Page 80 of Merciless Sinner

"I'm scared I'm going to sink." I chuckle, holding tighter.

"You won't sink." He laughs. "I won't let you."

"How do people even do this? It feels like something else entirely."

"Because it is." He smirks. "But you'll get it. It's just a matter of allowing your body to adapt to the water and then trusting that you won't sink or get eaten by water goblins."

I laugh, really laugh at that dig on my childhood horror.

He smiles, too. "Come on, let's dive down. You'll love it."

"Dive down?" I shriek. "Oh, no, no, no. I don't think we should do that. This is enough." A huge wave splashes against me, and I secure myself closer to him.

"How about you just trust me? We used to swim like this all the time."

"We did?"

"Yes, we did.” He holds my gaze. “So, trust me."

I take note of the way he saystrust me. It holds significance because weeks ago, I didn't. I wasn't anything close to trusting him or anyone.

Right now, I would say he's the only person I trust outside of Seamus, Cillian, and Amelia.

But the trust I have for him is a little more than that. He’s my husband.

"Ready?" He stares back at me.

"Okay."

His eyes brighten. "Keep your arms around my neck. I'm going to flip you onto my back. You mustn't let go, but if you do, I still got you."

"Shouldn't we have goggles or something for this?" I look around.

"No, you'll be fine. You just need to blink when you get in the water. It'll feel uncomfortable at first, but then your eyes will adjust."

"Virgo, if I go blind, I’ll blame you," I joke.

He rolls his eyes at me. "You won't go blind. You ready?"

"No. Of course, I'm not ready, but yeah, I guess I am." I laugh.

He shuffles me around so that I'm on his back, then he makes sure that my arms are secured around him.

"Okay, we're going to go now. Get ready to hold your breath."

"Alright." I wince.

"Now!" he shouts.

I take a huge gulp of air and close my eyes, screwing them shut as he dives down deep into the water.

The whoosh of waves hits my face, but there's something soothing about it. And familiar.

As that feeling of familiarity hits me, I open my eyes and blink a few times. It's as uncomfortable as he said it would be, but that passes in a few seconds, and I can see.

Virgo swims deeper, until we're amongst a school of silvery-looking fish. Seeing them fluttering by amongst the seagrass makes me feel like I'm in Atlantis or one of those magical sea worlds you hear about.

He swims toward them, and they scatter like mice.

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