Their Vicious Darling Quotes

Here's something I've learned from seventeen years of living: there's nothing you can do to make someone love you.

Once you know you can lose something, it’s hard to dismiss the fear that you could lose it again.

In the light, I will treat you like a queen, but in the dark, you will be my whore.

To all the girls who were ever afraid to embrace their dark side.

I will pick Darling over my own wings because with her I am already flying. She is mine and I am hers.

I see tonight she’s chosen violence.

Ellie, my darling, please explain to me why the office has been flooded with calls about, and I quote"--she crooked her fingers in the air--"a vicious vampire on the loose, a crazy knife-wielding maniac, and oh, this one's my favorite--an assassin carrying a gun!" "I can explain." Sara folded her arms and tapped one fashionably clad foot. "Explain why you flashed not only a knife but a gun? I hope to God you didn't actually use either of them without authoriation because if the VPA gets ahold of it, we're screwed." Elena rubbed the back of her neck. "Exigent circumstances. He was trying to make me his bed buddy. I declined. He gave chase." Ranson chocked back what sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Why did you say no? It's been a dry spell of what, forever?" She threw him a dirty look before returning her gaze to Sara. "You know I'd never have considered using the gun otherwise." Sara heldup a hand. "How, exactly, did you 'decline' his offer?" "By slitting his throat.

Because I am Winnie fucking Darling and no man will steal my power.

Darling,” he says and tsk-tsks at me. “Good girls wait their turn.

Women fascinate me. They are almost always underestimated, which makes them potentially some of the most lethal opponents.

All I can say is, Brad totally wasn't worth it. He was SO not my type. I only hooked up with him because I was trying to see if popularity could be sexually transmitted. Turns out it can't.

All men are born with an ax in their hands, Darling. To take the measure of a man, you just have to pay attention to how he wields it.

I’m stronger than you think,” I tell him. “Even the mighty oak believes she is strong until a man comes along with an ax to chop her down.” “Is that you then? Do you have an ax?” “All men are born with an ax in their hands, Darling. To take the measure of a man, you just have to pay attention to how he wields it.

You find what you need when you need it.

We will all have her, but Vane might get a part of her that the rest of us can never see.

Apparently us Darlings have a thing for morally grey assholes with rock-hard abs and cunning good looks.

Because I will chase you,” he says, with a sinister bend to his voice. “And you don’t want to know what happens when I catch you.” The Darling visibly trembles. Good girl.

Women fascinate me. They are almost always underestimated, which makes them potentially some of the most lethal opponents. Like walking up to a jungle cat thinking you’re going to give its head a gentle little pat and instead it bites off your whole goddamn arm.

It is a mortal sentiment, taking things for granted, missing something that is lost, but I understand it more than ever.

Get up,” I tell her. She looks to Kas. “He can’t help you,” I say. “Get up, Darling.

I’ve missed the light and I’ve missed the warmth, but both pale in comparison to you, Darling.

Roarke didn't quite make it to Eve's office. He found her down the corridor, in front of one of the vending machines. She and the machine appeared to be in the middle of a vicious argument. "I put the proper credits in, you blood-sucking, money-grubbing son of a bitch." Eve punctuated this by slamming her fist where the machine's heart would be, if it had one. ANY ATTEMPT TO VANDALIZE, DEFACE, OR DAMAGE THIS UNIT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. The machine spoke in a prissy, singsong voice Roarke was certain was sending his wife's blood pressure through the roof. THIS UNIT IS EQUIPPED WITH SCANEYE, AND HAS RECORDED YOUR BADGE NUMBER. DALLAS, LIEUTENANT EVE. PLEASE INSERT PROPER CREDIT, IN COIN OR CREDIT CODE, FOR YOUR SELECTION. AND REFRAIN FROM ATTEMPTING TO VANDALIZE, DEFACE, OR DAMAGE THIS UNIT. "Okay, I'll stop attempting to vandalize, deface, or damage you, you electronic street thief. I'll just do it." She swung back her right foot, which Roarke had cause to know could deliver a paralyzing kick from a standing position. But before she could follow through he stepped up and nudged her off balance. "Please, allow me, Lieutenant." "Don't put any more credits in that thieving bastard," she began, then hissed when Roarke did just that. "Candy bar, I assume. Did you have any lunch?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know it's just going to keep stealing if people like you pander to it." "Eve, darling, it's a machine. It does not think." "Ever hear of artificial intelligence, ace?" "Not in a vending machine that dispenses chocolate bars.

