The Professor whirls around and her eyes drill through me with fury. She marches up to me and shoves me, but she is smaller than I am, and I hardly budge. “Give me my son back now!” she screams.
I half expect her anger to rekindle the fear I felt as a child, but I feel oddly numb. “Once Gwen surrenders and you give me the cure, I will release both your daughter and your son,” I assure her.
“It could take years to find a cure!” she yells.
“Perhaps,” I say smugly. “But I suspect you’ll hurry the process along. We’re leaving tonight, and the Darlings are coming with me.”
She presses her lips together and steals a glance toward the other Lost Boys. “And what about them? What are your intentions with the other boys? They can’t help you.”
“That is not your concern,” I say, smiling as widely as I can. I nod to Smeeth. “Take her back to the lab to get her supplies. I want it packed and ready to go within the hour. We’ll meet in the palace courtyard before our departure.”
“Come along, Professor,” Smeeth says, gently taking her arm.
“I’ll never come with you!” She glares at me but allows Smeeth to guide her back inside Buckingham Palace.
“Captain, what do we do with the boys?” another Marauder asks.
I can’t wipe the grin off of my face as I watch the kids peer at me with frightened eyes. “Lock them up in the ballroom! And make sure they’re comfortable—they’ll be staying in Everland for a while.”
Joanna brushes away a stray tear from her face. “Gwen, I’m so sorry.”
I look at her, puzzled. This has nothing to do with anything she’s done. I’m to blame. “Joanna, you did nothing wrong. This isn’t your fault.”
“I didn’t mean what I said,” she says.
My chest aches to see her like this.
“You’re a great sister. The closest thing I have to a mother since, well, since Mum disappeared. I shouldn’t have been so cruel to you.” She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.
Hugging her as tight as my arms possibly can, I hold back the flood of tears that threaten to spill over. “You are the best sister, too,” I say. I wipe a tear from her cheek.
“Where’s Mikey?” she asks.
I rub my thumb over her cheek, wishing I could wipe away all evidence of the toll Everland and the war have taken on her. “He’s safe,” I say brightly, trying to hide the doubt brewing in my gut. I shouldn’t have left him. He should be here with Joanna and me. “Mikey’s fine!” I say again, more for myself than for my sister.
She sighs and the tension in her shoulders slips. “I was sure the Marauders were going to find him. I should have blown the candle out after you left. It’s my fault they came. I’m sorry, Gwen. I should’ve listened to you.”
My heart clenches and I avert my gaze from her. I am the one who was supposed to protect my sister, and yet she was kidnapped on my watch. If it wasn’t for Joanna’s quick thinking, Mikey would’ve been taken, too. “No, it’s my fault. You and Mikey were my responsibility, and I left you alone.”
Joanna frowns and wraps her arms around my waist. “Don’t blame yourself, Gwen. Without you, who knows where Mikey and I might have ended up? We could have been caught by Hook a long time ago.”
Her words do little to soothe the sick feeling in my stomach.
“Your hands look better,” I say, changing the subject. Taking Joanna’s hand in mine, I inspect her fingers. Although her nails are still black with decay, the sores are not as angry-looking as they were when I last saw her. They have been carefully cleaned and a thick ointment has been applied to them. “Who did this?” I ask, slipping her button bracelet onto her wrist.
“I don’t know,” Joanna says, shaking her head. “When I woke up, my hands already looked like this.”
Turning to Lily, I ask, “Did the Professor ever tell you her name?”
Fidgeting with the chain around her neck, Lily shakes her head. “I’ve always just called her Professor.”
“Not to interrupt you, guys,” Pickpocket says, leaning up against a counter with his arms folded, “but as noble as this Professor sounds, we are in Hook’s lab. That codfish could walk in at any time now. We have Bella and Joanna. I don’t care where these safer lands are, but I think we should gather the rest of the Lost Boys and head that way now before we get caught.”
“What about the Professor?” I say, my voice shaking. “We can’t just leave her here. She was waiting for me. We have to bring her with us!”
“Look, Gwen, we’ve done what we came here to do,” Pickpocket says. “And Doc seems to believe that antidote he gave Bella is the cure. We don’t need her.”
“But look at the children she has helped. And what about Jack?” I ask. “He could be here, too.”