wasted time. There wasn’t a single thing worth mentioning.
I was utterly worthless.
Just a sad little girl who wanted to explore the world, a sad little girl who had nearly died dozens of times on her first adventure.
No wonder Peter didn’t let you leave Skyla. He knew better than to send you to your death .
“Shut up,” I hissed, moving forward. The ground jerked beneath me, and a lump caught in my throat. The ground was the same living substance as the walls. “This isn’t real.” Skye had said so. I believed in him. This wasn’t real.
This is magic. Anything is possible. Even if it isn’t “real,” it can definitely still kill you.