I yank the Darling away and toss her into Vane’s arms. “Hey!” she yells.

I have never actually wanted anything. It’s hard to want when you can barely know the shape of need.

Holt is just one year younger than Giselle, but he thinks he’s the one in charge because he’s a man. Clearly Holt knows nothing about the might of women.

Fucking a Darling has nothing to do with getting inside her head. It’s the inherited memories I need. Not the pretty little Darling cunt.

Pretty little Darling whore,” he says. “Trying to pretend she’s bigger than she is.” “Vicious shadow of death,” I say, “trying to pretend like this is all beneath him.

Darling? Do you doubt me?” he repeats, just as something soft slithers up my legs. I look down to see a vine twining around my calves.

Clearly Holt knows nothing about the might of women.

But it means I need to hold them both together, because without one, I will lose the other and without both...

It’s hard to want when you can barely know the shape of need.

To love and be loved. To cling to something, not because you are afraid, but because you are happy.

Darling, did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine you’d get fucked by four men at once?” Her answer is breathy but excited. “It was on my bucket list.

don’t like to watch a Darling cry, but I love to watch them bleed.

can handle a weeping Darling without trying to fuck her.

And the whole time, I can’t help but imagine it’s the Darling’s lips wrapped around my cock. Maybe she knows what she’s doing after all.

When she was a student at Wetherly, girls were taught how to become good wives. Now we're being taught how to become our own husbands.

That makes no sense. If she loved you—” “She may have loved me,” he says, “but she hated Darlings more.” “So?” “So…I just happened to love one. I was in love with the original Darling.

Perhaps that’s why, when she’s in my arms, I feel like I’ve come home. I will never tell her that. I will not tell a soul. I don’t have weaknesses and certainly not pretty little Darling girls.

Because if I am caught in the sunlight, I will turn to ash. It takes me a few seconds to realize that I no longer have to worry about the light. I have my shadow. Neverland is mine again and I am hers.

She smiles at me, pretty little Darling girl. I want to drive her to the floor and shove my dick in her mouth, watch her gag on it. I am not a nice man. I am a worse king. I can pretend though, for now.

Don’t fuck the Darlings,” I say, just to be sure he hears me. It’s the only rule we have. We don’t fuck the Darlings because fucking Darlings is what got us into this mess. We don’t fuck the Darlings. We just break them.

Yes.” I moan and clutch tighter at Vane. “Fuck yes.” I hitch my legs higher on his hips and hook my ankles behind him so I can grind against his pelvis as they fuck me together and carry us higher into the dark twilight sky.

A hazard of being a Darling, I suppose.” She tries to smile up at me, but it’s forced. “Who did them?” The thought of someone carving her flesh makes me angrier than it should. I shouldn’t fucking care. I don’t care. Yes, you fucking do.

Even the mighty oak believes she is strong until a man comes along with an ax to chop her down.” “Is that you then? Do you have an ax?” “All men are born with an ax in their hands, Darling. To take the measure of a man, you just have to pay attention to how he wields it.

like it.” I step into her and trail a finger down her cheek. She exhales in an excited gasp. “How many times do you think we can make her come? Three? Five? Ten?” “There’s only one way to find out,” Kas says. “Are you ready, Darling? When we’re done with you, you’ll be begging us to stop.

I like it.” I step into her and trail a finger down her cheek. She exhales in an excited gasp. “How many times do you think we can make her come? Three? Five? Ten?” “There’s only one way to find out,” Kas says. “Are you ready, Darling? When we’re done with you, you’ll be begging us to stop.

