Eva's eyes opened and she almost froze in shock.
Gasping, she sat up in her bed and looked around hurriedly. She waited for a second for the ever-familiar feeling of nausea to take over but minutes passed by and she felt... okay. Her hands automatically traveled to her chest as she took the small pendant between her fingers and softly caressed it as the previous night's events replayed in her mind.
His touch, the feeling she got when he was holding her, how he hated the very thing she had loved for so long. Eva placed her feet on the ground, not bothering to put on her slippers, and traveled to the closet.
Ouch!
Her head met with a hard surface as her eyes widened and she massaged her forehead with a frown on her face. Softly punching the wall in return, she walked inside with a dizzy mindset and befuddled thoughts.
'Focus!' she scolded herself, and her eyes caught a peculiar pair of clothing in the corner of the large wardrobe.
It looked as if a gown was cut in half and made with even softer material. Eva touched the fabric, her expression thoughtful, and then decided to take the clothes in her hand. The matching black baggy trousers went along after its other pair on her free arm.
'Who would notice anyway?'
A barely audible but faint whisper in her subconscious, 'He would.'
Closing the door behind her, Eva jogged down the staircase, walking past the dining room and kitchen and making a small turn toward the opposite hallway where the library was situated.
Her shirt surprisingly fit her perfectly in every corner, the baggy slacks making her feel unrestricted and relaxed. Remembering the door that Kai had directed her to, she twisted the knob and stepped inside.
Her gasp echoed off the walls as the door automatically shut behind her and she tried to look everywhere in a second. Each and every nook and cranny of the massive room was covered in shelves which contained books of all sizes and colors. Eva felt like a niffler who was thrown into a room full of glistening objects and didn't know which one to pick first.
'Hades...' She needed to find out about King Alexander first.
Walking across the tall shelves, Eva pulled out a random book that read, 'Bared.' Her brow furrowing, she flipped it open and her eyes widened as she caught sight of an image on a page. Shutting it sharply, Eva bit her lip and placed it back in its position.
'Who even read such books!?' she wondered and her imagination wasted no time in conjuring up a view of him reading that graphic book—
Pulling out another book, she noticed the title on the cover and remembered what Gwen had told her a few weeks ago.
"Dominants," she whispered, reading the cover and thumbing open the first page to see the Index. Her eyes traveled down the long section of words, scanning each and every name until she abruptly paused when the letter H began.
Hades.
Noting the page number, she slowly made her way to the nearest couch. A small curse escaped her lips when she knocked her hip against one of the tables and plopped herself down on the soft material.
Eva wasted no time in silently reading inside her mind, the faint scent of wood and paper making her relax down into her comfort zone.
"Hades is known as one of the most powerful Dominants the world has ever seen. His tale includes much sorrow, and heartbreak while a few aspects of his life were full of love. But even the mighty fall when they lose a part of their soul to death."
Eva paused, skimming back through the previous pages and her eyes found what they were looking for.
"Dominant
/ˈdɒmɪnənt/
(n.) having power and influence over others.
Similar words: presiding, controlling, commanding, authoritative, most powerful, assertive, domineering."
Eva's brows narrowed down as she re-read the paragraph and suddenly remembered all of Theo's qualities back in Xandria and even now. He was not to be called assertive since he took in the other's opinion as part of his decision but often she had noticed that his nature included leadership. He was meant to rule and nobody, not even somebody as powerful as Davina could change that.
Was he a part of the Dominants too...?
Pouting, she flipped back to the page she was busy reading a few seconds ago.
"Hades was granted powers by the Fates, dominion over the Underworld, and strength that could shake the Earth to its very roots. Legend has it that he was obsessed with the Princess of Eden, a beauty that everybody desired for themselves but didn't manage to acquire. Rumor has it that her father finally convinced her to marry the King of Xandria, who at that time was the ruler of the kingdom Hades was residing in."
Eva turned the page softly, one of her father's tales flowing back into her mind from the memory chamber. Mr. Blythe's tales had gaps in them that were now being filled by this book which she had unintentionally grasped.
"How did they meet you might ask? Well—"
Eva slammed the book shut a little too abruptly and stood up, walking back toward the shelves to place it back in its previous position.
This was private and she shouldn't read it, she thought to herself. But the rest of the Dominants were interesting too...
Nibbling on her bottom lip, Eva memorized the location of the book and decided to come later when it was night to read the remaining sections which didn't reveal anything private about his parent's relationship. When it was time, Theo would tell her himself.
Glancing toward one of the windows, she noticed the Sun had started rising on the horizon, indicating that it was getting late and she needed to go to the rooftop for her lessons with Kai. Sighing, Eva cast a last longing look toward the treasure of books she had just crossed.
But she would return soon enough, she promised herself with a smile and closed the library door behind her with a small snap.