His chest crashes against my back as his breathing quickens. The snowfall thickens, veiling the room around us. Then the wind begins to whisper, breathing in rhythm with his breaths. But that’s mild in comparison to when he grazes his lips along the side of my neck, a soft kiss that causes warmth to erupt in my veins.
As a gasp fumbles from my lips and my head tips back, the ice glazing the floor springs to life, crackling upward and kissing the ceiling, forming icy beams all over the bathroom.
“Gods, I think”—he struggles to breathe evenly—“with this sort of power, we could probably build a whole damn kingdom.”
The fact that he may very well be right sends my pulse spiking, and the ice, wind, and the storm more than notice. They react wildly, cracking, howling, and funneling clouds of ice through the air.
“Calm down.” He gently massages my hips with his fingertips. “It’s okay.”
“I’m trying,” I say, the wind stinging my cheeks. “But it’s a lot to take in. I mean, you’re saying things like we could build a kingdom, and I …”
I think I need a moment to collect myself …
Deciding to listen to my thoughts for once, I step forward. The second Foster’s hands fall from my hips, the wind stills.
As I peer over my shoulder at him, he parts his lips, but the words die on his tongue as his gaze collides with mine. Who knows what he sees? Fear and worry? If my expression matches what I’m feeling right now, then probably.
This is all so overwhelming. Only a few days ago, I thought I was the only one with powers. Now I’m standing in a bathroom with a guy who I thought hated my guts—and possibly still does—in the middle of a wintery scene that I—we created. I mean, how is this real life?
“I’m sorry,” Foster says, paling.
I open my mouth to tell him he doesn’t need to apologize, that he has nothing to do with what is sending me into panic mode, but then the door is swung open and Ollie comes rushing in.
A grin twists at his lips as he spots me.
“Ogre!” I squeak, skittering backward and pointing at the hungry-eyed creature.
The wind picks up, sending snow and ice fragments cutting through the air, and the icy floor splinters apart.
Foster whirls around, spanning his arms out to his sides as he steps in front of me, blocking me from Ollie’s view.
“Move,” Ollie demands through a blissful moan. “I want her. I want her now!”
“Back off, Ollie,” Foster warns. “You can’t have her.”
“Yes, I can,” he whines. “She doesn’t know what I am and isn’t part of Master Max’s family; therefore, I can do whatever I want with her, so give her to me.”
“No.” Coldness chills Foster’s tone as he leans back, pressing his back against me.
His scent engulfs me—warm rain, crisp snow, summer breezes, and campfire, all mixed into one scent.
A growl reverberates from Ollie. “Move out of my way, elemental protector, and give me the girl.”
“If you so much as come near her, I’ll break your arms and legs,” Foster tells him in a low tone.
“My, my, does the youngest Everettson have their very first crush?” Ollie sneers. “How pathetic.”
I peer around Foster and find Ollie grinning, and his grin only doubles when he spots me.
“You’re mine,” he threatens, his fangs glinting in the light.
“Fuck off,” I retort, but probably only because I’m standing safely behind Foster. If it was just Ollie and me in the room, that might be an entirely different story. “I’m not yours. I’m nobody’s, so back off.”
Ollie’s eyes flash with hunger. “Feisty. I like it. I bet you’re tasty, too.”
My fingers fold into fists, a comeback biting at the tip of my tongue, but Foster beats me to the punch.
“Shut up,” Foster growls. “And get the hell out of here, Ollie, or I swear to the gods, you’ll be punished in the worst of ways.”
Ollie simply grins. “You must like her a lot. Usually, you’re so neutral about everything.” He pauses. “That’ll make it even more fun when I rip her apart.”
As an angry burst of wind circles around the room, I’m reminded of my powers. That I’m not completely weak. But everyone has been stressing how I need to keep my powers a secret. Still, though I’m a bit hesitant to allow them to slip through, I really want to, which might be a first.