Darling?” Vane’s voice is hoarse above me. “You still with me?” My response is thick and muzzy. “I think so.” He lays me down on a bed. The room is dark and warm and it smells like him, like dark, summer nights and crushed amber. He starts to pull away but I take a fistful of his shirt. “Don’t go.

Fuck it,” he says and spins us around, sitting himself on the edge of the bed, me on his lap. He has himself out before I can take a breath and then he’s tearing my panties aside and shoving into me. “Bounce on my cock, Darling,” he orders and the triumph nearly escapes me in a high-pitched squeal.

What happened?” he asks. “Pan caught us and told me to keep fucking her. Honestly, I think the Darling liked it.” My cock twitches, remembering the feel of her tight little pussy. I’ve never given in to a Darling before, as much as I’ve wanted to. I like fucking. I like fucking what I shouldn’t even more.

You’re home now,” I tell her. “Thank you for helping me.” I hold out my hand for the box. She tucks it beneath her arm. “Darling,” I say, not bothering to hide the warning from my voice. “Take me back with you.” “What?” “Take me back.” “Why?” She looks around the carnage and frowns. “There’s more than just the shadow,” she says.

I beg your pardon, Mrs. Graham - but you get on too fast. I have not yet said that a boy should be taught to rush into the snares of life, - or even wilfully to seek temptation for the sake of exercising his virtue by overcoming it; - I only say that it is better to arm and strengthen your hero, than to disarm and enfeeble the foe; - and if you were to rear an oak sapling in a hothouse, tending it carefully night and day, and shielding it from every breath of wind, you could not expect it to become a hardy tree, like that which has grown up on the mountain-side, exposed to all the action of the elements, and not even sheltered from the shock of the tempest.' 'Granted; - but would you use the same argument with regard to a girl?' 'Certainly not.' 'No; you would have her to be tenderly and delicately nurtured, like a hot-house plant - taught to cling to others for direction and support, and guarded, as much as possible, from the very knowledge of evil. But will you be so good as to inform me why you make this distinction? Is it that you think she has no virtue?' 'Assuredly not.' 'Well, but you affirm that virtue is only elicited by temptation; - and you think that a woman cannot be too little exposed to temptation, or too little acquainted with vice, or anything connected therewith. It must be either that you think she is essentially so vicious, or so feeble-minded, that she cannot withstand temptation, - and though she may be pure and innocent as long as she is kept in ignorance and restraint, yet, being destitute of real virtue, to teach her how to sin is at once to make her a sinner, and the greater her knowledge, the wider her liberty, the deeper will be her depravity, - whereas, in the nobler sex, there is a natural tendency to goodness, guarded by a superior fortitude, which, the more it is exercised by trials and dangers, is only the further developed - ' 'Heaven forbid that I should think so!' I interrupted her at last." 'Well, then, it must be that you think they are both weak and prone to err, and the slightest error, the merest shadow of pollution, will ruin the one, while the character of the other will be strengthened and embellished - his education properly finished by a little practical acquaintance with forbidden things. Such experience, to him (to use a trite simile), will be like the storm to the oak, which, though it may scatter the leaves, and snap the smaller branches, serves but to rivet the roots, and to harden and condense the fibres of the tree. You would have us encourage our sons to prove all things by their own experience, while our daughters must not even profit by the experience of others. Now I would have both so to benefit by the experience of others, and the precepts of a higher authority, that they should know beforehand to refuse the evil and choose the good, and require no experimental proofs to teach them the evil of transgression. I would not send a poor girl into the world, unarmed against her foes, and ignorant of the snares that beset her path; nor would I watch and guard her, till, deprived of self-respect and self-reliance, she lost the power or the will to watch and guard herself; - and as for my son - if I thought he would grow up to be what you call a man of the world - one that has "seen life," and glories in his experience, even though he should so far profit by it as to sober down, at length, into a useful and respected member of society - I would rather that he died to-morrow! - rather a thousand times!' she earnestly repeated, pressing her darling to her side and kissing his forehead with intense affection. He had already left his new companion, and been standing for some time beside his mother's knee, looking up into her face, and listening in silent wonder to her incomprehensible discourse. Anne Bronte, "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" (24,25)

Vane!” I yell. He turns just slightly, the line of his jaw meeting the rise of his shoulder. “You can have me any way you need me.” “Darling,” Kas says on a hiss. “The fuck are you doing?” I edge closer, keeping my arms out to prove I mean him no harm. Vane drops Pan and the darkness immediately recedes and Pan hunches over, hand clutched at his chest.

