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Up ahead, the ceiling came down low, with only inches between the stone and the water. Mitron stopped near the gap to hover. "Are you sure you want to continue this way? You'll need to swim."
Ianora only had to consider the fate waiting for her if she went back to her bedroom to remember that she was not ready to give up yet. She had to be sure that there was no other way out before she made her decision. If she left this tunnel unexplored to the farthest point she could go, she would be giving up far too soon.
"I'm a good swimmer, and vampires don't need as much air as humans do," Ianora said. "I should be fine."
"If you say so. Follow me."
Mitron fell into the water, her ghostly form not even disturbing the surface. Ianora took a deep breath and dove into the water after her before she could change her mind.
The chill quickly numbed her skin, and the deeper she went, the weight of the water pressed down on her from all sides. She had to fight to keep moving forward, following the subtle glow of Mitron's ghostly form. Finally, she saw another light ahead of her, a brighter one, and she burst through the water’s surface, gasping for air.
Floating on the surface was a small platform, just large enough for her to stand on. Ianora clung to the edge of it as she caught her breath. The light came from a lantern hanging on a hook just out of reach.
Ianora could see now that the platform was attached to a chain, which disappeared into the darkness below her. There must be another way down, but she could not see it from where she floated.
She hesitated for a moment before finally climbing onto the platform and reaching for the lantern. There had to be some magic to the fire to have any light in this forsaken place.
The lantern cast a weak light over the scene before her, and Ianora's heart sank when she saw that the tunnel beyond opened into a vast underground lake, and there was no sign of an exit anywhere. She would have to swim all the way around to find a way out, and there was no guarantee she would find one.
Could she stay here for an eternity instead, searching for a way out that might not exist, rather than giving up and going to sleep instead?
Honestly, she didn't think so. Maybe she would last days, or even years, fueled on hatred and hope until even that well eventually ran dry.
Ianora hung the lantern back on the hook above her, and she hung her head. "You were right," she said. "There truly is no way out of this place."
"I'm sorry," Mitron whispered. "I wish I could offer you a better solution than this, but it's all I have. For years, out of boredom, I've tried to find another way out. A hidden tunnel deep beneath the water, or ..." She shook her head. "I haven't had any luck."
"Take me back to the coffin."
On the journey back, Ianora wracked her brain for any other last-minute solutions to her problem. Ianora had already examined every inch of the suite where Castor locked her up. These tunnels were her last hope, and she did not have it in her to continue exploring the lake if Mitron had already searched for a way out for years.
That only left the coffin.
Back in the room where it waited, just as unchanged and eternal as before, but now the coffin had taken on a darker meaning. It would be her resting place, and it had every chance of being her final one.
"How long before the magic takes effect?" Ianora asked as she popped the lid open.
"For a vampire, I would say about a week," Mitron said.
"Will you stay with me until then? Until I'm asleep?"
"Of course." Mitron's voice was soft as she floated closer. "I wouldn't leave you alone."
With one final nod to convince herself that this was the right move, Ianora stepped into the coffin, letting her legs and then back and shoulders relax into the coffin. As soon as she took her hands off the edge and set her head down on the cushion, the lid snapped shut, locking her in darkness except for the glass slit over her eyes.
Ianora thrust her hands up in a panic, trying to push the lid off. She hadn't yet been ready!
But as her hands struck the wood, metal clasps snapped into place outside, locking the coffin shut. She cried out in alarm. "Mitron! Mitron, what's happening?"
"I'm here, dearie," the ghost said. "You're all right."
"Why is it locking?"
"I told you. The coffin was designed as a trap. The magic takes a while to affect a vampire fully, so my father had to take other liberties to ensure that Castor was stuck inside."
Ianora was panting, her heart racing, but she tried to steady herself, to not let the panic set in. "I—I thought I would have a chance to change my mind. Why didn't you tell me this was going to happen?"
Mitron opened her mouth, but it was another voice that answered.