“Ollie, you will not harm Sky,” Max’s commanding voice flows across the room. “If you do, you’ll be sent back to your world.”
Ollie must really not like his world because, in quite a panic, he sputters, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Master Max. I’m just so hungry and confused. I didn’t realize the girl matters to you.”
“Well, she does. Just as much as my brothers matter to me,” Max replies, and the stupidest drop of warmth sparks inside my chest. “Remember that.”
“I will, I will, I will,” Ollie murmurs, his voice quieting until it fades completely as he leaves the bathroom.
“Is she okay?” Max asks, his tone crammed with concern.
“I’m not sure. He woke her up, chased her in here, and then tried to …” Foster shakes his head, the muscles in his jaw pulsating. “What the hell, Max? Why is he out?”
“My bet is he broke the lock on the trunk again,” Max says remorsefully. “Usually, it’s not a big deal … Ollie swore an oath not to harm our family when I took him in, but Sky wasn’t part of that oath. It’s why I was so freaked out when I found out she had been in the attic, something you and Easton did.”
“I know. You don’t need to remind me.” Foster exhales deafeningly. “Can you make Ollie take an oath not to harm her? It’d be much better if you can.”
“That’s a good idea. Let me put the request in with my boss.” Max gives a short pause. “Sky, you doing okay back there?”
I collect my breath before speaking. “Yeah, I’m good.” Kind of feels like a lie, though. Honestly, I feel shaky and off balance. But an ogre did just try to eat me, so …
“I really am sorry,” Max apologizes again. “I’m surprised none of us felt your fear. I mean, I know we were all asleep, but still …”
“That might’ve been my fault,” Foster says with a bit of reluctance.
“And why’s that?” Max asks, sounding positively amused. “No, let me guess. It probably has something to do with why the bathroom looks like all the worlds meshed together.”
For some dumbass reason, I blush.
Is there, like, a cure for uncontrollable embarrassment? Because I could really use it around these guys.
“That’s none of your business,” Foster states. “Now go take care of your ogre.”
Chuckling, Max leaves the bathroom.
Foster lets out a frustrated sigh before rotating around to face me. “Are you okay?”
I nod, suddenly realizing I’m clutching his sides. I hastily withdraw my hands. Then horror sweeps through me.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry.” I smooth the pad of my fingers along the pink, crescent-shaped marks my fingernails left on his skin. “I didn’t realize I was digging my fingernails into you.”
“I’m fine.” The corners of his lips quirk up. “I thought we already established that earlier.”
I roll my eyes. “That was lame.”
“It was,” he agrees with a smile. “But it got you to blush, so …” He shrugs, his grin as bright as the flames dancing around us.
Shit, am I blushing again?
I move to cover my cheeks, but he stops me, capturing my hands in his. “Don’t. It’s cute.”
“Stop calling me cute,” I gripe. “It’s driving me crazy.”
His grin is all sorts of amused. “Why? It’s the truth.”
Good God, I can’t take this anymore. Compliments are too foreign to me. All of this is.
“I need to get dressed for school,” I change the subject, wiggling my hands from his grip. Then I swing around him but pause in the doorway and peer ove
r my shoulder at him. “Is there a dress code at this school? It’s an academy, right? Doesn’t that mean there’re uniforms?”
“Nah, we can dress however we want. But we do need to put eye drops in your eyes before we go.” His muscles flex as he crosses his arms and leans his hip against the edge of the counter. “Have you decided what element you’re going to go with? You need to decide really soon.”
I shake my head. “Honestly, between the whole merging thing, the dreams of darkness, and waking up to Ollie hovering over my bed, I kind of forgot I was supposed to pick one.”
