Empress of the Sea

Chapter Seventeen

Hendric led Elesa through the trees, and she was glad to see that he was confident of the direction. For most of the walk, she was lost. If she had tried to find the way to the waterfall on her own, she never would have gotten there. They were silent for most of the way, and Elesa stuck close to him.

At last, Elesa heard the sound of the waterfall. Hendric must have heard it too because he quickened his pace, and before long they had emerged into the clearing. They stopped and stood for a long moment before Hendric looked at her as if to say, "Well?"

Elesa paused, staring at the foam created by the impact of the waterfall. What would Hendric think? For that matter, what would the goddess think? Would she be angry that Elesa showed the cave to Hendric? Elesa trusted him, but Ilsnor might not. They had already come this far, though.

With resolve, Elesa walked to the outcropping of rocks and began to climb them. Once she had reached the top and took a steadying breath, she turned to see Hendric standing where she had left him, staring.

"You have to follow me," Elesa said.

Hendric didn't move at first. Slowly, he made his way to the edge of the rocks. "What are you showing me?"

"You must come up here."

Elesa waited for him to climb the rock, noticing that he was much more agile than her, and much quicker. Once he was standing beside her, she continued, wondering if he would be as reluctant to follow her through the waterfall.

She glanced back at him, sucked in her breath, and walked through the sheet of water coming down. The impact made her gasp and splutter as water made its way into her eyes and mouth. With one step, she was soaked from head to foot. She had hoped that they would not get wet, but it seemed her hope had been in vain.

A moment later, a sopping wet Hendric emerged through the waterfall with wide eyes. They widened even more as he took in the cave.

"What is this place?" he asked at last, wiping water from his eyes..

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Elesa asked in an attempt to evade his question.

Hendric nodded as his gaze swept the walls and the pool of water before them. "How did you find it?"

"I thought . . . I thought there might be something behind the waterfall, so I looked, and found this place. Look," she said, pointing. "There are Lake Stones in the water."

They walked to the edge of the pond, and Hendric bent down to stare into its depths. He pushed a tangled mess of wet hair back from his eyes.

Elesa watched him for a moment before asking anxiously, "You won't tell anyone, will you? I don't think that people should learn about this. I can trust you not to tell, can't I?"

Hendric stood, serious. "Of course you can trust me, Elesa. I won't tell anyone of this if you don't wish me to."

"Thank you."

He nodded, and they stared at each other for a moment before Elesa looked away. "This island seems to have many secrets, but I don't think they were meant to be discovered. That is part of the reason why I want to keep my father from colonizing it. I think it's too beautiful to be changed."

"I will help you however I can," Hendric promised.

Elesa was suddenly aware how close they were standing to each other, and she felt her heart hammering in her chest. Is that how it felt to like someone as more than a friend? After all the stuffy conversations with prospective suitors whose parents had attempted to arrange for her to marry, this feeling was exhilarating, and it scared her.