From a geographical perspective, it was a completely illogical place to keep a boat. It was at the bottom of a chasm, and the children were told to avoid it because it was not only dangerous to reach—it was supposedly full of disease-infested bats. But now that she thought about it, Leelo had never seen a bat on Endla. She wasn’t even entirely sure what a bat was.

She’d gone to visit Isola first, so that if anyone asked if Leelo had visited her, Isola would say yes. Leelo had planned to account for the rest of her time with foraging for berries, which were just starting to ripen. She had a basket with her and had filled it as quickly as possible, which also lent credence to her story.

Still, if she tried to make it to the cave and back, she would have very little time to check on Jaren before nightfall. And Sage, who had quickly lost interest in spending the day with Leelo once Isola’s name was mentioned, would wonder where she had gone. Berry picking didn’t take all day.

But Leelo had no other plan, and she had to get Jaren off the island as soon as possible. The summer solstice festival was coming up in a few weeks, and it was the one time of year when every single islander joined, since the incantu were gone and there was no safe way for the outsiders to cross. They knew what happened on the solstice; if they chose to be out on festival night and got lured into the lake, that was their own fault.

The festival was always full of drinking and dancing around a large bonfire. Many proposals took place on the summer solstice. And Leelo didn’t know how she’d keep Jaren safe from the singing if he was still here.

She hid her berry basket in a bush at the top of the chasm leading down to the grotto. It was already noon, and she was sweating despite the fact that she was only wearing a lightweight linen dress. Scanning the surroundings to be sure she was alone, Leelo started to make her way down the steep slope.

It was slower going than it had seemed from above. There was no path or trail, and the closer she got to the bottom, the steeper her descent became. From above, the grotto was hardly visible among the trees and ferns along the floor of the chasm, which must have held a creek at some point. She’d never had any interest in exploring here, though she knew sometimes children dared each other to brave the possibility of a fall, poison ivy, or an encounter with a rabid bat to snatch one of the colorful stones supposedly found in the cave.