Shimmering Chaos (Enchanted Chaos 2)

She nods, shoveling a cup full of waffle batter into the waffle maker. “It can when it’s dying.”

I gape at Foster. “Your world is dying?”

“Our world is dying,” he corrects, twisting on his barstool to face me. “It’s been going on for a while, though, so we’ve all sort of gotten used to the idea. Not that it sucks any less.”

“Can’t you do something about it? I mean, you have powers and …” I stuff a bite into my mouth.

“It’s beyond anyone’s power at this point, unless someone can create elemental gods and goddesses again,” he explains, adding a glob of butter to his waffles.

“Why? What happened to the other ones?”

“They died just under a couple decades ago. And since their energy created and fueled Elemental, it’s now withering as the remnants of their powers fade. And only gods and goddesses are powerful enough to fuel a world.”

“What about elemental enchanters? We’re powerful, right? So, why can’t we do it?” And why do I feel so sad that Elemental is dying?

“We’re powerful, but not powerful enough for that. At least not just the two of us.” His knees press against mine as he rotates sideways in his seat. “And you feel sad about Elemental dying because your powers are linked to it.”

“How did you know I was sad …?” I shake my head. “Never mind. The creepy, merge-y thing.”

“Merge-y.” Easton chuckles as he stands up and stretches his arms above his head. “Our sis uses funny words.”

“Don’t call me sis,” I warn as Foster shoots him a glare and says, “You can’t call her that.”

Easton arches a brow at Foster, his smile taunting. “Why not, bro?”

“Because,” Foster grits out, pinning him with a withering glare.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s not a very good name for the situation.” A funny look passes across his face that leaves me feeling mystified. “I think I’m going to stick with lightning eyes.”

“Or Sky,” I protest. “That’s pretty cool, too. And it’s super short so you probably won’t forget it.”

Easton arches a brow. “You act like I have a hard time remembering names. Like I’m a dummy or something.”

I bat my eyelashes innocently at him. “Well, you do seem to have a hard time remembering mine, so …” I give a half-shrug.

He narrows his eyes at me, but a playful glint twinkles in them. “You and I, lightning eyes, are going to have a lot of fun.”

My lips twitch. “Sky. My name is Sky. S. K. Y. You know, like that big, blue thing that’s always above us.”

“That big, blue thing that you constantly strike lightning across,” Easton stresses with a toothy grin. “So, if you really think about it, my name’s more fitting.”

I give him an unimpressed look, a snarky comeback tickling at the back of my throat, but Holden enters the room and interrupts us.

“Please tell me there’re some waffles left,” he says as he waltzes in, breathing in the syrupy air.

“I’m whipping up another batch as we speak,” Charlotte replies to him with a smile.

He returns her smile then his gaze travels across the rest of us, ultimately landing on me. “Hey, Sky, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Um …” I shrug. Even though he seemed nice when I first met him, after he called me weak last night, I’m a bit apprehensive about Holden. “I guess so.”

He gives me a small smile then signals for me to follow him as he walks out of the kitchen.

Confused, I start after him, glancing at Foster as I pass him.

He smiles reassuringly, but confusion dances in his eyes. His confusion makes me even more apprehensive.

What could Holden possibly want to talk to me about? Clearly no one else in this house appears to know.