Page 161 of Releasing 10
“Hugh, you know how dangerous the water can be,” Sinead called back. “And Lizzie’s not as strong a swimmer as you.”
“I know,” he replied, as we drifted farther away. “And you know I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“I can’t touch the ground, Hugh.” I knew I was floating, my life jacket assured me of that, but I had never been out of my depth like this before. “What if I float away?”
“I’ve got you,” he coaxed, keeping ahold of the strap of my life jacket, while using his free arm to swim. “You’re safe with me.”
“Keep her safe,” Sinead called out, looking mildly terrified as she leaned over the edge and watched us slowly drift away from her line of sight. “I’m warning you, Hugh.”
After a good ten minutes of Hugh swimming and me bobbing along after him, we finally reached what he referred to as the fairies’ sea cave.
“Whoa,” I breathed, taking in the sight of an impressive cave entrance hidden deep in the rocks.
“It’s completely unreachable by land,” he explained, guiding me inside by the strap of my life jacket. “It’s only explorable when the tide is out.”
“Is the water still deep inside here?”
“You better believe it,” he replied, carefully maneuvering us through the narrow stream of seawater that flowed through the cave, while avoiding the sharp rocks on either side of us. “It’s like a bottomless pit, Liz.”
“That is so cool,” I replied, fascinated by how my words seemed to bounce off the cave walls and echo back at me.
The sound of loud dripping came from all directions, but it still felt incredibly quiet. Sunlight poured through the cave opening, lighting the way through the darker tunnels. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life and told Hugh just that.
“Told you this was better,” Hugh chuckled, using his body to protect mine from a particularly narrow part of the cave. He pulled me around another tight corner and then, suddenly, we weren’t squashed between narrow walls of jagged rocks. Instead, we entered what I could only describe as heaven on earth.
“Welcome to the fairies’ sea cave,” Hugh chuckled, waving a hand around. “Pretty cool, huh?”
It was more than cool.
It was breathtaking.
I had thought the narrow trail we swam through was the point of interest, but clearly not, because that narrow, rocky channel of water led to paradise.
In complete awe, I looked around the glistening cavern walls that seemed to sparkle almost as much as the underwater pool we were floating in. Even better, the water in here feltwarm. Tiny fragments of sunlight had clearly bore their way into the cave, illuminating it in a mystical, glowing hue.
“No wonder they call this place the fairies’ cave,” I breathed, taking it all in. “It looks magical.”
“I know,” Hugh agreed, swimming us over to a nearby rock. “But we can’t stay long.”
“We can’t?”
“Nope.” Heaving himself onto it, he turned back and held out his hand for me. Trusting him entirely, I grabbed his hand and went willingly when he pulled me out of the water and onto the rock with him.Onto his lap. “In a couple of hours this place will be underwater,” he explained, readjusting my life jacket, as he tried and failed to make more room on the rock for me. “Sorry about the seating.” He offered me a sheepish smile. “I guess I didn’t think this through.”
I was thrilled he hadn’t because I couldn’t think of a better place to sit than on his lap. “It’s like Aladdin’s cave,” I breathed, hooking an arm around his neck. “We’re completely isolated from the rest of the world in here.”
“Don’t worry, you’re safe,” he was quick to promise. “I would never let anything happen to you.”
“I’m not worried, Hugh.” Our bodies were so close now that I knew I would rather die here in this cave and never be recovered than to leave his side. “I’mhappy.”
“Good.” My response seemed to relieve his tension and he visibly relaxed beneath me. “Because Iwantyou to be happy, Liz.”
“I’m always happy when I’m with you.”
“Yeah,” he replied, voice sounding a little deeper than usual. “It’s the same for me.”
“Thanks for picking me by the way,” I said, shifting closer. “I know you and Claire got to pick one friend each to come on this trip, and Ialsoknow that Claire picked Gibs.” I smiled before adding, “Which means you picked me.”
“I’ll always pick you, Liz.” Hugh’s arm came around my waist and he pulled me closer to his chest. “You’ll always be first choice.”
