Shimmering Chaos (Enchanted Chaos Series )

  Shimmering Chaos

  (Enchanted Chaos Series, Book 2)

  Jessica Sorensen

  Shimmering Chaos

  Jessica Sorensen

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2018 by Jessica Sorensen

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Any trademarks, service marks, product names or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.

  For information: jessicasorensen.com

  Cover Design by MaeIDesign

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Iridescent Chaos (Enchanted Chaos, Book 3) is coming September 2018!

  About the Author

  Also by Jessica Sorensen

  Chapter 1

  My room is pitch black, and the house silent, except for the murmuring whispers of the wind that are begging me to come find it.

  I peel my eyelids open and climb out of bed, padding over to the window where I peer out into the night. The yard is blanketed in darkness with the trees towering in the distance.

  “Can you hear me, Sky?” Vines of darkness dance around in the field just beyond the house. “Come to me. Join me. You can be my queen.”

  “Stop saying that,” I whisper as I shiver. “I’m not your queen, and I never will be.”

  Darkness laughs, the tendrils hovering. “Then you’ll die.”

  I wait for darkness to come to me, to try to take me away, but they don’t budge. They just hover in the distance, as if they can’t reach me. Maybe they can’t. Perhaps the spells around the house are making it so they can’t get to me.

  I’m safe here.

  Darkness purrs with laughter. “You may be, but you have to leave eventually. Just like you’ll leave the Everettsons eventually. And when you do, you’ll be mine.”

  The tendrils shift, slipping away and giving me a better view of the trees and the road and the figures lurking in the shadows.

  Hunters.

  I don’t know how I know. I just do.

  “Now that we’ve found you, I’m not about to let you go,” darkness warns. “You’ll be mine—”

  Sunlight filters in through the windows, pulling me from my nightmare. Well, and the feeling that someone is standing beside my bed.

  “Hey, hey, hey, you want to know a secret?”

  As my eyelids flutter open, I’m greeted by a green-eyed, hairy-faced, warty-nosed … Well, I’m not even sure what it is.

  I gasp, bolting upright and scooting across the bed as far away from the creature as I can get.

  Its grey lips part, revealing a set of sharp fangs. “Don’t be afraid, little one.” But the purr in its voice only spikes my fear.

  Panicking, I clumsily dive off the bed, landing face-first on the hardwood floor.

  “Ow,” I grimace as pain radiates from my forehead.

  I promptly chuck the pain aside as the thudding of footsteps hammering against the floor fills the room.

  “Easy, easy, easy. I’m not going to hurt you.” The creature appears near the foot of the bed, giving me a good view of its stubby, hairy legs, its short arms, and its rounded body covered by clothes that look two sizes too small for it.

  “W-what are you?” I sputter as I stumble to my feet and step away from it.

  It counters with a pleased grin. “An elemental protector who doesn’t know what I am? Oh, what a delight!” It claps its hands in excitement and, for a faltering moment, my fear morphs into puzzlement. But then its expression darkens, its fangs growing as its eyes light up with what I can only describe as hunger. “Lucky me.” Its voice is different this time, lower and rumbling with desire. Then, with a grin, it barrels toward me.

  I stumble backward, bumping into the wall. Then I let out a string of curses, jump onto the bed, and leap to the other side.

  The crazy creature mimics my move, scrambling after me as I sprint for the door.

  As I reach the hallway, I scan all the shut doors. With all the chaos that’s been going on for the last couple of days, I never got a tour, so I’m not sure what door leads to where, except for the one the faery’s hidden behind, the bathroom, and the attic. Since the Everettsons aren’t your ordinary family and have things like faeries hidden behind doors, I’m a bit reluctant to just run into a random room, so I haul ass for the bathroom, figuring it’s my safest bet.

  My skin is scalding hot, and I can almost smell a potential fire brewing as I reach the closed bathroom door.

  Crap, I need to get myself under control.

  But that’s a bit difficult when some odd, hairy, hungry creature is chasing me. So, by the time I wrap my hand around the doorknob, the metal melts against my skin and drips down to the floor.

  Cursing my ability, I trip into the bathroom and slam the door closed. Without a doorknob, though, the door won’t lock, so I press my back against it and brace myself for when the creature slams against it. Instead, an eerie stillness settles across the air that does nothing for my nerves.

  Short gasps flee past my lips as I strain to listen, trying to pick up any signs of what the creature is doing. All I can hear, though, is the sound of running water …

  Wait …

  I peer around the spacious bathroom, suddenly hyperaware of the steam in the air, the foggy mirrors, and the spray of the shower running.

  Oh, my God, someone is in the shower!

  When Emaline showed me the bathroom, she said it was mine and that no one else would use it, so why is someone in here? Not that I’d care any other time, but right now, I care a freakin’ ton!

  The only positive thing about this situation is that the shower is located in the far back corner and tucked into the wall, out of view. If I could see the shower, I’d probably erupt in flames, considering it has a glass door.

