She frowns, agony filling her eyes, and I immediately regret my words.
“He died about a decade ago at the hand of an elemental protector of darkness, but that’s becoming more and more common in Elemental.” She wraps her arms around herself. “His death is part of the reason I decided to leave our world and come work for the Everettsons. My children left, too. And while I’m glad we’re all okay, I long for the days when we can all live in our world safely and not have to live in hiding.” She reaches across the counter and pats my hand. “Something I’m sure you understand.”
“Maybe a little. At least the having to hide my powers part.” I chew on a bite of eggs. “How did you end up working for the Everettsons?”
A smile touches her lips. “Gabe’s parents were friends of my husband’s and mine, and when they mentioned needing a housekeeper, I volunteered. They’ve been so good to me, and they are great creatures. They’re always trying to help everyone, even if it means risking their own safety.”
I nod in understanding. “They risked a lot taking me in, too.”
“I know, but I know for a fact they’re happy to do it. Especially Foster. That poor boy has been so lonely and sad since his grandparents passed away. I can only imagine how hard it was for him to think he lost the last of his kind.” She muses over something with a small smile. “Although, he’s been a lot happier the last couple of days. Not that he’s ever treated me poorly. That boy has always been a sweetheart, even if he pretends otherwise to most people. Still, I can’t believe what fate did to him. That the girl he liked would end up being the girl meant for him.”
Her words send confusion through me since Foster has only mildly liked me for a couple of days. I open my mouth to ask her what she meant, but her gaze wanders to something over my shoulder.
“Speaking of which.”
I twist around and find Foster entering the kitchen and shaking his head. His hair is damp, which probably means he just showered, and he’s dressed in his usual head-to-toe black attire with leather bands and studs to match.
“I have a feeling I was just being talked about.” Foster glances suspiciously from Charlotte to me.
“And your feelings are correct.” Grinning, she hands him a plate of eggs and bacon.
Foster takes the plate from her. “Okay, what were you saying?”
I’m actually pretty eager to hear myself, especially to hear what she meant by the girl he liked ending up being meant for him. But she only gives him a smile and a wink then heads for the door.
“I’ll be in my room today, working on some spells. If you need anything, let me know. And please, don’t burn the house down.” With that, she exits the kitchen.
I glance at Foster, trying to put together some pieces I feel like I’m missing.
“What did she say to you?” Foster asks, nervously shifting his weight.
I shrug. “I don’t know. Just some stuff about her and her family and you.” I wait for him to ask what she said about him, but he must not want to hear since he simply tugs on my hand and steers me out of the room.
“Come on; let’s go eat our breakfast in the pool room then get our practice session started.”
The pool house is a massive room with, yeah, you guessed it, a pool. There’re also massive, flourishing trees that stretch toward the glass ceiling that gives an awesome view of the sky. When we first walked in, it had been mildly cloudy outside, but the more I use my powers, the stormier it gets. So far, though, nothing has been set on fire nor has it rained. I think that might be due to Foster syphoning some of my powers, though, and not because I’ve suddenly become a badass at using them.
“Okay, I want to try something new,” Foster tells me as he lines his palms with mine again.
He’s standing in front of me with his shoes off. Easton is with us, but he’s lounging around in a chair beside the hot tub and texting on his phone, griping about how no one will text him back and that he’s super bored.
I trap a breath in my chest, waiting for him to release some of his powers, something he’s done a couple of times already, and damn, is it intense.
“I want you to try to stabilize some of my powers,” he explains, tracing a finger up and down my palm. Faint, blue zaps of light emit across my skin and the air around me hums. It doesn’t hurt, though. No, in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
I shake my head. “I can barely stabilize my own powers, let alone yours.”
“I think you can do more than you’re allowing yourself,” he says. “You’re just too
nervous to let yourself feel the full force of your powers.”
“And for good reasons.” I cock a brow. “Remember the grocery store fire incident I told you about?”
“I promise I won’t let you start a fire. I just want you to be able to stabilize my powers so that, if anything ever happens again like with Brody and his friends, you’ll be able to shove their powers out of you.”
I restlessly tap my foot against the concrete. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Sky …” Foster’s tone is soft and patient. He’s actually been really patient through all this, something I never would’ve guessed he possessed if you’d asked me a week ago. Then again, a week ago I never would’ve thought a bunch of people were walking around with secret powers. “I know tapping into all this power is scary, especially after you spent years trying to keep it contained, but I need you to trust me, okay?” His lightning-blue eyes spark with tiny lightning bolts. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”