A few weeks ago I had a dream. I dreamed I was back at the house, in the red room, reading my microeconomics textbook. Maddy outside playing with Hope, and Agnes was preparing dinner. It was just like old times. I was elated. I knew all along that they weren't really dead. It was all just a terrible mistake. Maddy joined me in the library. Strangely, she didn't smell like anything. Not her usual crème brulee or green apples or candy. That's when I realized she was dead, though I didn't know I was dreaming. She apologized for everything and then proceeded to explain why things had turned out the way they had. Her story made complete sense. It was what I needed to hear. Finally I had an answer. Finally I could let go. And then she vanished When I woke up, in a pool of sweat, I couldn't remember a thing Maddy had said.

The magic will take care of it for us.” She snorts. “You just have to believe,” Kas says and then he jumps. “Oh my god,” she says on a hiccupping breath. “I can’t.” “You must.” “Why?” Bash jumps next. The wind switches directions and a lock of hair shoots across Darling’s face. I bend down to tuck it behind her ear. “I’ve got you. All right?” I swear I can hear her heart pounding over the pounding of the waves. “All right. Fine.

Bash rocks his hips forward as he drives me down on him, the head of his shaft hitting the back of my throat. I gag. He pulls out and I suck in a deep breath. Pan says behind me, “Don’t go easy on her, Bash. She wanted it, make her take it.” “Who am I to deny what the king demands?” Bash nudges me back, then rises to his feet. He slaps me in the face with his cock and I gasp in surprise. “Don’t stop, Darling. Go on.” He’s smiling at me, amber eyes bright.

The twins are throwing a party,” Vane says. “And the Darling is drunk.” I lurch upright, a foreign emotion burning in my chest. “The fuck.” “I know. That’s what I said.” “Why didn’t you stop them? Or her for that matter?” “I’m not her babysitter.” “Vane, for fuck’s sake.” I toss the sheet back as he flicks on the bedside lamp and the light immediately makes my vision burn. I stumble to the corner to fetch my clothes. I’m in a rush to get upstairs, but there is still sunlight in the air. I can feel it.

Oh my god. “Don’t stop, Darling,” he orders. I swirl my fingers around my clit, nerves blinking alive. Pan pulls his fingers out of me and then shoves them into my mouth. My eyes pop open. I can taste the sweetness of my juices and the tang of cum. “Clean them off.” I run my tongue down the length of his fingers as he commands. His eyes narrow. “What’s that taste like?” he asks, then sets his jaw hard as he waits for me to answer. “I…I don’t know.” “Trouble,” he tells me. “Filthy little Darling whore.

At any moment, he could turn that dark power on me, the terror. His mouth still on my nipple, he turns up to me. “Look at me,” he orders. His dark hair hangs over his forehead and his violet eye is bright. The air gets lodged in my throat as the terror slithers in and his face turns sharp. Before I know what’s happening, he has me pinned on the floor, his entire body vibrating with barely restrained rage. “Listen to me very carefully, Darling.” His teeth grind together. “You do not want to fuck with me.

I’ve had so much sex I can’t count the times, but I’ve never been in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing. Vane’s fingers rub at my clit and I think he might be punishing me more with pleasure than with pain. I pant out against the counter. He shifts his grip on me and my panties slide over my heat and the sensation makes me sag against the counter. More. More. But suddenly he’s gone. And this time I do hit the floor. “Darling,” Bash says as he darts around the counter to crouch beside me. “I’m okay.

Don’t mention it, Darling. After the way your pussy treated me last night, it’s the least I can do.” For some reason, it’s not the act that made me blush but the reminder of it in the daylight. Will we ever do that again? All of us? I want to. I want to very badly and just the thought of it happening again has my nipples pebbling beneath my borrowed clothes and a thrill sinking between my thighs. I haven’t had sex like that in, well, ever, and I’ve had a lot of sex in a very short amount of time, all things considered.

