“No. I did, actually. I just didn’t want it to happen. I thought you were still a prisoner of the Drouj. I thought I was coming to rescue you, not the other way around.”

He paused, collecting himself. “It isn’t that I don’t want you here with me. I do. I always do. I always will. There’s no one I could ever depend upon more than you. But what’s happening now is dangerous beyond anything we’ve ever run up against, Prue. What sort of person would I be if I didn’t ask you to think it over before you got yourself any more deeply involved than you already are? What if something happens to you? How would I ever forgive myself?”

“What if something happens to you? How would I ever forgive myself?” she parroted. “It works both ways, Pan.”

“But it’s not the same thing!”

“Because I’m fifteen and you’re seventeen?”

“Because you don’t have to do this and I do!”

She gave him a withering look. “If you believe that, you need to have somebody besides me explain to you what friendship is all about!” He started to protest, but she held up one hand quickly. “No, don’t say anything more. You’ll only make it worse. Keep talking, and you’ll eventually sound like a complete idiot instead of just a half-wit. This discussion is over. I am staying with you. Mark it in stone. I’m not changing my mind.”

“It could change if you wanted it to.” He gave it one last try. “You always have a choice.”

“I know that, and I’ve made it. The King of the Silver River thinks you need my help. He’s given me back the use of my instincts to see that you’re kept safe. I won’t walk away from my responsibility for you any more than you would give up yours for the people of our valley. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s close enough. You and me, Pan. That’s the way it has always been and that’s the way it’s always going to be. Now shut up and keep walking!”

She said this last so loudly that Bonnasaint, who had been paying scant attention to their whisperings until now, laughed aloud.

“You don’t want to cross the line with that one,” he observed brightly.

Panterra started to go after him, but Prue wheeled around first, blocking his way, and took five quick steps so that she was standing right in front of their prisoner. “Don’t say anything more, Bonnasaint. If you speak even a single word, I will tie you to the nearest tree and leave you for the wolves to find. Pan won’t stop me, either.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, waiting. He smiled but kept silent. Satisfied, she returned to Pan’s side, and they resumed walking.