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"You've got yourself into a big mess, Myrina." She sighed next to me.
"Do you mean because of the bedroom or the trip to the realm of the dead?"
She looked at me worriedly. "Both."
I grinned and hooked up with her. "Thanks for letting me spend the night with you."
"Don't get too excited. You shouldn't have given up that luxurious room."
This time, we didn't walk up the grand staircase to the second floor but through a small side door and a spiral staircase to the basement. The old stone walls were clammy, and the air was so thick that it was difficult to breathe. I was beginning to have my first doubts, but I couldn't back down.
Aza led me along the narrow, dark corridor until she stopped before one of the many doors. Was this her bedroom door? I wanted to storm upstairs and jump down Tanael's throat.
"Here we are," she murmured gloomily, pushing open the creaking wooden door. Behind it appeared a small cell with a cot, a table with a wash basin and jug, and an old closet. On a bedside table were two almost completely burnt-out candles. Opposite the door, I discovered a tiny window with iron bars and no glass.
How could Tanael let my friend stay in this hole? My anger towards him grew immeasurably.
"I'm sure we can get you a bed to move next to mine," Aza whispered, ashamed.
"Why didn't you tell me you lived in a cell? If I had known, I would have insisted that you sleep with me in Tanael's room and not the other way around," I said in dismay, putting my arm around her shoulder to hold her close to me.
But Aza withdrew from the embrace. "No, that ... that wouldn't have been possible," she stammered in horror. "The one night in the bedroom was too much of a luxury."
"It's all right, Aza. You have nothing to be ashamed of in front of me." Sighing, I looked around. "We'll just make ourselves comfortable here. We'll either return to New York soon or stay with Aspasia and the Amazons. In any case, I have no intention of enduring Mr. Baldur's presence any longer than necessary."
I walked unerringly towards the closet.
"May I?" I asked Aza, who was still standing hesitantly in the open doorway. She nodded silently.
The wardrobe had only three dark dresses, extra shoes, stockings, and some underwear.
"May I borrow a dress from you? I don't want to enter the world of the dead in this one. That doesn't seem appropriate." I looked down at myself resolutely. Even though I loved the dress and its color, it didn't belong in a place where death reigned.
Anyway, it would be better not to stand out in a world I didn't know. Black seemed the more appropriate choice in the darkness awaiting me and the creepy landscape. After all, we were talking about the realm of the dead in the underworld. So, had Alex ended up in hell? What could he have done to deserve something like this? Or was Tanael behind it?
"You can't go to the world of the dead with Hecate in your dress," Aza said in a firm voice, breaking through my flow of thoughts.
"We'll get you a pair of leather trousers, a shirt, and boots. I'm sure Stephan can find something," she said, turning to the corridor. "I'll take care of that immediately and ask for a bed for you too. You get some rest on my cot. You must fully possess your strength if you're going on a journey like this."
Before I could object, she had already disappeared.
A little lost, I looked around in the small room. I couldn't find anywhere else to sit, so I sat on the bed. The mattress barely gave way beneath me. It was rock-hard. Was this Aza's bedroom or a torture chamber?
"Are you still rejecting my offer to sleep in my room?"
The dark voice that startled me out of my thoughts vibrated deep in my stomach. Without looking at the door, I knew he was standing there, probably leaning casually against the doorframe with his hands in his trouser pockets. He was elegant and arrogant at the same time, just like Mr. Baldur.
"What do you want from me, Tanael?" I asked irritably, without giving him a glance. At the sight of this room, I really would have preferred his bed, but I would never admit that.
"I'm bringing you suitable clothes for your trip with Hecate," he purred.
I slowly turned towards him, surprised to see he was holding a bundle of clothes and boots. He threw everything onto the bed with a flourish: leather trousers, a blouse, and a kind of corsage.
"I'll look like a female Robin Hood in this. All that's missing is the matching hat with a feather and a bow and arrows," I grumbled as I spread the individual pieces out before me.
"I'll be happy to get you the hat." He glared at me with amusement.
"You don't need to go to all that trouble. Then I'd rather opt for a bow and arrow," I teased back, even though I'd never drawn a bow before.
