Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Author:Lisa Maxwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

The boy warmed his hands so no one would see how they trembled on his gun. His brother never shook before battle—just closed his eyes briefly and then faced whatever was to come. As though his brother had found a way to accept the pointlessness and the waste of the lie they found themselves trapped in. And the boy hated his brother for it, just a little, the way that only brothers can hate. . . .

Chapter 22

EVEN THOUGH HE SPEAKS TO the captain, Pan’s pale blue eyes are fixed on me. “Gwendolyn, my dear, perhaps you’d be so kind as to step aside?”

The Captain’s sword is drawn, and in a blink he’s in front of me, blocking me from going to Pan.

“I’ll not let you have her again,” the Captain growls.

Pan gives him a bored look. “Then again I shall have to remind you, the choice is not yours to make.”

The Captain steps forward, his blade at the ready. “I’ve heard you’ve been spinning your tales, Peter,” he says, snapping out the syllables of the name with a mocking cadence.

“Don’t, boy,” Pan warns, his voice dangerous.

“Still playing at your fairy tales, I see,” the Captain taunts as he lunges with a swift step forward. Pan parries easily, though, avoiding his dagger without much effort at all.

“I don’t play at anything. You know that well enough.”

“Aye,” the Captain says, pushing me back toward the bed, away from the fighting, as he circles left. “I know a great many things about you. I wonder, though, if you’ve bothered to tell Gwendolyn your secrets. Or if you’ve just tempted her with your many lies.”

Pan follows the Captain’s movements easily. “I’ve no need of lies.” Pan swipes savagely, and again the Captain meets him, their blades crossed, face-to-face. “Gwendolyn chose me, Rowan. She’ll choose me again.” He pushes the Captain back viciously. “And again.”

“And if she doesn’t?” The Captain’s face has gone murderous, but his voice remains calm as he rights himself, ready for Pan’s next move. “Will you leave her to die like you leave the rest that cease to be of use to you?”

“Why wouldn’t she choose me?” Pan drawls, circling farther to the right. “I saved her from the likes of you, didn’t I? And I can give her anything she wants.”

“Not anything, apparently,” the Captain says, baring his teeth. “You haven’t taken her back to her world, have you?” he asks, following Pan’s movement and preparing for the next attack. “Does she know that you could?”

I’m moving before I can think better of it, before the Captain can stop me. “What’s he talking about?” I ask Pan as I step in front of the Captain, between the two of them.

Pan shrugs. “They’re the desperate words of a desperate man, Gwendolyn. You saw with your own eyes who the Dark Ones work for, did you not?”

When I turn back to the Captain for some explanation, I see his expression has gone stony. Before he can say anything, Pan grabs my arm and pulls me safely behind him.

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