“Looks like you’ve caught a straggler,” Maddox says, crossing his arms and practically glaring down at Victor, who only comes up to Maddox’s nose.
Victor doesn’t tense. Instead, he makes a familiar gesture I could’ve predicted and slips his hands into his pockets. I can’t help but smile.
“This is Victor,” I explain to Maddox and Charlie.
Charlie immediately breaks into a grin. “You made it then. Out of Neverland, I mean.”
Victor blushes at her beam, the skin surrounding his dark beard reddening. Maddox tenses, which seems to thrill Charlie all the more.
“So, what happened anyway, once you made it through the warping?” I ask Victor as he leads us through the streets to wherever he and the other Lost Boys must be staying.
“It deposited us back in my hometown,” he says, looking somewhat despondent.
I remember it was Victor’s father who opened the warping, using one of Victor’s brother’s sketches to form the magical connection between the worlds. It makes sense the warping would lead back there.
“There’s no one there, of course,” Victor continues. “I mean, there are people in the village, but my family left a long time ago. From what the villagers told us, they couldn’t bear the shame of my father being convicted and put in prison. Not to mention the stain to my family’s name when Thomas and I were sent away.” He swallows. “Not that I really wanted to see them.
“Anyway,” he says, changing the subject. “I tried to wait for you on the other side. I’m sorry we weren’t there when you got out. There were some guards stationed in the village. Apparently, there had been some crime—thefts happening all over town leading up to the time when we arrived. Of course, when they saw the newcomers—a gang of young boys, one of whom was recognized for having been sent away to an institution for poor behavior—they figured it had to have been us. We actually spent some time in jail.”
My eyes go wide.
“I don’t know, that’s pretty neat if you ask me,” says Charlie, shrugging nonchalantly.
“Wasn’t all that bad,” Victor adds, his face reddening again, but a slightly less vibrant shade of crimson this time.
Nolan and I exchange a glance, and I can hardly suppress a giggle, especially since Maddox’s ears seem to be fuming.
One day, I’ll probably fill Maddox in on the truth— that Victor’s only seventeen, well, eighteen now that he’s been given the chance to age outside of Neverland. But Charlie seems to be enjoying watching Maddox squirm, and I’d hate to ruin her fun.
“I’m surprised they didn’t come after you too,” Maddox says to me, raising an eyebrow. “Although you probably look slightly less threatening.”
“Less threatening than Smalls?” I ask, a little offended.
Victor chuckles. “So what did happen? Where’s Tink and Michael? I assume they’re back with whatever crew you three came from,” he adds, making pointed looks at my privateer friends.
“Michael’s taken care of by one of the crew members,” I say. Evans, our navigator, has been quite vocal about being less than thrilled about being left with childcare duty. But since he’s one of the most responsible members on board, I found his efforts to make me feel guilty rather ineffective.
I bite my lip, unsure of how to respond regarding Tink.
“Tink’s not with Peter, is she?” Victor asks, sounding alarmed.
“No, no, nothing like that,” I say quickly.
Victor visibly relaxes. Not for the first time tonight, I find myself searching for the missing bruises underneath his eyes. “Well, then,” he says, “I suppose wherever she is, she’s in a better situation than she was.”
“Yes,” I say, though I’m not sure, even as the words leave my lips, whether it’s a lie. I think back to the Nomad lifting Tink’s limp body off the ground after she hacked Peter’s wing off, theanger draining from her face as she allowed the Nomad to take her away.
He’d known her, even called her by a different name—Wanderer. But when Tink had first seen him, I’d only glimpsed fear in her eyes—that is, until she slumped into his arms.
I don’t know what to make of what happened to my friend. Or whether I betrayed her by not fighting the Nomad, by letting him leave with her. All I can do is hope that wherever my friend is, she’s found peace.
“So she split off from you and Michael after the three of you escaped Neverland?” Victor asks as we reach a stone pathway walled by rather lopsided hedges.
“Not exactly,” I say, my boots almost sliding against the cobblestone, and he looks at me quizzically.
“I didn’t—” I pause, not wanting Victor to carry the guilt of what happened to me, but I’m too late.
“You didn’t escape Neverland, did you?” Victor asks, his voice gentle.
