Shimmering Chaos (Enchanted Chaos 2)

Easton and Foster nod, and then just as quickly as she materialized, she evaporates into a cloud of smoke.

“That was … weird,” I state, staring at the traces of smoke lingering in the air. “And, why did she seem so worried about the council going quiet?”

Foster shares a troubled look with Easton then turns to me. “Because the last time they went quiet and didn’t communicate with anyone was when the gods and goddesses died.”

A nagging pain starts to prod at my chest. “Do you think someone else has died?”

“I really have no idea,” he says.

So then, why does he look so worried?

Everyone remains fairly quiet after that.

Eventually, I make myself something to eat then head back to bed to get some rest. Even though I’ve been sleeping for most of the day, I feel drained. When I tell Foster this, he explains that being in the room of darkness drained a lot of my energy. But he assures me that, with how powerful I am, I should feel replenished in the morning after a full night’s rest. The problem is, I’m terrified to go to sleep, that darkness will visit me in my nightmares.

“Are you okay?” Foster asks as we stop in front of my bedroom door. “You’ve been really quiet since my mom sent her message.”

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “It just feels like you guys are keeping some stuff from me. Not that I blame you. I know you don’t know me very well. But it’s weird feeling like such an outsider all the time.”

“It’s not that.” He folds his arms across his chest and shifts his weight. “We just don’t talk a lot about the missions my parents go on. At least, not the full details. It’s not allowed.”

“Oh, okay.” I turn to go into my room, unsure if I’m buying what he said.

As soon as my gaze lands on the darkness covering the sky outside my window, I pause.

Foster moves up behind me. “What is it?”

“It’s nothing.” I give a shrug. “I’m just nervous about going to sleep and maybe having nightmares about darkness.” I feel like a wimp. “It says such creepy-ass things to me. And the images I saw in the room …”

Seriously, though, where is my badassery? I need to get over this. So, maybe my mom and dad did leave me? Who cares? I should be tougher than this. And it’s not like I haven’t been on my own before. Still, knowing they maybe just me left hurts like a bitch.

“Can I ask you something? It’s about the room of darkness and whether the stuff it showed me was real.”

Foster hesitates. “Darkness has the ability to read creature’s fears, so what it showed you may have held a bit of truth, but it’s also spun with a web of exaggeration, if that makes sense.”

I wrap my arms around myself. “It showed my parents leaving me.”

“Even if that

held any truth to it, it’s your parents’ loss. Not yours.” He loops his arms around my waist, his movements a bit fumbling, revealing he’s nervousness. “You’re an amazing creature, and anyone who gets you in their life is very lucky. We all knew that from the moment we met you. You were nice, even though we were acting like assholes. And then you said a few smartass remarks and that made us like you even more.”

“It sure didn’t seem like you guys liked me.”

“Trust me; we’re good at wearing masks, but the link doesn’t lie.”

“The link is broken right now,” I remind him.

“No, it’s not. It’s just… altered and working differently.”

Am I pathetic for liking what he said about them liking me? Is it bad to want to be part of someone else’s life and for them to want you to be?

“Do you want me to lie beside you while you fall asleep?” he asks with a nervous edge in his tone. “I can help you try to control the nightmares. My mom used to do it for me when I was little. It helped sometimes.”

When I was younger, I used to have nightmares. My mom and dad would always get mad at me when I tried to sneak into their room and sleep on the floor. I used to wished that someone would comfort me or at least tell me everything will be okay. Maybe even give me a hug.

Whether it makes me weak or not, I nod. “Yeah, okay. That sounds …” Wonderful, I want to say, but then I mentally kick my own ass and settle on, “good.”

“Are you sure …? You sound hesitant.”