Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love Novel)(35)

"And music," she continued. "It's all numbers. I don't know why Hector never taught me math. I could have been an even better piano player than I am."
Her eyes widened. "Last night I snuck down to the kitchen and read through some recipes. There's lots of math in those, too . . . some you still have to teach me." She laughed softly, puckering her lips and taking water into her mouth again and then spitting it out. I groaned softly, but she didn't appear to hear. "Anyway, my point is, you taught me a couple things, and I was able to apply them to other things. And now I want more. I want to learn everything you have to teach me. And I want to teach myself as much as possible." She looked thoughtful for a minute. "It's a sort of freedom for me, Calder. And maybe that's hard to understand. But . . . most of my life, I've had so many questions and no answers. And now . . . well, I might not have all the answers, but I have a few, and my life feels fuller. And I can carry all that knowledge inside me and no one else can ever take it. It's mine. It belongs to me." She lowered her eyes briefly and then raised them back to mine. "Thank you."
I stared at her. She was captivating, amazing. And gods help me, the seed of love that had taken root, the seed I had vowed not to nourish, started to grow anyway. I swore I could feel the velvety tendrils moving through me, wrapping around the vital parts of who I was. I was helpless to stop it. She had invaded me. I was the field and she was the morning glory. I had been overtaken. Just like that. Or maybe not just like that. Maybe it had been growing for years. But in that moment, I recognized it for what it was.
She isn't yours, I whispered harshly to myself. But something inside rebelled against the words, as if the thought itself was a virus to my system.
Still, I didn't have to act on my feelings, my attraction. I had sacrificed before in one way or another. I could certainly do it now.
"Calder? Are you okay?" My eyes focused on Eden and she was looking at me strangely. "Are you well?"
"Uhh . . ." I cleared my throat, feeling shell-shocked, off-balance. "Yes, I'm fine. So, uh, speaking of all the knowledge you need to soak up, what should we get started on today?"
"Oh. Okay. But first, ask me my multiplication tables."
"Oh, uh, seven times seve—"
"Forty-nine."
I laughed softly. "Okay, nine times eigh—"
"Seventy-two."
I laughed louder, not being able to help the grin that spread over my face. "You pass."
"No, really, I know them all."
"I believe you."
"I just don't want you to think that your time's being wasted here."
"I don't think that, Eden, not even close."
We stared at each other across the water for a few seconds. Finally, she looked away and said, "All right. Well, my basic math is coming along. How about we just practice some swimming today?"
I thought that might be a decent idea, considering it was a bad time for me to get out of the water right at the moment.
Eden looked down for a minute and seemed to be contemplating something.
"What is it?" I asked.
She looked up, worrying her bottom lip. "Do you think . . . well, do you think when the great flood comes, there'll be any chance of survival?"
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."