“Him?” I ask.
Lily folds her arms. “You’re concerned about Pete.”
My breath catches, caught between denial and truth. I drop my gaze. She’s right, but it’s more than just that. I’ll never know if he makes it out alive.
As if reading my mind, she places a soft hand on my arm. “They’ll be okay. Those boys are the bravest I have met. Smart, too.”
The simple gesture and the confident tone in her voice curbs the edge of my anxiety. Taking a final glance up at the steel door, I nod. “You’re right. We stick to the plan.”
Lily takes my hand into hers, intertwining her gloved fingers with mine. She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Come on. Let’s rescue your family.”
“So how are we getting into the palace courtyard?” I ask.
“You’re probably not going to like this plan.” Bella smiles, her complexion glowing with a new healthy radiance she did not have earlier. She links her arm in mine. “It’s time for the Lost Girl to learn how to fly.”
Lily looks at me with unblinking, wide eyes. “Are you sure about this? If Hook captures you, we can’t come back to rescue you. There are too many children’s lives at risk to stall our departure.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m going to give him exactly what he wants,” I say, articulating each word.
Bella shakes her head. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Soon enough, we are trudging through murky water in a dark tunnel. The smell of damp dirt fills the narrow passage as I duck beneath a low ceiling. The intertwined tree roots give the illusion of lace. Lily takes the lead while I follow, Bella close behind me. Water seeps into my leather boots. Unlike the carefully engineered royal tunnels, the muddy channel feels more like an underground animal burrow than a passageway. I lumber on, trying to keep myself upright while my shoes sink into the muck.
Lily, on the other hand, travels with ease, her long, dark hair swinging behind her. She marches forward, each step sure and steady. Her slender hands grip the skirt of her sari, holding it above the waterline. The metal chain around her waist tinkles in the cavern like the ringing of miniature bells.
Thunder rumbles ahead. A rusty old ladder leaning against a rocky alcove appears from the shadowed darkness; a small hole above it opens to a stormy sky. The flash of lightning illuminates the passage for a moment before plunging us into the dim light of Lily’s lantern.
“This leads into the gardens behind the palace. Follow the tree line toward the building,” Lily shouts over the crash of thunder. “It will take you to the northwest corner.”
“What about you?” I ask, my eyes fixed on hers.
Frowning, Lily nods. “I’ll be taking a nearby passageway just to the west. It ends several meters from the Jolly Roger. I’ll sneak aboard and prepare it for departure. When Pete, the Lost Boys, Bella, and your family arrive, we’ll leave for Northumberland.”
Pete, Lost Boys, Bella, and my family. No mention of me. She knows my plan, my secret. I’m sure of it. My chest wells with gratitude as she smiles weakly at me, acknowledging the unspoken words between us.
I nod. “So how are we getting inside to the courtyard?”
Another bolt streaks the sky, lighting Bella’s face. “That’s where I come in. We’re scaling the walls.”
My eyes dart toward Lily. “Scaling the walls? Of the palace?” I ask in disbelief.
“It’s the only way in without drawing the attention of the guards,” Lily says. “There are soldiers guarding every entrance.”
I peer up at the darkness beyond the opening. Lightning rakes across the midnight sky.
“The only trouble will be traveling in the darkness,” Lily says. “They’ll spot you right away with a lamp. With the cloud cover it’ll be hard to scale the wall without the moonlight.”
The corners of Bella’s mouth turn up and her blue eyes sparkle in the lamplight. “And that’s why you need me here. How do you think I travel by the rooftops at night? Lily, can you dim the lantern?”
Lily turns the brass knob, and the hiss of gas quiets until only a small flame remains. Bella’s face is shadowed in the dark, but even in the minimal light, I can see her chin tilted up toward the opening in the ceiling. Another roll of thunder rumbles the earth.
“Watch this,” Bella says. She pulls something from her pocket and blows a breath across the palm of her hand. Lightning brightens the cavern again. This time the air is filled with a metallic glitter, sparkling like the brilliant gold rays of a sunrise on a clear morning. The fine powder shimmers and floats to the ground.
“Gold dust,” Lily says, surprised.
“Pixie dust,” I correct.
Lily turns the lanterns back up and the floor sparkles in the dust’s luminescence.