Love in Neverland: Book 2 in The Neverland Trilogy (6 page)

“All of this for me?” Remy asked, quirking an eyebrow.  Something did not sit well with her, but she could not put her finger on it.

“Of course,” James told her, and his tone sounded sincere.  “You did not ask for any of this, and I want to make you feel comfortable and do something reminiscent of your home.  From what I understand, debuts are an exciting part of a young woman’s life.  Am I wrong?”

“I suppose it would depend on the young woman,” Remy said.  “Debuts are fun for the right reasons and dreadfully boring for the wrong ones.”  Her eyes narrowed in his direction, and before she could stop herself, said, “What are you up to, Captain Hook?”

His blue eyes darkened just a fraction, but Remy was not afraid.  “No,” he said.  “I suppose your words are not always perfect.”

Chapter 6

“Where do you take them?” Magda asked, watching as the souls followed Nick’s ship sailing through the ocean.  She still did not understand the how’s and the why’s of Nick’s job, and though she did not necessarily need to know about it, she found she was curious.  As such, she did what she always did when she was curious about something and the answers were not easy to grasp: she researched.  Since she did not have access to James’s extensive library anymore, she would have to go directly to the source – even if that source was someone she was trying to avoid.

“You’re talking to me now?” Nick asked, his warm brown eyes looking down at her with obvious suspicion in them.  His arms were folded across his chest, enhancing the muscles in his arms even more than they already were.  Not that she noticed, of course, but how could she help it when he walked around with tunics that clung to his frame?  “I nearly forgot that you were even here these past two weeks.”

“I asked you a question because I genuinely wanted to know the answer,” Magda retorted.  “Next time, I shall ask your crew.”

“My crew?”  Nick looked at her with doubt clearly etched out all over his face.  “I will admit that you’re right only if you can name me one, just one, member of said crew.”  He placed his hand on the rung of the wheel and tilted his head upward, looking down at her over his rather large nose (
that somehow fit his face
, a voice forced her to remember).  “Go on.”

Magda opened her mouth, ready to give him a name, when she was stopped.  By her lack of knowledge.

Magda felt her cheeks turn the color crimson and Nick snickered. 

“That is what I thought, Tink,” he said. 

“In my defense, you never introduced them to me,” Magda said, crossing her own arms over her chest.

“I didn’t realize you were royalty,” Nick said.  “Do you have some rare disease that inhibits you from going up to them and introducing yourself?  Don’t you women want more rights anyway?”

Magda clenched her teeth together and glared.  Nick somehow knew to bring out the absolute worst in her, to the point where her blood boiled, her heart raced, and she acted completely unlike herself.  She raised her voice and she spoke before she thought and the dumbest things came out of her mouth and she felt completely out of control.  She absolutely detested the feeling, and he was the only person to bring it out in her.  She had never felt this way before.

“There’s that look I fell in love with,” Nick continued, almost as though he could read her mind.

“Are you capable of such a feeling?” Magda quipped before she could stop herself.

But the words were out and she couldn’t make them come back.  His brown eyes flashed with hurt and he looked away.  His knuckles were white; he gripped the wheel tighter and tighter, and then he grunted, as though to change the subject.

She was an idiot.  Of course, he was capable of love.  Clearly, the fool was in love with Remy Cutler, or else he would not have gone through hell in order to find her.  Perhaps she misjudged him.  Just because he was a pirate did not mean he was not human.  The man was a Breather; it was not as though he had died and passed on.  And Remy was a Breather as well.

Magda paused as she let that sink in.  Was that how the souls followed Nick?  Because he, like Remy, was technically still alive? 

But no, that wasn’t it.  The souls did not clamor for him on land the way they did with Remy.  There was something different about her, something special, that caused the souls to react a certain way around her.  What that was, Magda intended to find out.

Her stomach scratching the walls of her insides caused her mind to stop in its tracks.  It was a feeling she recognized but rarely felt: guilt.  She felt guilty.  She knew the only was assuage that guilt was through an apology, but she refused to say sorry to him.  She did not think his ego would be able to handle it.  However, she knew she had to say something lest the silence remain awkward and there was no way for them to carry on their conversation.

Not that Magdalena liked talking to him, but it was the easiest and most direct way to get answers to her questions, and she was starting to get used to his voice.

“You know,” Nick said, his voice low, barely a whisper.  Magda felt every hair on her body stand straight up at the sound of it.  It was not the voice that should be addressing her at all.  Too intimate.  Too alluring.  It was the sort of voice appropriate only behind closed doors between lovers.  And if there was one thing Magda was not, it was Nick’s lover.  “I would think someone like you would withhold judgment.  Just because I’m a pirate doesn’t mean I don’t feel.  Just because you’re a fairy doesn’t mean you feel all the time.”

Magda felt her skin pale.  Not just on her face, but the pigment of her skin that covered her body turned a sickly shade of white, and she had to clamp down on her bottom lip to keep from curling over the side of the ship and emptying the minimal contents of her stomach overboard.  She was not one privy to such dramatic displays, but she could not believe Nick had said that out loud.  And, not only that, but somehow, he knew what she was. 

How?  She did not have a clue.  But she intended to find out.

“How did you” –

“I’m more perceptive than you think, Tinker Bell,” he said.  Any look of hurt had completely vanished.  He was back to his usual annoyingly arrogant self.  Magda was upset with herself for feeling any guilt at all.  "Perhaps I underestimated you," Magda allowed slowly. She did not like to allow him anything, but she figured she owed him this. She had been rather feisty with him, and if he did know her secret, it would be best to try and figure out how he found out. It was highly unlikely he would share that information if he was annoyed with her. Although, she could not appear too eager for it, either. She would not want him to dangle this over her head.

