Shimmering Chaos (Enchanted Chaos 2)

Chewing on my thumbnail, I leave the kitchen and meet up with Holden in the foyer. He’s leaning against the banister, waiting for me when I approach him.

“Hey.” He straightens, scrubbing his hand across the top of his head, his eyes zeroing in on my fingernail chewing. Sighing, he lowers his hand to his side. “You don’t need to be nervous, Sky. If anything, I should be nervous… Some of the stuff I said last night was uncalled for, particularly about you being weak.”

“It’s fine.” I lower my hand from my mouth. “It’s not like it wasn’t the truth.”

“Truth or not, I acted like an asshole.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “And you’re not weak. You just need to learn how to control your powers, but once you do, you’re going to be very powerful.”

“Thanks,” I say, although I still feel a bit wary about this whole being powerful thing.

“It’s a good thing to be powerful.” It’s as if he’s reading my damn mind again.

“But dangerous.” It’s not a question. They already told me enough about my powers now that I know the more powerful I am, the more in danger I’ll be.

“You’ll be safe with us,” he says instead of trying to sugarcoat the truth, which I appreciate.

I nod, giving him a smile. “I think I’m starting to believe that.”

“Good. After what I said last night, I want to make sure you understand that.” He tensely massages the back of his neck. “Sometimes I can get really protective of my family, but that doesn’t give me an excuse to be a jerk.”

“You weren’t a jerk.” A partial lie, but he apologized and I don’t need to be a grudge holder. “And I think it’s nice that you guys are protective of each other. In fact, there were a lot of times while I was growing up that I wished I had siblings so I could be part of a family who cared about me.” God, I sound like a pathetic, mopey girl looking for a pity party.

“Well, you’re part of ours now, so you no longer have to feel that way.” He steps forward and gives me a hug.

Warmth spills through me, soft and welcoming.

This has happened a few times when I’m around him.

“What is that?” I ask. “That warm feeling you give off sometimes?”

His arms tense around me then he quickly draws back. “It’s nothing really. My powers sometimes just have a mind of their own.”

“So they just do things all by themselves?”

He nods, looking a bit squirrely. “And while I’d love to explain more, we don’t have time right now.”

He’s avoiding telling me something, but with how twitchy he’s acting, I decide to let it drop for now.

“We should probably get back into the kitchen before East eats all the waffles.” He places his hand against the small of my back and pushes me toward the kitchen.

I move forward and push open the kitchen door, stepping inside. Holden follows behind me and a grin breaks across his face at the sight of the plate of freshly made waffles on the countertop.

He hurries over and dives in,. “Thanks Charlotte, You’re the best.”

She grins and stacks another waffle onto his plate.

“I’m trying not to take it personally that you always give Holden more food,” Easton gripes to Charlotte. “But I kind of am.” He juts out his lip. “Is he your favorite?”

“All of you are my favorites,” she replies, then puts a waffle onto Easton’s plate. “If you want more food, just say so,”

Easton grins then stuffs half a waffle into his mouth.

Guys and food. Seriously

I move back toward the counter where my plate is, my stomach grumbling with hunger.

Easton catches my gaze. “Are you hungry, lightning eyes? Or did you eat a baby gremlin while you were out in the hallway?”

“I’m hungry…” I pause as his words sink in. “Wait… do gremlins exist?”