“You can pick whatever one you want, but it might be better if you went with water, like me.” He shifts his weight and massages the back of his neck. “My parents have been talking about speaking with the headmistress and requesting you be placed in as many of my classes as possible so I can guide you through how our school works and help you keep your powers hidden. Although, the school doesn’t know about the last part. All they’re going to know is that you’re an elemental protector of whatever element you choose and that you just barely discovered your powers.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m kind of glad they’re doing that. This”—my gaze strays around the bathroom then back to him—“all these powers and a new, magical school … it’s a lot to take in, so I’m glad I’ll have someone guiding me through it. I just hope I don’t do something stupid that embarrasses you guys.”
He tilts his head to the side. “How would you do that?”
I lift a shoulder. “By, like … talking or something.”
His brows pinch together. “Talking? How would that embarrass us?”
“Because I totally suck at it. So, don’t be surprised if you introduce me to someone and I say something spazzy, like the first time I spoke to you …” Face palm. Why did I have to bring that up? Again.
“It’s fine. I always come off as an asshole, so maybe between your spazzy-ness and my asshole-ness, we’ll …” He wavers, contemplating.
“Make everyone avoid us?” I propose with a shrug.
He chuckles. “Maybe. It wouldn’t be too bad if they did. I’m not much of a people person anyway.” He crosses the bathroom toward me. “We really do need to get ready. School starts in just over an hour, but we should get there early to check you in.” He moves to squeeze past me in the doorway but pauses, a nervous edge carving into his features. “And for the record, I never thought you were spazzy the first time we spoke. Not even close.” Then he dips his head and my breath gets trapped in my chest.
Oh my God, is he going to kiss me? Do I want him to kiss me?
I don’t know…
I don’t move, don’t breathe, as his lips near mine.
Right at the last second, though, he moves his head to the side and brushes his lips across my cheek.
Sighing quietly, he pushes back and leaves the bathroom without giving me a chance to say anything else.
My breath falters from my lips as I stare at him in shock, lightning bursting above me and ice melting around my feet, probably from the warmth his kiss sent through me.
Chapter 2
Even though Foster said the dress code was chill, I struggle over what to wear. Finally, after deciding on a pair of black jeans, a red top, and my favorite pair of red velvet boots, I head out of my room to take a shower.
When I step into the hallway, Emaline and Gabe are hovering near the bathroom.
“I’m so sorry,” I apologize as I approach them. “I can try to help fix …” My jaw nearly drops to my knees when I reach the doorway and get a good view of the bathroom.
The floor is now ice-free, the light bulbs are back, the clouds are gone from the ceiling, and a tree is no longer sprouting from the shower.
“How did everything get fixed so quickly?” I glance at Gabe then at Emaline.
Emaline smiles warmly at me. “We can control and are connected to elements, Sky. Their energy is in our blood, which means that, not only can we summon them, we can also dismiss them.”
“So, you guys made all the snow and the tree go away?” I wonder why I sound so sad. It’s not like I was happy Foster’s and my powers destroyed the bathroom, but it was the first time my powers did something that I didn’t totally hate.
“With the help of Holden, Max, and Foster, we did,” she says, turning to face me. “Since you guys unleashed all the elements except for darkness, we needed one of each to be present.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” I pause as memories of my dreams surface. “What would’ve happened if we had summoned darkness?”
Her smile falters. “Foster mentioned you were having dreams of it.”
I nod, worry creeping through me as I remember all the things darkness said to me in my dreams. “Foster said it’s normal, though.”
“It is,” she says, but the way she worries her lip between her teeth has me concerned. “But, since you’re so new to this world and your powers, we think it might be a good idea if Foster gave you a lesson or two on how to block darkness out, okay?”
I nod. “Okay, I can do that.”
“Good.” She visibly relaxes then steps aside. “Go ahead and take a shower. I’ll have Charlotte get breakfast started.”
A protest about breakfast works its way up my throat, but knowing I’m running low on time, I smother it down and hurry inside the bathroom.
“And Sky,” Emaline says as I start to shut the door. “The world that you and Foster grew? It was beautiful. If I could, I would’ve left it here.”
Unsure of what to say, I force a smile and shut the door, pretending like I don’t agree with her. But as I turn and glance around the bathroom, it looks kind of dull now.
