Lord Ido...What's really in that heart of yours?

I've made very little progress in my reading today. I expect to finish Eona by the end of tomorrow though. 
The disturbing thing I found from what I've read so far is about Ido. For the whole length of Eon, I spent my time fuming at him and rejoiced in his failure at attempting to rape Eona. But in book 2, there's some changes in his regard to Eona. Yes, he was still the same guy: arrogant, overly confident, pompous, dangerous, complex...and dark (in spirit)...and sexy. The not so very typical bad guy in fiction. The problem is there had been no gentleness in him. Not at all. But in Eona, there were moments when he showed her what seemed to be curiouly close to tenderness, such as:

- Telling her he liked her hairstyle when she let it loose. And when she tried to provoke him by tying it, he said he liked it that way, too.

- He made a lightning glass, then made a small bow and gave it to her as "a gift to the lady" .

- Cupping her cheek hesitantly when she cried and told her that she was too tender and then tried to kissed, not by force, until Kygo jumped into the picture.

- shielding her from the hot stones raining down from the sky from a certain devastation.

- not forcing her into doing anything she didn't like.

- when Eona rebuked "What do you know about love?", his answer and the detailed scene was like this:

 His eyes flickered. "I know that love is about power, too. Who gives, who takes. Who is willing to risk showing their true self." The intensity of his expression sent heat crashing through my body. He bent his head, running his thumb across the rope-cut around his wrist. "You have forced your way into my Hua, Eona. Changed me. First, by your power - then, just by who you are." He raised his head and there was no guard upon his expression. The raw need caught my breath. " You have seen me at my worst and at my weakest. Let me show you my best. Help me save this boat and everyone on board like a true Dragoneye." I gaped at him, unable to force my mind past the avowal of love. For that was what it was, wasn't it? Yet Lord Ido did not love anything except power.

And there were some of the other scenes, too. You see. I'm so confused. My first impression of him conflicts with this new-found change in him. On top of it, I'm not entirely sure if it's out of pure love, no matter how dark and twisted it seems, or merely a device to lure her into uniting with him to strenghten his power. 
I know that Ido will die in the end, from the reviews. So much for being spoiler free. I bet those readers couldn't restraint themselves from remarking on Ido. He is a very compelling character. One moment you thought you've figured everything about him, that he's the very child of Satan (or even the Satan himself.). Then there's something in him that pulls you towards him. An irresistible antagonist. I'm torn between despising him and wanting Eona to show him a teeny bit of, if not love, then tenderness. I'll have to decide what I feel about Ido when I find out about his true intention in the end. Is it really love? Or is it just a ploy? Is he a man in love with a woman? Or is he still the same man who lusts after power?

And now is about Ryko. He is such a grugding man. He sure knows how to hold a grudge. I understand his rage over Eona's irresponsible decision in healing Chart without asking his permission. But he's still angry at her for healing HIM. Oh, man. Why are you such a stubborn man? The girl didn't know about the consequence in using her power to heal. She didn't dare use it, but YOUR girl insisted on her doing that. He sulked and sulked. And whenever a person got close to Eona, he warned them away from her by accusing her power and annoucing her a liar. It's not like Eona wanted to force her healing on him. Those times she compeled him was due to her unability to control her power. Besides, their link was so closely connected that, whenever she used her power or in rage, Ryko got dragged into the tornado of her power. I know he hated being helpless, but he should be a bit more considerate towards the girl. She's only 16. I was a real bitch when I was 16. Eona was way better, more thoughtful, considerate and compassionate than me at that age. It's not as if because she was born a dragoneye, she should be a paragon of wisdom since the moment she came out of her mother's uterus. She's just a human. And humans are prone to make mistakes, even if in Eona's case, her mistakes usually resulted in dear consequences. Oh, and the Chart guy was annoying too. Smartass. Do you want to be a cripple forever? There's a high chance that once Eona is able to control her power, she can restraint from using compulsion on them. If there's an opportunity given, you should take it, young boy. Sometimes, you won't get to sit around and ponder on whether you should take it. Opportunity runs along the track of time. It will pass you by if you hold back. Yeah, Eona sure deserved a stern lecture on her belief in right and wrong, and that she should have sought your consel and aggreement before deciding to do anything that may affect others greatly. But it was out of good intention. The girl was kind-hearted. And very very young. Teach her slowly. Don't shower her with blame and accusation. Poor Eona. Really. I find myself defending Eona all the time while the other readers are of the same mind with Ryko. I wonder if it's because I'm just as bad as how people thought of Eona. I myself did many stupid things that...hurt people around me, too. But these actions weren't out of malice. Maybe they were reckless and foolish, but I, like Eona, never meant harm to others. I feel close to Eona, and I want to support her through the end.

Kygo is as polite as ever. I wish he would act more recklessly like Ido. But he's still cool, nonetheless. Boy, Eona is such a lucky girl.