Page 2 of Inked in Emeralds (Inkbound #3)
On the search for the crocodile, they run into several roadblocks, including a sea serpent, Pan trying to “rescue” her and Moll, and whirlpools caused by Almira’s “bookworms” eating holes in their paper world.
All the while, Hook and Harm are very much enemies with a common goal here, but there is an unholy attraction building, and she hates herself for it.
Moll isn’t faring much better as she finds herself deeply depressed and missing her Lost Boys, despite forming an attachment to First Mate, Xander.
Just when they are questioning everything, Hook finally opens up about his past with Pan. Formerly he was one of The Lost Boys who managed to escape.
Hook knows the truth about Tinkerbell. Though she pretends to be a fairy, she’s actually a monster, feeding off The Lost Boys, who are drawn in by the magically charismatic Pan.
Hook also shares that the clock they’re looking for is imbued with the power to alter time and was linked to Pan by Bell, allowing them to use it to stop the aging process for him, keeping him eternally youthful and effectively immortal, like her.
As long as the clock isn’t ticking, neither Bell or Pan will age, and they can continue their reign of terror on orphans.
So far, any attempts to stop Tink from feeding on The Lost Boys have failed because Neverland is hidden by magic.
The only way to lure Pan out into the open again is to find the clock and get it running again.
Harmony is stunned and horrified by Hook’s tale, and Molly is even more so. A lover of children, she names Tinkerbell as her mortal enemy, and the two join Hook in a vow to stop her before they leave this place, no matter what.
They, along with The O’Donnellys, delve into The Weeping Fen and find Noru The Ticking Croc. The beast is a killing machine, but they manage to defeat it and get the clock. Their victory comes at a price as they lose one of Hook’s crew members and beloved friend, Trick-Eyed Tom.
They leave and head toward Neverland, sending Fetch on a mission to lure Pan and Tink away from the island so they can save the kids and set an ambush for the pair.
While they sail, Harm heads to Hook’s chambers to console him over the loss of his life-long friend.
When she gets there, he is in the grips of a nightmare.
When he is tossing and turning, she sees he is covered in tattoos.
Here we learn that Hook’s “gift” is that he not only absorbs the magic of those he kills, he also absorbs their memories.
It’s a curse that haunts him, and Harm realizes that once Hook completes his revenge against Pan and Tink, he has nothing else to live for, and it chills her to the bone.
After a romantic interlude, Fetch returns, and the game is afoot.
Their trap worked and Pan and Tink have left Neverland, leaving it wide open for Harm and her friends to get there and save the children.
Harmony can use her magical loupe and Whisper talents to tug at the filaments of magic within and get the clock ticking again to restart Pan’s aging process.
The pair are forced into a showdown for the first time as they all reunite in Neverland.
They are loaded for bear, attacking Hook and his crew with everything they have.
We see Pan aging, his growing panic, and the breadth of Tinkerbell’s true power (along with her true physical form, which is ghastly) for the first time.
During a hand-to-hand battle with Hook who is acting as a human shield for Harmony and the clock, Pan tells him he never wanted to hurt him or any of the other Lost Boys.
That’s why he lets them go once they get too weak to handle it.
Hook laughs bitterly and says, “Is that what she told you?” He lets Pan in on the truth; When Tinkerbell claims to bring the boys back to the mainland and free them, she really takes them to a cave and drains the rest of their life force before tossing them into a pile with the others.
How does he know?
Because he found the pile of bones himself years before, which was why he escaped in the first place.
Pan’s allegiance is tested here, and, for a moment, he wavers.
Tinkerbell flutters to his side and begs Pan to finish him before it’s too late.
In the end, Pan chooses love, sacrificing himself by forcing the last of his life force into Bell in hopes of giving her enough power to win the fight and live on.
A fierce battle ensues but, in the end, Harmony and her friends prevail, killing both Tink and Pan and saving the kids.
In the final chapter, they bury her and Pan together.
The Lost Boys are left sad, purposeless and confused about what comes next for them.
Hook offers to take them to the mainland and set them up with a place to live and a caretaker.
As they sail, Molly is distraught, but Harmony is too focused on her own distress to think too much of it as they are on their way to what’s known to the pirates as The Edge, which is where she will again ‘turn the page.’ She will have to say goodbye to Hook, and she’s so tired of goodbyes. ..
As they get closer, she goes to the other side of the ship and tries to keep her composure.
She catches sight of a distraught, weeping Molly from afar.
She realizes with sudden clarity that Molly’s press to get married all these years wasn’t just because she wanted to rise from poverty.
It was because she wanted to be a mother.
Harmony knows then what she has to do. As Molly disembarks to drop The Lost Boys at their new home, Harmony instructs Hook to set sail, leaving them, and Fetch, behind.
As they glide across the sea, she realizes that more holes have opened.
Almira’s worms are spreading, and time is short.
It’s only when Hook climbs the plank beside her that she realizes he intends to go with her.
She asks why and he explains that no pirate has ever sailed over The Edge, and he’s about to be the first to do it.
They turn the page and are flung into Oz. As they hit the ground, Harmony looks up and is stunned to find Prince Duncan Westerly along with palace falcon, Bonnie, standing over her.
The story continues…