He bobs his head up and down then opens his eyes. When our gazes connect, lightning flashes between us along with something else. I feel more of that invisible wall crumble between us, my heart slamming against my chest as intense emotions pour through me. It’s frightening yet amazing. Everything with him is amazing.
Cupping the back of my head, he pulls me in for a kiss. We’re all jacked up on energy and each other. As we kiss, licking the raindrops off each other’s lips, he starts to back us toward the house.
“You’re getting so much stronger,” he whispers as he steers us inside the house and kicks the back door shut. “It’s so fucking impressive.”
“I only am because I have your help,” I say as I hold onto him.
“No way. It’s all you.”
“No—”
He silences me with another kiss as he moves his hands to the backs of my thighs, his palms searing hot through the fabric of my jeans. A whimper fumbles from my lips as he bites down on my bottom lip.
"I love it when you make that sound." His fingers delve into the fabric of my jeans, and then he scoops me up in his arms.
I latch my legs around his waist and kiss him deeply as he moves forward, stumbling through the house and into our bedroom where he lays me down onto the bed.
“This is my favorite part about practicing,” he teases as I reach up and peel off his shirt.
I roll my eyes. “We’re not even practicing anymore.”
“We’re not, huh?” He arches his brow, then leans in to kiss me, taking my hands and holding them down beside my head.
Sparks of lightning dance across my damp skin as his power nips through my body. I gasp as I grind my hips against his. It feels so good, so I do it again and again.
He tenses, breathing heavily. “Maybe we should slow down.”
I start to move my legs away, internally sighing because I really don’t want to. But I’m not about to say that aloud.
He lets go of one of my hands and reaches down to hold one of my legs in place. "I don't want you to be embarrassed. I just…" His cheeks flush. "Things are moving so fast between us, and I want to make sure you're okay with it."
I place my hand against his cheek. “I never feel pressured to do anything when I’m with you. You’re always good to me, even when I’m being a pain in the ass or freaking out. I feel so connected to you, Fost.” I chew on my bottom lip. “You’re the only calm I have in this chaos that has become our lives.”
“I feel the same way.” He stares down at me with lightning shimmering in his eyes. “I don’t ever want to stop feeling this way.”
"Me neither," I whisper, and he kisses me again.
While I may feel riled up inside, I also feel calm and at peace. That’s always how I feel when I’m around him.
Nina once told me that she fell in love once. She said love was like this wonderful but chaotic burst of emotions that consumed her. I don’t know, though. I sort of prefer the calm Foster instills in me.
I’ve had too much chaos in my life.
Suddenly, Foster jerks back, his eyes wide.
My chest rises and crashes as I breathe raggedly. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing … It’s just …” He searches my eyes, the lightning in his eyes glowing brighter. “Did you mean it?”
“Mean what…” A very embarrassing second later, it clicks.
Those thoughts of love I was having … I must’ve accidentally let them slip through the link.
“I …” Oh my God, I feel like an idiot.
“It’s okay,” he whispers, sketching his fingers across my cheeks, my jawline, everywhere, as if he’s memorizing me. Then he swallows hard as he stares into my eyes. “Sky… I love you. I have for a while.”
Air. I can’t get it into my lungs.
Foster loves me.
Love.
I thought I’d never know what it was, but…
“I love you too,” I whisper shakily.
And I do.
I really, really do.
He rests his forehead against mine and bits of his emotions slip through the link; his fear of losing me, his relief of finally having me, his love for me, his relief of belonging to someone. It’s so overwhelming, like a rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins, and all I can think of to do is kiss him.
So I do.
“I love you,” he whispers over and over again between kisses.
I kiss him back, letting my emotions pour through the link.
Letting myself be free.
Minutes later, our clothes have been peeled off. I hadn’t planned on taking things this far, but now that we have, I don’t want to stop, which is what I tell Foster when he asks me if I need him to slow down.
He seems pretty content with my answer, and once we’ve explored and kissed almost every inch of each other, he pauses to look down at me.
“I really do love you,” he promises, tracing my lip with the pad of his thumb.
“I know.” And I do because he’s letting me feel his love through the link.
It’s a weird feeling—to be loved. And honestly, kind of terrifying, but in the most wonderful way.
“Good. Because I want you to know that. I need you to understand that there are people and creatures in this world that love you. That I love you. That you’re not alone.”
After what happened with my fake parents, and maybe even before that, I used to feel so unloved. But that changed when I met the Everettsons—when I met Foster. He’s really been there for me. And despite rocky first impressions, I’m glad he was thrown into my life.
I loop my arms around the back of his neck and draw him toward me. “You’re not alone either. You know you have me, right?”
He nods and then our powers merge, along with our bodies and lips.
Along with our souls.
And everything bad I’d been holding inside me… I just let it all go.
And just trust that everything will be okay.
* * *
I'm soaring in the sky, the stars are above me, and a lake is below me. I feel so at peace as I fly, a city twinkling in the distance, and a fire bursting in a field below me …
Wait…
I squint, moving toward the flames. The closer I get, the more I realize that the fire isn’t a fire at all, but a girl with flames sparking from her hands. She’s kneeling in the grass, facing the lake, and tears are streaming down her face.
Somehow, I know. I know this is the girl that’s been begging to me while I sleep and that she’s the goddess of fire’s power source. There’s an invisible link connecting me to her, and her feelings … her overwhelming feelings of agony, sorrow, and guilt.
“Holy crap,” I breathe out, hurrying to figure out where I am.
