Iridescent Chaos (Enchanted Chaos 3)

Pain sears at my chest as images of the past emerge and try to tear me apart from the inside.

No… I can’t deal with this… I can’t…

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Hands all over me…

Touching me…

Laughter…

“I’m going to ruin you,” she whispers in my ear.

“Are you okay?” Foster asks, staring at me with concern.

I shove the images away, bury them deep inside me. “I’m fine… I’m just thinking about stuff.” I pause, pulling my shit together and say very calmly, “We should probably go check on Sky and see if she’s okay. I’m sure she’s having a hard time dealing with this.” I can feel that she is, but don’t say that aloud, not wanting to remind him of the altered link and how it’s not going to be fixed yet.

He nods and backs toward the entrance to the tree house.

“We’re okay, though, right?” I ask as I follow him.

He nods, giving me the same fake smile I give everyone. I’ll admit, seeing it hurts like a bitch. All of this does. It makes me crave a taste of numbing magic, but I can’t ever go back to doing that, to being who I was while I was a magic addict.

Still, as I step back into the treehouse with intensely confusing emotions pressing against my chest, I have to wonder if maybe it’d be easier for everyone if I temporarily numbed my emotions, at least until the link is fixed.

No, I can’t go back to that, to being an addict.

But deep inside my mind, a hunger starts to emerge and I have to wonder if maybe I should just give in and feed it.

Skylin

After Hunter informs me that an old power is inside me, the guys clear out of the room, telling me that they’re giving me some space. But I have an inkling they want to discuss some things they don’t want me to hear. Their secrecy should annoy me a bit, but honestly I’m too drained right now to care.

After everyone leaves, I lie down on the bed and stare up at the ceiling, contemplating everything that’s happened. How the god of darkness can’t touch me right now because I’m linked to the Porterson brothers and how they all seem to be on edge about it. Well, except for Porter and Hunter, who look intently curious about something whenever they glance at me. While I’m starting to understand why Porter looks at me that way, I worry about the cause behind Hunter’s intense looks. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, though, since I’ve never felt anything malicious flowing down the link from him or any of the other Porterson brothers. Honestly, all I’ve felt down the link over the last several minutes is worry and a drop of anger. I’m not sure who’s angry—maybe all of them—but it has me tossing and turning as I try to take a quick powernap.

I want to go to sleep, not only my powers can recharge, but so I’ll stop stressing out about everything for a bit. I also want to take a break from the hunger humming under my skin. Although, that did dim down a notch when Porter walked out of the room.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Sky, can I come in?” Foster says through the shut door.

I push up on my elbows. “Yeah.”

The door creaks open and Foster walks in, tugging his fingers through his hair as he peers around the room and then at me. He looks nervous and the link is flowing with anxiety.

“Are you okay?” I ask as he slowly crosses the room toward me.

He nods, pausing at the side of the bed before climbing onto it and lying down beside me. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine.” He rolls onto his side, facing me, and his eyes skim across my face. “It’s you I’m worried about. All of this… It’s a lot to take in.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assure him, chewing on my bottom lip. “But you seemed upset when you left the room earlier and I’m worried about you.”

“I was just struggling to process all of this.” He traces my cheekbone with his fingertip. “I’m fine now, though. I understand why the link needs to stay the way that it is.”

I shake my head. “No, you’re not fine. I can tell.

A exhale eases from his lips. “No, but I’ll be eventually. It might take some time, though, but I’ll get there. ”

I nod as if I understand, but I’m uncertain if I fully do. “Maybe if you talk about it, I can help make you feel better,” I say through a yawn.