It took Sirius less than a second to yank the grate off the entrance to the underwater tunnel and pull his way inside. Her last words echoed in his head. She’d said she loved him.

  He could see light from the end of the tunnel way in the distance and he knew it was even further than it looked. It didn’t bother him. He was made for the sea and wouldn’t have minded if things had to end that they ended down here.

  Except, she’d said she loved him.

  It made him all too aware that if anything happened to him, it would hurt her too, and she’d be trapped back there in that cell. Suddenly the consequences of messing this up didn’t feel quite so small.

  He tried to push those thoughts out of his head. He had to stay calm and focused. He could not get distracted in this tunnel because she had been right. This was a one way trip. There would be no turning around until he breached the outer wall and he still had two grates and two more booby traps to go. Now, if he could just remember exactly how far along they were.

  Past the next grate, that much he knew and that one was just as easy to remove. Luckily the binding magic was in the main walls of the cell but didn’t affect anything in the cell itself, nor was it in the grates that barred his way out. He used his super strength to simply rip them away from the walls.

  A skeleton that the fish had stripped of its skin lay not far beyond the first grate. They had not removed it when they had redone the grates. Evidently it had been left as a warning to anyone else attempting to escape. The Scarlett royal family was known to have a flair for the dramatic and macabre.

  He’d told Amanda that they needed to get back to the ship which wasn’t untrue but his bigger fear was what would happen if they stayed. The punishment for threatening the prince with a fireball was not likely to be a few days stay in jail and a simple fine. The truth was, Sirius wasn’t one hundred percent sure what they would do and it also depended a lot on which member of the royal family was doling out the punishment. The prince Amanda had threatened wasn’t the worst member of the royal family but nor was he the best and the family didn’t always agree on who should get to carry out the punishments.

  Their decisions changed like the wind and the royal family went behind each others backs like the crossed fingers of little children. He’d once seen a petty thief hanged in the town square, a murderer set free, and a rapist thrown into a maze filled with puzzles and traps and four other prisoners all told that only the first man out would be allowed to go free, all for the sake of royal entertainment. Scarlett was ruled by whimsy and Sirius was not a gambling man. Even this tunnel was someone’s form of entertainment he was sure.

  What he couldn’t be sure of was if the skeleton had been left or placed. Either way, it came in useful. The traps were triggered by movement.

  Sirius pushed the skeleton ahead of him, wiggling it around, until suddenly a large chunk of wall slammed closed in front of him. He closed his eyes and braced against the nearby wall to avoid being pushed back by the force of the water it displaced.

  Slowly the wall started to retract. Sirius knew from experience that it wouldn’t slam again until after it was fully retracted. He also knew from experience that he would just have enough time to push a body through ahead of him and get himself through before it was reset. The first time he’d done this he’d been following another prisoner out. A prisoner who at the time, had escaped that way before. Apparently the traps hadn’t been there on his first trip. Sirius hoped they hadn’t added anything else new since then. He didn’t want to encounter the same sort of surprise that man had.

  Pushing a skeleton was easier than pushing a body and Sirius was soon at the half way mark. His lungs didn’t feel like they were straining too much yet but whatever happened he was definitely committed now.

  The second booby trap was more painful. The light didn’t look much closer, his lungs were becoming uncomfortable, and the skeleton kept getting caught on the walls. He didn’t want to leave it in here for when he brought Amanda through. She would need to be calm if she was to last the entire length of the tunnel as well as the short waits at the traps on one breath.

  His lungs were burning by the time he reached the last grate. He reached out to tug it off the wall.

  It stuck hard.

  That wasn’t right. It should be easy. He tugged again.

  Still no movement.

  Trying to remain calm despite the desperate urge to breathe, he took a closer look at where it was connected. They looked like normal bolts. He gave another pull.

  Another inspection revealed they had moved a little. Several more tugs shifted them even looser. What if this was a new trap? Just a trick?

  He dropped the skeleton and pulled with everything he had. Just when he thought they were never coming loose the entire grate pulled right out.

  In his surprise he let out the last of his air. Leaving the skeleton and grate behind him in the tunnel he frantically swam the last few metres out into the open water and then up up up toward the surface.

  Amanda waited patiently, her heart beating fast. She worried that Sirius wouldn’t return. She also worried that he would and then she’d have to go through that tunnel too. Surely it would be best once he got out that he just go for help, maybe come back with a shapeshifting infusement. They’d used most of his last one the last time she’d been stuck underwater.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  She glanced toward his pile of clothes and the black coat that lay on the bottom of the pile. How exactly was he planning on leaving with that? Surely he didn’t mean to make another trip after dragging her out?

  She pulled his coat from the pile and looked inside. She found the mindwalking necklace tucked away in one pocket but that wasn’t much use here, besides quality mind manipulation wasn’t just difficult, it was morally questionable. She knew that now. The healing had all been used up, as had most of the shapeshifting. The firestarting she already had and that wasn’t useful. Super strength might help with swimming but she wasn’t certain and she didn’t have a lot of practice with it. Last time hadn’t gone well. That left dreamwalking and telekinesis. Dreamwalking could be used to travel but she had no idea how to do it and if Sirius did he probably would have suggested it.

  Could she use the telekinesis then? There were two bottles of that. The walls of the cell appeared resistant to her fire, which meant she probably couldn’t use the telekinesis on them either. Could she push the water out through the tunnel? If the walls were resistant enough then she wouldn’t need to worry about causing the building to collapse. It would take a lot of energy though. She’d have to push against the weight of the sea and then crawl through the tunnel. If she ran out before she got to the end, the water would just come rushing back in, and that would definitely not be good.

