The sun is sinking through the leaves of Pixie Hollow when Terence finally breaks. He’s been helping Tink fix her gadgets for hours, pretending everything’s fine — but when she mentions Peter’s name for the tenth time, the words just slip out.

“I wish you’d stop talking about him.”

Tink blinks, confused. “What? Why?”

Terence laughs — but there’s no humor in it. “Because every time you do, I feel smaller. Like I could disappear right in front of you, and you’d still be talking about him.”

Tink freezes. Her wings twitch. “Terence…”