Vane’s grip on my neck turns punishing. “You wouldn’t last ten minutes with me,” he says. “Okay, she gets it,” Bash says. “Does she? Do you, Darling?” Heat sinks to my clit and instinctively, I arch my back, pushing my ass into him. His hand snakes around to my front and covers my mound. My knees buckle, but Vane’s grip is sure and he’s not letting me go down. My brain is saying I need to get out of this, find safety, but my body is saying more, more, more. I haven’t felt this way in a long time. Like I am firmly in my body. And enjoying every second of it.

Spread her wider,” Pan orders and Vane’s grip sinks lower on my ass so he can spread me open. Pan wraps his hand around my throat and yanks my head back. “Come for us, Darling. Your king commands it.” I shift forward more and find just the right spot to grind my clit against Vane. The pressure builds slower this time. It is that slow ascent of a roller coaster. The pleasure is rising, rising. I pant out a breath, squeeze my eyes shut as Pan and Vane stretch me around their cocks. “Go on, Win,” Vane says with a rumble that reverberates through his chest. “Soak our cocks.

And Kas hits my clit just right, forcing the orgasm out of me. I slam down on his hand and he shoves up inside of me. Kas holds me fast against his chest as the ropes creak and the bindings on my wrist bite against my flesh. The orgasm pounds through every hollow, burning through every nerve as my own pleasure drenches me and Kas. “Fuck yeah,” Kas says. “Fuck, she’s clenching so tight around me.” “Our little Darling likes being used.” Bash angles me to the side, his mouth coming to my ear. “You hear that, Darling?” Kas drags his fingers out of me, then shoves back in, making a loud wet noise. “That’s the sound of your defeat.

A typical Andarion male, Hauk belonged to the most brutal of all known races. One that valued physical beauty only second to physical strength. With long black hair that he wore in tiny braids, his features were perfect and sharp. His white irises were ringed by a band of blood red. But Nykyrian didn’t care what he looked like. Hauk was raw, savage strength and a brilliant techspert. Darling, on the other hand, looked almost frail in comparison. Where Hauk was built solid and huge like a tree, Darling was lean and finely boned. His straight red hair fell across the left side of his face, covering a vicious scar that they never talked about.

When I return to the loft, my dear brother has Darling pressed to the trunk of the Never Tree. She’s trembling beneath him, occupied by his lips. So when I snatch her wrist and double loop the rope around her, it catches her off guard. A cute little breath hiccups past her lips. I am an experienced knotter and I have both arms tied to the tree in less than thirty seconds. Kas and I step back to admire my handy work. I’ve used a single column tie on both her wrists and lashed her to low hanging branches of the Never Tree. They are good, basic knots. Easy to undo. Hard to get out of. “Look at our Darling,” I tell my brother. “Trussed up like the naughty little girl she is.

You want us, Darling, you have us, but you follow my rules. Do you understand?” I take in several slow, measured breaths. “Say it, Darling.” “Yes. Fine. I’ll follow your rules.” “If you’re hungry for cock, you have four to choose from. Four and no more.” He hooks his hands around my thighs and yanks my ass to the edge of the chair. “If I catch you touching anyone else, I will not be happy.” With my panties still askew, he nestles into my opening. “Tell me you understand.” “I understand.” He fills me up and I exhale quickly. His thrusting tempo shifts. Faster. Harder. He bends my legs up and pounds into me and I’m so wet and he’s so hard, we make a loud squelching sound as we fuck.

The end of his vicious rant ended in a satisfying squawk as Apollo backhanded him. The other man staggered and fell on his arse. “No, don’t hurt him!” Lily cried, and Apollo hated to think she cared for this man. “I won’t,” he assured her in a level tone. He stared at the sputtering rogue for a moment and made up his mind. “But neither will I… stand by while he… abuses you.” So saying, he picked up the man and tossed him over his shoulder. “Wait here.” The man made a sort of moan and Apollo hoped he wouldn’t toss his accounts down his back. He’d bathed and changed into a fairly clean shirt before coming to see Lily. Pivoting, he marched toward the dock, the man still over his shoulder. “Caliban!” He ignored her calls. He didn’t really care who this ass was—as long as he was nowhere near Lily or Indio.

