Shimmering Chaos (Enchanted Chaos 2)

Foster frowns at the message on the screen that basically states I won’t be allowed to attend elemental classes. “Fine, we’ll schedule a meeting with her. One that my mother will attend.”

“Very well.” Anna frowns, clearly annoyed. “Have her call in so I can set up a date. But it won’t be for at least a few days until the headmistress gets back. Until then, Sky will have to attend these scheduled classes.” She hands me a piece of paper with a list of basic classes—pre-calculus, English, biology, etc.—along with what looks like a standard P.E. uniform—shorts and a shirt with the school’s name on it. “I put her in as many of your human classes as I could,” she tells Foster. “But not all of them were available.”

Foster grinds his teeth as he pushes to his feet, shooting her a dirty look before taking my hand and pulling me to my feet.

We leave the office, with my schedule and P.E. uniform in hand, and head outside toward the other building where our first class is held, which we fortunately have together.

The sky is grey, the air chilly, and a bit of frost glazes the grass. The parking lot is vacant, though, for which I’m grateful, but our tardiness means I have to walk into class late and that will probably draw attention.

“I’m sorry about this,” Foster says as we make our way up the path that leads to the domed building. “Hopefully, my mom can get everything fixed.”

“It really is okay. I kind of get where the headmistress is coming from. I know nothing about our world or my powers and trying to jump into any classes related to them at the end of our final year would more than likely result in me failing. Although, it would’ve been nice to learn more about my powers and the history of our world.”

“You will learn about them,” he assures as we reach the entrance door. “If my mom can’t get the headmistress to budge, my brothers and I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

“That seems like a lot of work for you guys, and all because you got stuck with me.”

“We didn’t get stuck with you.”

I arch my brows. “Um, yeah, that’s exactly what happened.”

He studies me intensely. “Maybe you’re right, but that doesn’t mean we mind. In fact, we like

having you around.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes, but on the inside, my stomach does that stupid fluttering thing again. “We’ll see if you’re still saying that after you’ve been around me for a while.”

He continues to study me, appearing like he wants to say more, so I’m thrown for a turn when he abruptly changes the subject.

“I’m sorry about Brody bothering you this morning.” He pulls open the door to the school.

“It’s fine.” I step inside, and he follows behind me. Unlike the other building, lockers line the walls and the ceilings are peaked and lined with beams. “It’s not like I never had to deal with a douchey guy before.”

“Yeah, I know, but …” He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “You’re already nervous enough as it is. You didn’t need my drama added to it. And the way he threatened you …” He shakes his head with his jaw clenched. “He’s not going to touch you. I won’t let it happen.”

“I’m not going to let it happen either,” I say as confidently as I can. “I know I don’t have much control over my powers, but I’m not completely helpless. I’ve handled crazy situations before. My parents used to bring all sorts of sketchy-ass people home with them, and the stuff they tried to do …” Wait. Why am I telling him this? I haven’t even told Nina and Gage this stuff. “But anyway, yeah, I can take care of myself.”

Pity flashes in his eyes. “Well, even if you can, I don’t want to be that person in your life who forces you to handle things.”

I want to feel good about what he said, but I still don’t know why he’s being nice to me. Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll ever know.

“That’s great, and I appreciate it, but I just want to make sure you understand I’m not totally incompetent,” I tell him.

“I’ve never thought you were incompetent, no matter what I may have said.”

I wish I knew if he was being truthful. Wish I knew a lot of things.

“Good.” I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as we slow to a stop. “I’m kind of curious why Brody thinks you broke this Sofie person’s heart, though.”

Foster’s shoulders sag as he sighs. “It’s a long story, but basically, she’s this girl who’s been trying to get me to go out with her for a couple of years. At first, she just flirted with me. But then things got really weird when she broke into my room and waited for me on my bed in nothing but her underwear.” He slips his hands from his pockets and fiddles with the clasp of a leather band on his wrist. “I’m not going to lie. I was a dick to her and probably could’ve handled the situation better, but sometimes, it’s hard … I’ve been forced to be so cold and indifferent for so long that I forget what emotions feel like and that most creatures and humans do have them.”

My heart aches for him. “I’m sure you have feelings, too.”

“I do, but they’ve been buried for so long that I sometimes forget what they’re like.”

“I kind of get where you’re coming from. Or, well, I know what it’s like to have to force myself to stop feeling things because I worry the sky might erupt in flames. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever really felt. I’ve always kind of had to rein in my emotions.”

He hesitates. “Do you ever wonder what it’s like? To just feel?”