Here With Me | Neteyam 💙

💙 ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 8

"Breathe... imagine a flickering flame," Tsireya instructed.

For their next lesson, the group gathered on a rock in a circle.

Her goal was to teach them how to breathe underwater so that they could benefit from it.

Hazel aggressively secured her hair into a ponytail, annoyed by the wet hair strands clinging to her body.

A chuckle from Loak caught her attention as she turned to see him inspecting her hair. She gave him a funny look and he shook his head.

"You have a strand sticking out," he said, reaching over to fix it.

"Oh, thank you," she smiled at him.

"There. You look good with your hair up," He complimented her.

Except for one person, no one else found this strange.

In irritation, Neteyam's brows creased at the compliment his brother offered to his betrothed. In the past two days, he had witnessed Loak treating her with kindness twice.

Before that, he had never shown much interest in Ayavi. So why was his brother so friendly towards her now?

"Now, everyone," Tsireya drew their attention back to her. "Close your eyes and take slow and steady breaths."

They nodded and followed her instructions.

In an effort to see everyone, Hazel opened one eye.

After looking around to ensure no one else was watching, she leaned slightly toward Eley.

"Psst."

Eley's brows furrowed as she opened her eyes to look at Hazel.

"You're Eley, right?" Hazel smiled at her.

Despite her confusion, she nodded. "Yes..."

"I don't know what kind of taste you have in men, but I'll help you get together with that guy over there." Hazel glanced at Neteyam.

As Eley heard this, her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.

"I-I do not like him," she mumbled nervously.

"Psh." Hazel narrowed her eyes at the girl. "I can spot a high school girl crush from a mile away, you know."

"What does that mean?" Eley furrowed her brows in confusion. She had never heard those words before.

"Don't worry about it," Hazel waved her off. "So, what do you say? Yes or no?"

Eley opened her mouth to respond, but Hazel cut her off. "Okay, yes it is. So, all you need to do is say 'Neteyam, can you help me with a task really quick? I need someone with great muscle tone.' Got it?"

"W-What?" Eley's eyes widened in surprise. "But what task would that be?"

"We'll worry about that later. Now, go. Tap his shoulder."

As Hazel's aggressive whispers rolled into Kiri's ears, she opened an eye in irritation.

"Can you keep it down? I'm trying to focus," she whispered.

"Oops, sorry," Hazel smiled at Kiri, who resumed her meditation.

Her eyes shifted to Eley, and she motioned for the girl to tap Neteyam's shoulder. Taking a deep breath, Eley swallowed nervously before following her instructions.

After feeling a light tap on his shoulder, Neteyam opened his eyes to find Eley looking nervous.

"U-Um, would you mind helping me with a task after this? I need someone with g-great muscle tone," she inquired shyly.