A moan escapes my raw throat as the pressure at my clit builds and builds. I wiggle beneath him like a cat in heat trying to get any kind of friction against my swollen nub. Pan knows exactly what I’m doing. He reaches around to cup me and then stops, his cock buried inside of me. I gasp out, choke on the breath. “Do you want to come, Darling?” he asks, his voice rough at my ear. “Yes,” I say, barely a word at all. “Beg for it.” “What?” “Beg for it, Darling.” I squeeze my eyes shut, try to come back to my body. I think my soul has left and is floating off to the stars. I haven’t felt this awake in…ever. “Please,” I say and suck in another breath. “Please can I come?” His fingers shift against me, finding that swollen heat. I cry out, jolt beneath him. He goes still again, pulls his cock out a fraction, then pushes forward slowly, teasingly. I’m practically vibrating against the table. “Please, Pan. Oh god.” “Go on then,” he says. “Come for me while the Lost Boys watch.

Can I?” Bash asks. Peter Pan drops into a chair and nods his consent. Bash gets behind me, still bent over the table. He’s bare for me in seconds and nestles into my heat. “Little Darling whore, such a filthy little mess.” I shiver beneath his words. “Brother,” he says. “Get over here.” Kas hesitates and I lift off the table to look down the length of it at him. There is something dark in his eyes. A hunger he doesn’t want to satiate. Kas is the nice one, but I don’t think he’s nice enough to deny what he wants to take. He gets up, kicks a chair aside and comes to the edge of the table by my face. “Fuck yeah,” Bash says as he pushes into me. “Wrap those pretty little lips around my brother’s cock.” Kas doesn’t wait. Now that he’s made his decision, he’s ready to act on it. He takes a length of my hair, wraps it around his fist and guides my mouth over his length. He fills me up as Bash starts pumping into me. My heart races in my ears and thuds heavily in my chest. Kas fucks my mouth roughly, hitting the back of my throat. I gasp, choking on him, and Bash tightens his grip on my hips. “Take it all, Darling. Be a good girl.” Holy shit. Fuck, this is hot. Tears fill my eyes as the twins fill me up, fucking me in both holes, relentlessly, mercilessly. And as they do, I catch sight of Peter Pan in the shadows, watching me get fucked with a look on his face that I think is satisfaction. And out of all of it tonight, that is what makes me feel most powerful. I am so fucking alive. Bash thrusts harder, faster. Kas pumps into my mouth, groaning deep in his chest. “You ready to fill her up, brother?” Bash says.

Everything is forever on Neverland but all of it is so easily lost.

Women fascinate me. They are almost always underestimated, which makes them potentially some of the most lethal opponents

Today is my 18th birthday and every Darling woman that has come before me has disappeared on this day.

I might be fooling myself,” he says, his eyes hooded, his voice hoarse. “Perhaps with you, Darling, there is only desperation.

If Amara were adept at reading through her lust, she would know I was lying. I am pissed at my brother, yes. He chose Peter Pan over me. But would I betray him to the royal family? Never. Never in a hundred years.

I have not fucked Holt. Holt hates my fucking guts. Sometimes I fantasize about liberating him from his.

I will pick her over Tilly and the fae court. I will pick Darling over my own wings because with her I am already flying. She is mine and I am hers.

Peter Pan is so old no one remembers when he first appeared. And yet we still hunger for permanence and substance, something solid beneath our feet that we can call our own. Something we can belong to. The word love comes to mind. To love and be loved. To cling to something, not because you are afraid, but because you are happy.

I will pick Darling over my own wings because with her I am already flying.

They’d been so impossible and viciously thorned for months, and now they felt like the silk tie of Kim’s summer dressing gown, the knots slithering apart at a touch.

