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I turned to the harpy. “We need to go down there.”
She blinked once.
“Emilie needs us.”
She blinked again, then nodded.
“Ladon?” Emilie’s voice echoed in the hole.
I kept my attention on the harpy. “I’ll jump first and then, when it’s clear, I’ll yell for you to follow. Understand?”
She nodded again.
“You’re going to jump, aren’t you?” Emilie asked.
I grinned. “Yes, princess. We’re coming.”
Placing the torch on the ground, I readied myself to jump. I gave myself to the count of three, and then I was plunging into darkness, eyes and mouth pressed shut as I waited for the water to hit.
It felt like I’d been slammed into a block of ice. The water was freezing cold, something Emilie had failed to mention. I kicked my feet and reached up, gulping for air, when my head breached the surface.
Glancing around, I wiped the water from my face. After a few seconds, I found Emilie standing on a rocky shore with glowing moss covering the walls and ceiling. It would’ve been beautiful if our lives weren’t in danger.
I paddled until I reached a point where I could stand on the rocks. They were slippery and covered in algae that was also glowing, though not as bright as the walls up ahead.
Shaking the water from my hair and wringing my shirt, I called up to the harpy. “You can jump now!”
We waited. And waited. And waited.
I turned to Emilie. “Do you think I should’ve made her jump first?”
“I don’t think she would’ve liked you forcing her into it.”
We waited a few seconds more and then I heard fluttering. The beating of wings.
An orangish glow descended from the ceiling where we’d fallen, and the harpy burst through the opening with the torch in her hand as she floated gracefully down to us.
Not a drop of water on her.
I gritted my teeth. “I don’t suppose you could’ve mentioned that before I jumped into a lake of freezing water.”
Emilie elbowed me.
After they shared a grin at my expense, Emilie took the light and continued toward another tunnel. The one benefit of following the air stream was that we couldn’t ever be truly lost. We could never be thrown off track. So Emilie continued as our guide, feeling her way through the tunnels.
At last, the path began to open up. The ceiling arched upward, and the walls expanded. We no longer had to walk in a single file. My spirits lifted at the sight of white light ahead.
“Is that—”
“The exit. Yes, I think so.”
I stood next to her, and she beamed up at me. Those beautiful hazel eyes lit up, reflecting the glow from outside. I couldn’t help but smile back down at her, pressing a hand to her cheek. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed.
Hand in hand, we walked toward the exit together while the harpy followed in our footsteps. Emilie even laughed a little, both of us full to the brim with excitement. We were eager to see the outside world again. And eager to no longer be Reyna’s prisoners. Her playthings. Freedom was only footsteps away.
“Stop right there,” a burly voice commanded. His figure was dark and unrecognizable against the blinding light coming from behind him. I tried to shade my eyes so I could see, but it wasn’t effective.
Two more figures appeared at his side and together they moved toward us. Instinctively, I moved to protect Emilie, pulling her behind me while my free hand reached for my sword.
