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"Everyone's fine." She was even more cagey than before, but she pulled me to my feet and pushed me towards a door before I could follow up.
"How about a relaxing bath. Then, a good meal awaits you. After that, I'll explain everything to you."
She energetically pulled the door open, and we entered a bathroom more extensive than my bedroom at home. The walls were partly marble and partly painted. Painted Greek columns, vines, exotic flowers, and trees spanned a blue sky with cotton candy clouds and flying birds. A massive cast-iron bathtub on four golden feet stood in the middle of this rather colorful room. There was already steaming water, and the scent of lavender and vanilla floated through the bathroom with heat curls, which made me think of Aza's homemade bath salts. But the most phenomenal thing about the sight was the small waterfall that poured from the ceiling directly into the tub, which seemed big enough to hold a whole family.
"Go on before the water gets cold," Aza urged me. Although I found the constant excuses and her haste to get me into the water suspicious, I could only give in at that moment. I quickly undressed and slipped into the small pool with relish.
"There are towels on the chair next to the washbasin, and I'll get you something to wear," Aza murmured in the background before disappearing again.
After dinner, I resolved to not let her escape or evade me. To the left of the bathtub, a small window with shutters offered a view of the garden.
Italy. It was beautiful. At least, I assumed that we were in an Italian villa. Everything pointed to it, and since I had been there a few times in my youth and had lived in an old villa back then, I was very sure of my assumption.
Satisfied, I closed my eyes and dived down. There was an unreal silence under the water, and apart from my heartbeat, nothing could be heard. Or was there? I could make out the sounds of fighting in the distance. Gunshots and the clashing of swords. A whisper caught my attention.
"Damn it, Myrina! Fight back!" Was that Jack's voice? A groan followed his words and, shortly afterward, a dull thud.
"I'm here, Alex." Why did I sound so sad, downright desperate?
"I love you, Rina."
A scream, my scream, made the water around me tremble.
"No, Alex! Stay with me!" I tried with all my might to surface, but I couldn't move. I lay paralyzed in the bathtub.
Panic flooded through me. Slowly, this fog, this darkness, welled up inside me again. It wanted to drag me down into a depth from which no escape existed. Was this the place where I had been for the last few days? And what exactly had I just heard? Alex whispered a voice in my head. Something was very wrong here. But what? And what role was my fiancé playing in this?
I desperately tried to keep a cool head and push the darkness away from me, to no avail.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the water. As soon as I surfaced, I took a deep breath. My lungs were already on fire, and the air was like a gift of life finally stirring inside me again. The mists shrieked angrily and disappeared into the dark corners of my being.
"Are you all right, Myrina?" Aza's blue irises looked at me with concern. Dazed, I nodded. But then I remembered the snippets of conversation I had heard underwater.
"Aza, please promise me that you will answer my next question honestly," I pleaded, grabbing her hands and holding them tightly. "Please," I said emphatically. My friend tried to avoid my gaze.
"I ... I," she stammered uncertainly. But then she looked straight at me, and after a moment, she nodded silently.
Nervously, I took a deep breath to finally say what I felt hidden inside me.
"Is Alex dead?"
My voice trembled as I breathed those three words—a soft whisper, almost as if I hoped they would be less true if I didn't say them aloud.
Hoping that Aza would wave it off and tell me it was nonsense, I watched for the slightest change in her face.
She didn't need to answer my question. I could see it now. In her wide blue eyes, in the sadness that froze her features, and in her trembling lips that couldn't find the right words.
"Alex," I whispered as if in a trance. Tears ran silently down my cheeks. I had killed him. He had been there because of me. I saw that memory clearly before me—when Jack swung his sword, and Alex pushed himself between us. So much blood. He had lost so much blood.
And suddenly, it was there again—this darkness, the fog that wanted to envelop me and my memories. This time, I welcomed it.
Aza grabbed my face with both hands and forced me to look at her.
"Fight it, Myrina. You can be sad because of Alex but don't lose yourself in your grief again. Can you hear me?" she shouted angrily. Her voice was filled with fear, and her eyes were worried. "Hecate was able to save you last time, but she won't be able to do it a second time."
"Alex," I sobbed.
"Alex wouldn't want you to give up on yourself. You're strong and brave, and you have a purpose. Besides, so many other people, your family, your friends, need you." She energetically pulled me closer to her. "I need you, Myrina. Stay with me!"
