And now, four more families would suffer the way hers had. Four more families would mourn the loss of their children without any answers or explanation. Five more children would be lost, taken and kept by the shadow, terrified and fed off of to give it strength.

Two of them were Mr. Davies’s own sons. Wendy wanted to be glad for it—to be comforted that he would be forced to go through what he’d put her family through—but she couldn’t manage it. Matthew and Joel were good boys. They didn’t deserve to be locked in a nightmare for the rest of their lives for something their father did. As mad as she was, as furious and vengeful as she felt toward Mr. Davies, she couldn’t bring herself to wish the suffering she and her parents had gone through on anyone, not even her worst enemy. She knew all of the missing children, and she knew their families.

She couldn’t stand by and let more families suffer. She wouldn’t.

Wendy refused to give up on them, and she refused to give up on Peter.

She pushed herself to a sitting position, hiccups bucking her chest as she dragged her hand across her eyes.

Peter had lied to her, but he was trying to save the lost children in Neverland. It was an even more important job than Wendy had realized. What was it like, to see the suffering of children? To be there to guide the souls of children who’d met such horrific ends? To try to coax them from their fear, to bring them happiness so they could pass through to the other side? Peter was trying to take care of them as best he could. Wendy had just gotten in the way.

No wonder everything on the island had begun to fall apart. Wendy had been the only living girl in Neverland.

And Peter had developed feelings for her.

Wendy’s stomach fluttered and she pressed her fingertips to her lips. The memory of the look on Peter’s face, so scared and anxious as he leaned in close, flooded warmth through her entire body. She thought of his shining eyes. The way they squinted when his smile claimed his face, wide and unabashed. Wendy thought of his gentleness with Alex, his playfulness with Cassidy, and his steady, unwavering gaze when he talked to Wendy.

She needed to make everything right. She needed to stop the shadow and rescue the children. She needed to save Peter. Without him, the lost kids in Neverland would stay lost. Her brothers would never be able to move on.