As frightening as it is being responsible for someone smaller and more vulnerable than she is, she’d much rather focus on keeping him safe than think about anything else. That way she doesn’t have to worry about herself so much. She doesn’t have to worry about what lies at the end of the path they aren’t supposed to be on, or what will happen if Peter finds them, or how they’ll get home.

“I don’t like this place,” Timothy whispers.

“This is definitely the way I came before,” Jane says. “It feels…”

She stops; right isn’t the word she needs. Nothing feels right here. There’s a scent in the air like a hot iron, a feeling like a fever coming on. Even with the wind lowing in the branches, sweat prickles Jane’s skin. A rumble comes from underneath them, shivering in the soles of her feet. It’s darker here than she remembers it being in Neverland since she arrived. There’s a moon beyond the clouds, but even so it feels like the island is aware of them, trying to obscure the path and scare them into turning back. But if Neverland doesn’t want them here then it must be important, and she will find out why.

“This feels like the place we need to be,” Jane says, more loudly than necessary, because her throat wants to tighten around the words and keep her silent. “It’s just a little farther.”

She says it with confidence, even though she has no idea where they’re going. For once, the land seems to cooperate, and almost as soon as she says it, the tunnel of trees ends. And a cliff rises above them. Jane’s heart sinks. It’s almost like coming up against a sheer wall. Except here and there she sees roots and handholds. She’s never climbed a rock like this before, but it looks like something she can do.

Jane tilts her head back. The cliff is so tall she can’t see the top, and the smudgy darkness isn’t helping. Everything around them is cast in shades of brown, gray and dark blue. If she knows Peter at all, though, there wouldn’t be a cliff in Neverland if there wasn’t also some way to scale it, so there must be a way up. The only way to find out is to try.

“Stay close to me.” Jane doesn’t give herself time to doubt. She digs her fingers into a crack in the stone and hauls herself upward. She sweeps her foot across the rock face until she finds a foot hold, then she pushes herself up again, reaching for the next branch.