I am you and you are me and I embrace you and every dark thread of you.

Somehow, the myth of Peter Pan has fallen in love with a Darling girl and his three asshole friends.

I’ve come to realize, Smee,” I say, “that I am endlessly searching for something that I don’t think I will ever find.

Pride is most everyone’s greatest weakness. That and fucking. I’ve watched grown men lose their minds over a hole.

Being with Priest was like adopting a wild animal. I could try to domesticate him, train him, even love him, but at the end of the day, he was still a wild animal with vicious teeth and claws. It was in his nature to use them. And it was in mine, I found, to let him.

Love is too healthy of a word for what we have, darling. Love is for people who aren't like us.

Let’s play a game, Darling,” Pan says. “If you can guess whose hands, whose lips are on you, you get a reward. Guess wrong and you get a punishment

Open your mouth, Darling.” Pan’s thumb coaxes at my chin. “Let me see you choke on cock while I fuck you in the ass.

Peter Pan has two weaknesses,” the queen says. “Vane and his Darling.

For decades, Green activists have been attacking our sources of energy. Every single one has been demonized. Coal, which liberated mankind from the Malthusian trap, gave us manufacturing, railroads, and steamships; more than doubled our life expectancy; and saved almost all of us from having to be dirt farmers. Oil, which substantially replaced coal in the 20th century, made airplanes and the private automobile possible, along with the rest of the modern world. And, starting in the 1960s and ’70s, hydropower, nuclear fission, and even natural gas have come under the guns of the activists. The currently fashionable “renewables,” such as wind and solar power, have largely escaped the attacks. Battery-powered electric cars are the darlings of the Greens. But this is because they are simply not capable of providing anywhere near the energy or range that civilization depends on at a price it can afford. Should any of these, or other new forms of energy, prove actually usable on a large scale, they would be attacked just as viciously as fracking for natural gas, which cuts CO2 emissions in half, and nuclear power, which would eliminate them entirely.

I wonder what face he would make if I cut off his fingers and jammed them up his ass.

I am the villain here.

He snorts. “If begging is required, I’ll fucking die.

that I am endlessly searching for something that I don’t think I will ever find.

When I turn back to the Darling, a heart in my hand, her eyes are full of tears. Good.

Vane yanks me upright, turns me around. My ass presses against the edge of the table, digging into my flesh. There is no hint of emotion on Vane’s cruelly gorgeous face and it’s impossible to read his thoughts in those mismatched eyes. “Open up, Darling,” he orders. I don’t know where this is going, but no one is stepping in and curiosity gets the better of me.

Winnie screams. Pan grits his teeth. The light builds as our sister digs in and roots around inside the Darling’s head.

Who had glowing skin and wings and looked like Tilly?” His face darkens. “Why?” There is a noticeable growl in the back of his throat. “Just tell me.” “Tink,” Vane answers. “It was Tinker Bell.” I look at him over his shoulder. “What happened to her?” “I killed her,” Pan says. He sighs and rubs at his eyes. “What is this about? I’m very tired, Darling.” “This is about your shadow.” That gets his attention.

It might have been a Darling that took my shadow, but it was Tink who masterminded the entire thing with the help of one of the Lost Boys. With Tootles.” “Tootles.” What an odd name. “Why would Tink do that?” “Because Tinker Bell was in love with Peter,” Vane answers.

In the dream, Tinker Bell said, “…he’ll never have his Darling back.” “She killed the original Darling,” I say. Peter exhales beside me. “So you killed her.” “I wasn’t thinking straight,” he admits. “Sometimes I act before I think. Once Tink and the original Darling were dead, it made it much harder to track down my shadow. But memories can be inherited in blood and the original Darling had a little sister. It was improbable, but I’d hoped that any sort of knowledge might have been passed down through her lineage.” The little girl in the closet. She must have been the sister. “So that’s why you take us, trying to find any shred of information about your shadow.” He nods. “I think I know where it is.” He looks over at me, his hair mussed with sleep, but his eyes wide with anticipation. “Tell me.” “In my great-grandmother Wendy’s trunk.