  As the water is turned off, my embarrassment rises to my cheeks. I rack my brain for a solution to fix this soon-to-be very embarrassing moment, but the only options I can think of are to 1). bolt out of the bathroom and cross my fingers that the creature isn’t waiting out in the hallway to eat me, or 2). warn the person who’s about to step out of the shower that I’m in here. Neither choices seem fantastic, but when it all comes down to it, I think I’ll take embarrassment over being eaten by some hairy, little, nubby monster.

  I clear my throat. “Um … whoever’s in the shower, you might want to wait to get out.”

  A mortifying gap of silence passes.

  “Sky?”

  I cringe, recognizing Foster’s voice.

  It just had to be him, didn’t it? Then again, I guess it could be worse. Easton or Hunter could have been in there …

  “Yeah, it’s me,” I reply stupidly.

  “Okay.” Another slamming heartbeat of silence goes by. “So, quick question.
Why are you in the bathroom with me while I’m showering? Not that I mind. I’m just curious.” His puzzlement is evident but mixed with amusement.

  Awesome. Why do I have the feeling this moment is going to come back to bite me in the ass?

  I silently beg my voice to come out evenly. “I’m not being a perv or anything,” I explain defensively.

  “Glad to know.” Now he just sounds amused.

  I release an exasperated sigh. “Some hairy, little creature woke me up this morning and chased me out of my room. I was a little hesitant to just run into a random bedroom, since you guys hide faeries and stuff in your house, so I ran in here because I knew what was in here.” I chew on my thumbnail. “Your mom said this was my bathroom and no one else would use it, so I thought it was safe to just run in.”

  “Oh yeah, sorry about that. Normally, no one does use this bathroom, but Porter froze the pipes in the one I normally use, so I snuck in here … I thought you were asleep, so it wouldn’t matter.” He pauses. “I also thought I locked the door.”

  “You might’ve, but I melted the doorknob, so …” I shrug, even though he can’t see me.

  Another pause, and then he busts up laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” I ask, totally lost.

  “It’s nothing.” He works to get his laughter under control. “It’s just cute … You’re cute.”

  Warmth consumes my cheeks. Luckily, he’s in the shower so he can’t see my reaction. “No, I’m not,” I mutter, moving to step away from the door. “I’ll step out so you can get dressed.”

  “No, don’t,” he says quickly. “Ollie’s probably waiting for you to come out.”

  “Ollie?”

  “Max’s ogre … He keeps the thing in the trunk we mentioned a few times.”

  “You keep an ogre locked in the trunk in the attic? Holy crap. Was it in the trunk when I was up there?”

  “He was … Sky, I really am sorry for the shit Easton and I did to you when you first came here. We thought we needed to get you to leave so our family’s secrets wouldn’t be jeopardized, but it was wrong of us.”

  “No, it wasn’t. Or, well, wanting to protect your family’s secrets wasn’t. But you probably shouldn’t have let me go into the attic with the ogre.” I cringe as I recall how hungry he looked and those fangs … “I’m pretty sure he wants to eat me.”

  “Let me get dressed, and then I’ll go get Max and have him take care of him.” He doesn’t bother correcting me about the ogre wanting to eat me, so I’m assuming I’m correct. “Max is the only one who can really control him. Although, I’m not even sure why he’s running around the house to begin with. Max usually only lets him out when he’s portal traveling.”

  “Why? Or, well, what’s the point of having an ogre?”

  “Because they’re good at tracking scents.”

  “Is there a specific reason Max needs something to track scents?”

  “Because he’s a tracker, which is basically like a bounty hunter in the human world.”

  “So, Max tracks outlaws for a living?” I mull the idea over. “What kind of outlaws? I’m assuming inhuman ones.”

  “Yeah, they’re definitely not human,” he says. “The things he tracks are usually dangerous and evil.”

  “Oh.” Goosebumps sprout across my arms.

  Quietness stirs across the air until Foster says, “So, um, I need to get out of the shower at some point.”

  “Oh, yeah.” I mentally roll my eyes, the heat in my cheeks magnifying. “Do you want me to, um … step out?”

  “No. Like I said, Ollie might be waiting for you …” He clears his throat. “You can just close your eyes.”

  I smash my lips together and restlessly thrum my fingers against the sides of my legs. He wants to get out of the shower while I’m in here? Be naked in the same room as me? Not that I think nakedness is bad; it’s just a naked guy is a bit out of my comfort zone. Not that I’m going to tell Foster that.

  “Just let me know when it’s okay to get out,” he adds with a hint of nervousness.

  Never in a million years would I have thought the guy who treated me horribly the other day in the auto body shop parking lot could be so tentative and unsure. It makes the situation a bit easier to deal with.

  Sucking in a breath, I close my eyes. “All right, my eyes are shut.”