* * *
A half an hour later, I’m showered, dressed in clean clothes, and my long, brown hair has been brushed and swept to the side in a tangled mess of waves and braids. I’m not really a makeup girl, so I just dab on a bit of kohl eyeliner, some lip gloss, and call it good.
Before I endeavor downstairs, I grab my bag and phone from my room, noting I have six missed messages.
Gage: Just wanted to check on you and make sure you’re okay. You bailed so quickly last night.
Nina: Hey! Gage said you left???
Gage: You there?
Gage: I hope you didn’t get in too much trouble. Let me know if you need anything.
Nina: Dude, why aren’t you answering my messages?
Nina: Man, you missed it. Grey had to be taken to the hospital.
The last text makes my heart sprint in my chest as I frantically text her back.
Me: What do you mean he went to the hospital? What happened?
She doesn’t answer right away, probably because it’s so early. Truthfully, I don’t expect her to answer until at least noon, so when I receive a message from her as I’m heading downstairs, I’m shocked. But what’s in her text shocks me even more.
Nina: Dude, don’t ever message me this early again! The only reason I’m responding is because I had to get up to pee. But anyway, I’m not sure exactly what happened. From what people were saying, someone tasered Grey last night and he passed out.
Me: Is he okay?
Nina: One of his friends said he was released from the hospital, like, an hour after he was taken there, so I’m assuming he is. Seriously, though, I want to find out who tasered him and shake their hand. That asshole totally deserved it.
She’s right, but that doesn’t mean I feel any better about the reality. The reality that I’m fairly sure my kiss is what tasered him.
Chapter 3
I’m feeling a bit gloomy over the message I received from Nina. Not that I care that Grey got a little hurt. But it’s hard dealing with the fact that a simple kiss from me is what did it to him.
As I exit my bedroom, with a Charlie Brown sized frown on my face, I bump into Max. And by bump, I mean literally walk right into him with so much force that I knock my head against his chin.
“Oh gods, are you okay?” Ma
x asks as he steadies me by the shoulder.
I nod, pressing the heel of my hand against my forehead as I tip my head back and meet his gaze. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
He offers me a lopsided smile. “Neither was I, or I would’ve put a stop to it before it happened.”
I start to return his smile when his words click. “Wait. How would you have stopped it?”
His lips kick up into an amused grin. “With my powers.”
“What sort of powers?” A memory dances in my mind of seeing glowing, green eyes my first night here. Seconds later, I fell asleep. Or, well, more like passed out. “Wait … Did you, like, hypnotize me my first night here?”
Max pulls a wary face. “It’s not really hypnotizing so much as pushing a thought into someone’s mind.”
“That sounds an awful lot like hypnotizing,” I say with amused suspicion.
He chuckles. “Maybe you’re right, and I’m sorry I did it. I just panicked when you looked out the window and saw us wandering off toward the forest.”
“Where were you going anyway? To one of your”—I make air quotes—“ ‘tournaments?’ ”
He shakes his head, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. “I was actually working that night.”
“You mean, tracking an outlaw?”
His brows dart up in surprise. “How’d you know about that?”
I shrug. “Foster explained it to me after Ollie chased me into the bathroom. He said Ollie helps you track creatures.”
He surveys me with a strange look on his face. “You don’t sound very frightened about that fact.”
“Should I be?”
“I don’t know … The creatures I track can be dangerous. And sometimes that danger occasionally follows me home.” He shifts his weight, strands of hair falling into his green eyes as he tips his head forward. “Not that I’d ever let anything happen to my family, but there has been once or twice that …” He pauses to take a breath then lifts his gaze back to me. “But yeah, anyway, that’s what I do for a living and what I was doing that night when I pushed a thought to go to sleep inside your mind, which again, I’m sorry about.”
Enchanted Chaos Series: Sky & Foster’s Complete Novel Page 19
