Shimmering Chaos (Enchanted Chaos 2)

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 places a quick kiss on my cheek before walking away.

I’d call him out on his bullshit, give him a little reminder on what happened the first time we spoke to each other, but the kiss is doing weird things to my body and mouth. So, I do the only thing I can do. I stare at him as he walks away with 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 d

id 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.