There are two types of people in the world: people who see a flooded room with no exit and panic, and people who see a flooded room with no exit and say "hold your breath, Gav" like they are placing a lunch order.
Gav was drowning next to the second type.
Gav: We portal if there's no air on the other side.
Serena: Don't worry, Gav. I won't let you drown.
Gav: That's not what I said. We make a—
He cut off mid-sentence. The door they were approaching swung inward into dark and the water all around them was sucked through, and they both were pulled with it.
It dragged them with a force that was not natural and was not accidental. The temple wanted them on the other side.
The current pulled them through a jagged archway carved into the rock. Serena's lungs screamed. The water here was shallower, though, a ceiling of flickering air visible above them. She let go of his hand and kicked hard towards it.
Gavriel stayed on her heels, his strokes sloppy but relentless.
