Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’s known ever since she stood at her window and looked out at the night. The part of her mind standing behind a locked door was still hers, and she knew, even though Peter tried to rip the knowledge away. She filled her pockets with everything she needs—needle and scissors and thread. It’s the first thing that ever made her useful to Peter, and now she will finally stitch him whole.

Peter shivers in her grasp. Wendy lets go of his ear, taking his shoulders and turning him so she can see his face. He isn’t crying, but his eyes are wide.

“You can’t,” he says again.

“I can, and I will. Look.” They’ve arrived; she turns him again, making him face the thing in the sloping bowl of stone.

And she makes herself look as well.

The shadow creature is smaller than Wendy remembers. Still, when it snorts the ground shivers, and she has to force herself not to flinch away. The air around the monster shimmers with heat. Its edges are ragged and tattered, hard to see.

Wendy looks to Tiger Lily. Her friend’s expression is difficult to read. The cavern’s ruddy glow traces the seams of Tiger Lily’s face, threading her skin with fire. If she’s afraid, it doesn’t show in her eyes.

Wendy keeps her hands on Peter’s shoulders, holding him still, not allowing him to look away. He stares at the creature, and Wendy tries to guess what he’s thinking. How long has it been? Does he still recognize his shadow? Does it recognize him?

“You don’t have to stay.” Wendy speaks to Tiger Lily without looking away from the creature, mesmerized.

Is she being cowardly? If she’s wrong, if this kills Peter, or makes him into a monster entire, will Tiger Lily go with him? What about Neverland? Wendy’s stomach tightens, fear and guilt knotting inside her. In Tiger Lily’s cave, she swore she would choose Jane if it came to it, and she will not back down. But now, with Tiger Lily at her side, staring down Peter’s shadow, something cracks inside her.

Wendy sees them as girls again, alone among a sea of boys. Running, splashing each other in the stream, climbing, staging their own private wars and proving themselves every bit as fierce and adventurous as Peter and his small army. Telling Tiger Lily stories of London. Lying together in the grass and naming the stars.