  I hear the click of the shower door being opened then the rustling of clothes. Knowing that he’s right there, totally naked, makes my heart rate speed up and my palms fizzle with heat.

  Just calm the hell down, Sky. He’s just a guy. A guy you pretty much despised until last night.

  The problem is, he basically went from being an extremely cocky jerk to this nice, sweet, understanding guy who made sure I fell asleep safely in my bed. The change in him happened so swiftly that it gave my emotions whiplash. But the only reason he may be being nice to me is because I’m an elemental enchanter like him, so that kind of sucks ass. That doesn’t make him any less hot, though, and knowing he’s right there, without any clothes on, dripping wet, has me conjuring up all sorts of mental pictures in my mind—

  “Okay, you can open your eyes now,” he says with a drop of laughter in his tone.

  “What’s so funny?” I question, opening my eyes.

  He’s standing closer than I expected, his black pants hanging low on his hips and water dripping from his hair and onto his chest. His very bare, lean, tattooed chest.

  “It’s nothing.” He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, struggling not to smile. “But I think I may need to give you a couple of practice sessions on how to block your emotions from traveling down the link.”

  Wait …

  Oh shit. Could he feel the lust flowing off me when I was picturing him naked in the shower?

  Do not blush, Sky. Don’t you fucking dare.

  I rack my mind for another topic.

  “Why don’t you have a shirt on?” Seriously, of all the topics I could’ve went with, that’s the one I chose?

  I need to give myself a good ass-kicking. For reals.

  He drags his hand across his mouth, trying to hide his amused smile. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to come in here, so I just brought pants to change into. I can dig the shirt I was wearing out of the hamper, though, if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

  “No, you’re fine.” I cringe at my stupid choice of words. “I mean, you don’t need to put a shirt on.”

  He rolls his tongue in his mouth then steps toward me. My back stiffens, and he halts, his brows puckering.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he says cautiously. “I was just going to peek into the hallway and see where Ollie is.”

  “I didn’t think you were going to hurt me … I’m just …” I wet my lips with my tongue and move away from the door, shaking my head at myself. So, I can handle portal traveling and dealing with my powers, but if you put me in a room with a shirtless guy, I can barely think straight. Jesus, I’m such a spaz sometimes. “I’m sorry I’m acting weird.”

  “You’re fine.” He offers me a smile then swings around me and cracks the door open.

  He’s within arm’s reach, close enough that I can feel his body heat emitting from him, and suddenly lightning sparks across my skin. He doesn’t appear to notice—thank God—as he sticks his head out into the hallway and peers around.

  I inhale, and then let it out, trying to steady the overwhelming heat sweltering inside me from the sparks. But, as if his energy draws mine, my fingers magnetize toward him, and I graze his side with my fingertips, right across a tattoo of a lightning bolt. The instant my skin comes into contact with his, Foster’s muscles ravel into tight knots, and a nice, big, icy-cold bucket of metaphoric water douses over me.

  What did I just do?

  I start to jerk back.

  “No, don’t,” Foster whispers, ducking back inside and reaching for my hand. His breathing comes out ragged as his gaze collides with mine, bright and lightning-blue, like the current of
electricity purring across my skin.

  “I just …” I shrug. “I don’t know … Maybe … I …”

  Despite the fact that I’m rambling and making zero sense, he seems to understand. Or, at least he nods, so yeah, there’s that …

  With his gaze trained on me, he slowly draws my hand back to him and lines my palm against his side. A shaky breath falters from his lips as I splay my fingers across the lightning tattoo branding his ribs.

  Lightning crackles off me and flows across him. The mixture of that and the skin-to-skin contact sends wonderful sensations throughout my body and makes me realize something. That minus a few hugs from Nina and Gage, I haven’t had much physical contact. Even my parents rarely hugged me, and that revelation leaves me wondering why.

  “It doesn’t hurt, does it?” I ask as Foster squeezes his eyes shut.

  “No, it feels … amazing.” His eyelids lift open, little bolts of electric-blue lightning reflecting in his eyes. “Do you want to feel how I feel?”

  I should shake my head. After all, I barely know him, and what I do know makes me question if we’re only in here, touching each other, because I’m the only girl who can touch him this way. Plus, for me, well, I think I’m simply curious, and I know I’m attracted to him. So, I nod.

  He slips his tongue out to wet his lips then carefully reaches toward my face instead of my side, which surprises and kind of disappoints me, but I’m blaming the latter on temporary loss of sanity due to extremely high body heat. Because, yeah, that’s a thing …

  My thoughts become distracted as he cups my cheek and delicate sparks kiss my skin, buzzing downward along my jawline and neck.

  “Wow,” I whisper as tingles break out across my flesh.

  The sensation only amplifies when he moves his hand downward, along my jawline, my neck, and the curve of my shoulder. His gaze stays welded to mine as he then moves his fingers toward my side.