“I agree, and I plan to take that up with Nanny and Fairy Godmother. Many lives are at stake here, and James is the key. Cruella could be traveling the world now; instead she is locked away in Hell Hall reliving the nightmare that was her life. And poor Lady Tremaine suffered unspeakably. She should have stayed in London to live out her life happily, but you sent that scheming odious witch to bring her here, and now she’s trapped forever in Cinderella’s old chateau, forever motionless, like one of the weeping angels in my garden. It all comes down to James,” said Circe.

“What do you mean, she is motionless?” asked Lucinda, twitching with anger.

“I thought you knew. Fairy Godmother turned her into a statue. She was beyond redemption. She was abusing her daughters; they lived in terror, and suffered constantly at their mother’s hand. There was no alternative,” said Circe.

“And you let your precious fairies do this? You, who advocate for everyone to have a fairy godmother? You would put them in the hands of those monsters?” asked Lucinda.

“How dare you lay this on me! This happened while we were all in the Place Between. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for you.”

“All of it was meant to happen, Circe. That’s what you’re failing to understand. It was written,” said Lucinda.

“Because you wrote it!” said Circe.

“Why are you asking me these questions, Circe? These stories are written on your soul; why are you afraid to see all time at once? You may be the most powerful witch in these lands, but your power comes from me, my girl, and you still don’t understand the true nature of the Book of Fairy Tales. But you soon will. Mind your dreams, Circe. James’s fate is sealed.”

Chapter XV

It had been three days since James and his crew landed in Never Land, and two since the mermaids taunted him with lies and half-truths about Peter Pan and the Labyrinth of Longing. He didn’t want to believe what they said about Peter—everyone knew the mermaids in Never Land were impetuous, nasty creatures—but he had a hard time thinking of anything else in the days leading up to the party for the Lost Boys, because now more than ever it was imperative that his plan to capture Tinker Bell and bring her back to the Many Kingdoms worked out perfectly. Only then could he be truly happy. Only then would Lucinda grant his wish, and if the mermaids were to be believed then he would need her magic at his side. His dreams were filled with the images of ghostly mothers shrouded in veils pushing empty prams and wailing for their lost sons, endlessly searching, trapped within the maze, their hearts breaking with every turn of a corner, only to find their sons not there.