The Heinous Prodigies Book One: The Lost Dreamer

Chapter 18: Plot Is A Must

“If only she could be oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter.”

-The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Eden sneezed for what seemed like the million time. The shower in the rain yesterday wasn’t a good idea. Her cold was getting worse and worse by the hour. She was disappointed to learn that diseases couldn’t be cured by styluses or magic. “You shouldn’t have gone off like a drama queen,” Alex insulted and handed her a tissue.

Eden blew her nose and threw the tissue into the bin. She was temporarily sharing a room with Alex. She felt sorry that she had to take over the bed and let him sleep on the couch beside it. The room was plainer than any other. Bed. Closet. Chairs. Bookshelf. The maids and the Hecate kids (Eden was starting to develop a liking to them) were helping each other to fix her room back to normal. Deity led the cleaning team. She promised that everything would be back to normal in a couple of days. Magic always came in handy in any situation.

Eden sniffed and lied back down. Her body was hot with fever. She felt weak and weary to the bones. Her colds had never hit her this hard before. “You know what happens when something doesn’t happen the way I want it to,” she croaked. She placed her fingers on the cold compress on her head. It stung the tips like fire touching ice.

“Where’re Dare and Amy? They should be the ones taking care of you.”

Eden rolled to get the book on the side of the bed. “Dealing with the situation you came from,” she answered. Eden opened the pages. She still remembered where she last left off. Amelia found Pride and Prejudice back in the library. As Eden suspected, Rachel thought twice about ruining Sanctuary property. Rules were strictly observed by the Council. She and her fellow conspirators received severe punishment for what they did to her room when they were found guilty.

Alex went to the bookshelf and went through the books which were useless to him. Most were written in Ecanian or Latin. There were hardly any English ones there. “Have they found anything about the kidnapper?” he asked grimly.

Eden shook her head. It made her head spin even more than it already was. “Whoever that guy was, I'm sure he isn’t stupid enough to try that stunt again. Or at least any sooner. He almost got caught when we raided his prison.”

Alex arched up an eyebrow. “I think anyone stupid enough to try and kidnap me would be stupid enough to try it again.”

Eden tried to laugh but it came out as a wheeze instead. “Stop making me laugh,” she croaked.

Alex rubbed her back. “I'm sorry for being naturally funny,” he teased. “You haven’t been yourself since yesterday. Well it’s not like you haven’t been yourself before since I got here—but you’ve been acting weird—er. Like—” He cut himself short. He meditated for a moment. His eyes narrowed in realization and said, “You’re hiding something.”

Eden felt her throat tighten; her tongue tied. She faked a cough and bought herself a couple more seconds. Eden hadn’t told him about Will and what happened between then. She still couldn’t believe what happen. What more if she told Alex? “Nope,” she murmured.

His eyes went into slits. “I can tell you’re lying you know.”

Eden rested her head against the pillow. “I’m not.”

Alex wasn’t going to give up. Eden knew the more she denied, the more he wanted an answer. “Sage went out looking for you yesterday. He went in the rain to try and get you,” he said slyly.

Eden swallowed. The memories she tried so hard to shut out suddenly came pouring back. What she hated most was the part where she actually admitted to herself that there was some part of her that felt something for him. She hadn’t anticipated this. She didn’t expect for any of this to happen. She was supposed to go home immediately after the binding. Why was this happening to her now that everything’s cleared off? The Fates were playing a cruel trick on her. Will or the life she had been dreaming to go back to?