"Perhaps," he mocked, his lips curling up into an amused smirk.

His eyes continued watching her as she tried to figure out just how to ask him how he knew without coming across as desperate. He was amused, she could tell. With the way the sunlight hit his eyes and brought out the red in the irises and the way his lips appeared in its current shape, she found herself captured momentarily by his rugged good looks.

"You like me," he stated, his smirk growing.

"What?" Magda all but yelped. She never yelled. She was never shrill. Her face turned red at more uncharacteristic behavior. That, and he was right. As much as Magda did not want to admit it, she found she was getting used to being around Nicholas Grey to the point where she actually enjoyed it.

Well. Enjoyed might be too strong of a word, but it was not unpleasant.

"Yeah, you like me." It wasn't even a question anymore. He said it like it was a fact. Magda wanted to slap his face. "Don't worry, Tink. I won't tell. Can't say I blame you, though."

"Trust me," Magda said, turning her attention to the horizon. Her eyes needed something to focus on, something that would calm her insides down and return them to smooth waters. "If I was to like anyone, it would certainly not be someone who is clearly devoted to another."

There. Cold water on a hot day.  She had broken their moment together, and Magda had not intended to do so.  She was actually enjoying herself, enjoying the repertoire the two shared together.  His brown eyes darkened, as though a door shut closed, and he took a step back from her.  Nick’s smile disappeared though his face remained neutral.  It was as though Remy broke whatever spell the two had been under, and Magda found she wished it had not been broken.

“Captain!”  Adele had a knack for interruption.  Magda was not sure if she was grateful for it or annoyed by it.  “Why are we not on course?”

“I tell you where to steer the ship, Adele,” Nick said.  “You do not question my orders.”

“I do when we have souls attached to our ship,” she told him, placing her hand on her hip and giving him a challenging stare.  “If you could tell me where we were going, it would certainly help my steering.”

“I’m not sure if directions will assist your steering,” Nick muttered.  Adele looked like she was ready to explode on him, but he quickly continued.  “Tenedor, my dear.  Tenedor.  We are going to Tenedor.”

“Why?” Adele asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“I need to meet with someone,” Nick said.  “Someone important.”

--

They had three hours before they needed to get the souls to The Crossroads.  Nick promised to be back in one hour and refused to allow anyone to come with him.  Magda did not like being forbidden to do anything, so she waited until Nick reached the island before getting Adele and Giselle to help her into a boat so she could follow him.  Adele wanted to tag along, but Giselle managed to talk her out of it.

“We need to protect the ship and the souls,” Giselle insisted.  “We’re already risking a lot being here.”

“I will ensure he’s here on time,” Magda promised, and she meant it.

She docked her boat and handed the dock master a couple of coins for his silence.  From there, she took off in the direction she saw Nick head off in, thanking the stars she had the speed of a fairy.

It was not long before she found him.  It was not in a scrag or an inn.  Rather, she found him out in the open, speaking to a woman who appeared to be some kind of mystic.  Magda held her breath, but she couldn’t overhear what was being said.  She needed to get closer without being seen.

She looked around the environment.  It was a loud, bawdy place, with girls in revealing clothing and men with jugs of liquor.  It was noisy and lively, and Magda found she did not like it one bit.  It was not because of the noise or even the people.  She just did not like the lack of order here.  She was not sure what to expect, and, therefore, did not know how to prepare.  Her heart pounded against her chest, afraid someone would catch her by surprise.

She needed to focus.  Her eyes took sight of a wagon filled with hay.  It would appear a farmer was attempting to sell it to anyone who would part with something for reams of hay.  It would also appear the farmer was very, very drunk.  It almost seemed that the little money he made on hay went straight to the jug of liquor in his hand.

At least he was doing something beneficial; he provided her with a place she could hide while also eavesdropping on Nick’s conversation.

“I’ve found the girl,” she heard Nick say in his gruff voice.  He was making an effort to make sure it was low, Magda noticed, so no one could easily overhear them.  “I need to know how to get to The Other World without everyone realizing I’m a Breather, too.”

“You realize The Magistrate will kill the girl, yes?” 

Magda narrowed her eyes to take in the woman Nick was speaking with.  It was hard to see her – her back was toward Magda – but she had long, curly brown hair that flowed freely down to her waist.  She wore clothes similar to those of gypsies – a high-waisted pastel skirt and a white shirt that revealed her shoulders.  She could not see her face, but her voice was smooth and soothing, like the sound of the ocean waves crashing into the shore.

“You know what it is The Magistrate wants.  You know where the girl is and who has her.  You know the danger you pose to yourself should you risk getting caught.  This girl… Remy Cutler.  Is she really worth all the trouble you’re going through her?”

Nick responded something, but a trio of bawdy gentlemen was yelling and laughing about something so Magda could not hear.  She strained her neck to try and pick up the response but was not able to do so.

Not that his feelings regarding Remy mattered to Magda.  It was the least important thing right now.

“Have you given any thought what would happen should your plan work, Nick?”  The woman crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight.  Magda noticed that she was not wearing any shoes.  “Why did I condemn you to this life?  Are you, yourself, learning the lesson you are required to learn?  Because it sounds like you’re being the same Nick I ran into on earth.  And if you remain the same, forever in The Neverland will be much longer than it should be.”

“I don’t care,” Nick said, and the determination was clear in his tone, in his brown eyes.  Magda found that when he was not being charming or foolish, he was a sight to look at.  She could not look away if she tried.  “If it means Remy is safe, I’ll extend my tenure here.  However long it takes.”