I shook my head slowly. "That's not what the foretelling says."
She lowered her eyes. "I know. It's just . . . like you said, Hector is only human, and, well, maybe he misinterpreted something? Is it possible?"
I paused for several beats. "I suppose it is, Eden."
She nodded her head quickly and let out a breath. "Then I'd like to learn to float. I'd like to learn how not to drown."
I stared at her for a few minutes. This girl was going to attempt to survive the end of the world? "Where do you find your strength, Morning Glory?" I asked softly.
She laughed and shook her head as if I was crazy. She tilted her head. "You can come closer, you know. You really don't have to worry about me."
"I'm not worried about you. I'm worried about me," I blurted out.
Her eyes widened and we stared at each other over the still water for a few minutes, the only sound the quiet splashing of the small waterfall hitting the spring water.
"You know, if you're with Hector, you don't have to worry about not surviving. We'll all be led to Elysium."
She looked down for a few beats, watching her own hand move back and forth in the water. "Maybe I'd rather take my own chances. Maybe I'd rather not end up in Elysium with Hector."
"Eden . . ."
She didn't wait to hear what I was going to say, which was fine because, truthfully, I didn't know anyway. She leaned back and brought her body up in an attempt to float and promptly sunk. She came up sputtering. I moved quickly over to her. "Whoa, you okay? Here, I'll hold you up until you get a feel for it, and then I'll let you go."
I put my hands underneath her back, only touching her with my fingertips. She straightened her body out and leaned her head back and closed her eyes, a small, peaceful smile on her face. I gazed at her, drinking in her features and her golden hair floating around her face. And then my mutinous eyes roamed down past her face to her body, her dress pressed and clinging to her delicate curves. I swallowed and my eyes paused when they got to her hardened nipples. Then they moved slowly downward over her flat stomach and down further to that small mysterious, feminine mound. My blood felt like it was boiling in my body. I'd never felt this way before, even those times when I'd touched myself out of sheer necessity. And right now, I was about to pass out from testosterone poisoning and the only part of me touching her was my fingertips. Oh no, this wasn't good. This had disaster written all over it. Even if I could successfully control myself around Eden, it would be disastrous for me.
And yet. And yet, I couldn't stop myself. Looking down at her, I felt a rush of heat, but also a rush of tenderness.
"I'm floating," she said, not opening her eyes, a small, serene look on her face.
"Not yet," I whispered and very slowly removed my fingertips from her upper and lower back. I took a small step back. "Now you're floating."
She remained still, the corners of her full, pink lips turning up very slightly.
"Can I teach you an even better way not to expend energy in the water?"
She gave a barely noticeable nod of her head and so I stepped forward again and put my hands on both of her arms. "I'm going to flip you over. Take a big breath and then let yourself float so that the back of your head is just above the water. Just let the water support you. Then, when I touch your arms, let them float toward the surface with your elbows bent. Have you got it so far?"
Another small nod.
"Okay, good. Then when you're ready, press downward on the water with your hands until your mouth clears the water. Breathe out quickly and then inhale. And then go back under. You could hang out in the water all day doing that if you needed to. Even if the whole world was underwater."
Eden took in a big breath and then I turned her body over slowly until she was face down in the water. I removed my hands and let her float there for a minute until I knew she had it, and then I touched her arms and she let them float upwards until her elbows were bent and her hands were above her shoulders. She pushed downward gently and her mouth came up above the water and I heard her exhale and then inhale before she let herself float back down.
I grinned and she brought her head up and set her feet on the bottom of the spring so she was upright. She let out a little triumphant laugh and threw her arms around my neck. I froze. Every part of her was pressed up against every part of me. I immediately went hard, my body pulsating with want, and prayed she couldn't tell. She tilted her head back and looked up at me, that same triumphant smile on her face. I let out my breath and smiled down at her. "Add floating to your list of accomplishments," I said.
She laughed. "I will." She let go of my neck and I felt the loss of her as she moved back and started walking through the water to the large, flat rock. She pulled herself up and then lay back. "We don't have much time to get dry," she called. "Better get up here in the sun."