AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"What would life be without risks?" Sam whispered, and I would have loved to pull my shoe over his head.
"Our lives and not yours. That's the crucial point here!" I grumbled.
"Myrina, we won't let you drown. Don't worry; everything will work out, and we'll be on the other side of the tunnel in no time," Tanael assured me.
"All right, I'm in," Edward surprisingly agreed behind me.
"What, you really trust the approximate theory of these three underworld people?" I wouldn't have expected such spontaneous and irresponsible behavior from him.
"Edward is right. We have no other choice," Aspasia now agreed.
"Myrina?" Tanael looked at me pleadingly. He was visibly offended I had so little faith in his abilities.
"Promise me I won't have to show up at Hades’ a second time today," I growled at him silently in my mind.
"I'll give you my word of honor." He grinned. "I wouldn't survive two dinners with Hades and Phony."
CHAPTER 31
To make swimming more manageable, we removed our boots and tied them to our pants with the help of the laces. The hats were tucked into our trouser legs. At first, we thought we could leave them behind, but we didn't want to leave any traces and didn't know whether we would need them again.
Stephan, who already knew the way, was the first to climb into the hole. As it was pitch black down there and our human eyes couldn't see anything, he took Edward with him, just as Sam would guide Aspasia and Tanael me.
Now Edward looked very tense as he stood in front of the entrance. Without a word or movement of Tanael's hand, a veil formed around the student's head.
With one last glance in my direction, the student descended into the water behind Stephan. He dived under briefly to check his so-called diving equipment.
"It's incredible! It really works," we heard him shout. Aspasia and Sam were next. As soon as they had also slipped into the hole, Tanael faced me.
"Everything will be fine," he assured me again. At that exact moment, I felt a tingling sensation around me until my head was surrounded by an invisible bubble.
"Hold my hand tightly, and under no circumstances don't let go. Do you understand?" said Tanael, giving final instructions before diving into the water. I looked uneasily into the tunnel below me. Thanks to the sparse light that fell through the hole, the water's surface shone like a lake in the moonlight. Undecided whether the idea was good, I followed the angel.
He caught me and immediately took my hand in his.
"I can see everything here, and we don't need to dive yet. So, you can let go of my hand again," I snapped directly.
"We definitely won't take any risks, such as being separated by a sudden current. We'll hold on to each other from now on. Is that clear?" His voice resonated very clearly: No argument!
I sighed with annoyance. Why didn't I get together with Sam? Or with Stephan?
But it was too late for that now, so I let him continue to hold my hand tightly.
We could swim the first stretch, but then the tunnel ended abruptly.
"We have to dive from here," Tanael told me. "Remember that although you can breathe, the oxygen in your bubble doesn't last indefinitely. So, try to breathe calmly and not deeply so you don't use your oxygen too quickly."
I had to swallow hard at the thought of a possible lack of oxygen underwater. Unconsciously, I squeezed his hand harder than was actually necessary.
"Ready?" The angel looked at me encouragingly. "You can do this! We can do this! Together!"
I nodded frantically and moved a little closer to Tanael. Even though I hated to admit it, I was scared.
"On the count of three, we dive." Tanael raised his hand and counted off with his fingers. "One, two, three!"
Then he pulled me further and further down into the deep black water with him. I reflexively held my breath and couldn't bring myself not to.
"You need to keep breathing normally, Myrina," Tanael said in my head. His thumb circled the back of my hand reassuringly. "Let go and relax. Everything is fine."