  What about to speed up swimming? Possible maybe, but also not something she had ever tried before, and Sirius had mentioned something about traps.

  Could she hold her breath for 30 seconds? Did she dare try it now? Better than trying it under the water she supposed. She sat cross-legged on the floor of the cell and tried to relax. Then she took in a deep breath and began to count. She made it to what she thought was 20 seconds fine but after that it became a struggle. She lost count somewhere in the mid 20s and then gave up. Had that been 30 seconds? She didn’t think so.

  Sirius popped back up before she could consider giving it another attempt.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “I don’t think I can hold my breath for 30 seconds,” she told him from her spot on the floor.

  “Sure you can. You were doing over a minute when were back at the wreck.”

  “Was I?”

  He nodded. “I was counting.” Such confidence.

  She shook her head. “I just tried it now and I could only get past 20 seconds.”

  “It will be easier under the water.” He pulled himself up and onto the stone.

  “Will it?” She didn’t see how.

  He nodded again and took a seat beside her. “As long as you’re calm.”

  She studied him. Was his confidence real or was he just putting up a front for her benefit? Perhaps if she could read his mind then she’d know for sure. She glanced toward where the mindwalking necklace was. Then she thought better of it. She decided she didn’t really want to know. “You’re sure?” she asked. She looked him directly in the eyes.

  He nodded. “You can do it. Easy. You take a deep breath, hold in as much as you can and keep as still as you can. You hold on to this.” He pulled a small rope from one pocket of his coat. “I’ll tie it around your wrists, tight enough that I can keep pulling even if you let go. Worst case, if you pass out, your body won’t actually start to breathe water immediately. You’ll get another 30 seconds to a minute or even two. Either way, it’s plenty of time for me to get you the rest of the way out of the tunnel.”

  “You don’t want me to kick?”

  He shook his head. “It’s easier for me just to pull and it lets me keep the rope tight.”

  She nodded.

  “You gotta relax though.”

  She gave a nervous laugh. “That’s easier said than done.”

  “We can sit for a bit, unless you think it would be easier to just go now?”

  “What about your coat?”

  “I’ll come back for it after.”

  “Should I take my clothes off?”

  He shook his head. “You should be fine. I mostly just wanted to be extra safe on the first trip in case there were issues but it’s clear now. The rest of the trips are easy.”

  He was so calm and so sure. It was definitely making her feel a little better but if she thought about what this involved for too long it would probably just make her more nervous. Better just to trust him and not think too much about the details. Trusting him she found surprisingly easy. She scrambled to her feet. “Okay, let’s go now then.”

  She got into the water with him. It was almost at her armpits. She decided the temperature was probably helpful, the warmth being more relaxing inducing than shocking.

  “So how does this work then?”

  He held up the rope.

  She felt her heart rate speed up as the realisation hit her. The idea of being under the water in a tunnel was one thing but having her hands tied meant she wouldn’t be able to paddle at all. She absolutely would be putting all her trust in Sirius. She did trust him and she understood why having her hands tied was better than not but still her mind rejected the idea. Somehow, not having her hands free was the worst part of it all. “What if I just hold on to it?”

  He gave her a direct and serious look. “If you pass out I need to be able to pull you.”

  She looked back at him. He didn’t speak. He simply looked at her. He was waiting for her to agree she realised. No matter how necessary this all was, he wasn’t going to move until she was ready to. This was her decision. “Okay.” She gave him her hands.

  She watched him tie the knot. Worst case she could burn through it. She wouldn’t though. She couldn’t. No matter what. Because if she panicked and burnt through it then he wouldn’t be able to pull her. She’d seen people panic in on outdoor trips before, under the water and in other situations. It always made things worse, not just for them, but the people around them too. No matter what happened, she had to remain calm. Even so, she felt her heart beat increase when finally finished the knot.

  For a moment she feared that he might suddenly grab her and pull her through before she was ready but that didn’t line up with any of his behaviour so far. He had been patient and careful and considerate. He would let her know.

  As if he knew exactly what she was afraid of he said, “I won’t go until you are ready and I’ll do a countdown.”

  She nodded. ”Should I face down or up?”

  “Face down is probably easier but whatever is more comfortable. The important thing is that you are as still as possible. Also there will be two points, approximately one third and two thirds through where we will briefly stop okay? The walls move and I have to wait for them to open enough to get through. So don’t be alarmed by that.”

  “That’s the trap you were talking about?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And it’s safe?”

  “As long as you stay calm.”

  “Okay.”

  They got into position near the entrance. Sirius took the other end of the rope. “I will count down from three and dive right after one. You need to dive under right after I do, no waiting. If it’s too much and you want to back out within the first few metres, just tug the rope three times. It’ll be tricky but we should be able to back out from the initial section. Once we’re several metres in though then we’re committed, okay?”

  She nodded and decided then and there that once she was under the water she was committed from that point on. Trying to back out of the tunnel would likely be more dangerous than continuing through.

  “Alright.”

  She watched Sirius tie the rope around his own hand in a way that would make it hard for him to let go. Whatever happened they were attached to one another now. He met her eyes. “Ready?”

  She took a few deep breaths and then nodded.

  “Okay. Three. Two. One...”