The lake and the city in the distance, it looks familiar. Bright and flashing with neon lights …
Wait a minute …
“Vegas,” I whisper. “You’re in Vegas.”
I attempt to deepen the connection and dig a name out of her.
Arebella …
I try for a last name but to no avail. That might be because she has a wall around her. Still, the name is pretty uncommon, and I know what she looks like. Around my age, with curly brown hair, golden eyes, sun-kissed skin, and a tattoo of stars on her neck.
Once I soak in every detail I can, I demand myself to wake up.
Wake up, Sky—
“Wake up!” Shouting yanks me from my sleep.
I bolt upright in my bed the same time Foster does.
We're both still undressed, and as the shouting gets louder, we dive out of bed and scramble to get our clothes on.
“Why the hell is East screaming?” Foster says as he quickly tugs his shirt on.
“Well, I’d say he’s just being him, but he sounds really freaked out right now,” I reply as I do up the button on my pants.
Once we're dressed, Foster grabs my hand, and we rush toward the door. But he pauses in the doorway to give me a
soft but meaningful kiss.
“I just want to say that what happened was perfect and amazing and … Fuck, it was everything,” he says. “And I wanted to tell you that before we have to let East ruin the moment.”
I smile, my stomach fluttering as I lean in to kiss him. “You’re right. It was everything.”
Right as our lips touch, a burst of laughter floats from the living room.
"What the hell was that?" I ask, leaning back.
Foster looks as confused as I feel. “I have no idea.”
We trade a worried look then hurry down the hallway and into the living room that’s now crammed with all the Everettsons. And a giant portal of lightning energy is swirling in the corner.
"I'm so fucking glad you guys are here," Easton is saying to his brothers. "Do you know how awful it's been being stuck with these two lovestruck idiots for the last couple of weeks. And this world is like the size of our backyard, so there's nowhere to escape it."
“Like you’re any less annoying,” Foster says, and everyone’s attention darts to us.
Emaline smiles as she hurries toward us. “I’m so glad we made it here.” She pulls Foster in for a hug then moves to hug me. “I’ve missed you guys.”
I hug her back. “I missed you, too.” When she pulls back, I glance confusedly from the portal to Foster. “Did you create a secure portal? Because I sure as heck didn’t.”
Foster shakes his head. “It wasn’t me. And the last time I checked, we weren’t quite strong enough to create one yet.”
“I think both of you did it.” As Easton’s lips spread into a smirk, I brace myself for whatever’s coming, because I know something is. “Whatever you two were doing in the bedroom earlier created it.” He reclines against the fireplace with his arms crossed and a wicked grin playing at his lips. “I figured I’d send Mom a message and let her know about it while you two finished up whatever you were doing.”
A flame of fire ignites in the fireplace that probably matches the temperature in my cheeks.
Easton skitters away from it. “What the hell?”
A fire crackle of silence goes by, and then everyone busts up laughing. Even though I’m embarrassed, I laugh a little, but only until I remember the dream I was having before Easton’s screaming woke me up.
“Actually, I’m really glad you guys are here,” I say. “I just had a dream, and I think I know where the fire power source is, what she looks like, and what her name is.”
Emaline’s eyes widen. “You think you had a seer dream?”
I nod, glancing at Foster. “It’s the one about the girl and the fire, only this time I was able to see more than just darkness and flames. And I could feel that she was the power source, just like I can sometimes feel the connection with Foster, Easton, and everyone else. Only, this one was much stronger.” I lean into Foster as he slips an arm around my waist. “Her name is Arebella, and she lives in Vegas. She’s around my age with curly brown hair, golden eyes, sun-kissed skin, and she has a tattoo of stars on her neck … She seemed to be in a lot of pain, too,” I add quietly and Fost pulls me closer to his side.
Everyone absorbs my words, worry rising on all of their faces.
"Vegas is a huge city," Hunter says. "Even if that name is pretty rare, it's going to take us a while to track her down. And with how the council turned their backs on the whole ordeal with the school, I'm not sure I want to get anyone else involved."
“Ollie and I can get involved,” Max offers, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “I know he’s a pain in the ass, but he’s a good tracker.”
Hunter deliberates. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“Once you get her, we’ll need confirmation from Sky that she’s the power source.” Emaline turns to me. “But I’d rather you stay here as much as you possibly can. While we haven’t seen the god of darkness since he tried to follow you through the portal, there are hunters still lurking everywhere. And for all we know, darkness could be hiding somewhere and waiting for you to return. But if you feel like need to leave, we’ll put a lot of protection spells around you. In fact, we might want to pay a visit to the Spellbinding world when we can and get stronger protection spells put up around you. It might be a little dangerous to go there, but with your powers growing and with enough of us around, we should be fine. And we can maybe even take a portal from here.” She pauses, considering something. “Once we find all the power sources, and your powers are fully developed, we can merge them and eliminate the darkness from our world and begin to regrow it.”
Their eyes light up with hope, and it makes me feel a drop of pride that I get to help restore the world, that I finally am able to help with something like Foster has helped me so many times. Not that I'm not terrified out of my damn mind. But it's easier to deal with knowing I'm not alone in this.
"I don't mind staying here for a bit,” I say. “But I’d like to visit home soon. Maybe just to see my friends and look around for my mom. And I like the idea of going to Spellbinding and getting more protection spells put on me.”
“I’ll stay with her.” Foster pulls me closer to him.
I meet his gaze. “Are you sure? Eventually, you might get tired of me.”
His eyes glint with amusement. "If I do, I'll build an ice cave with my ice power and move in there for a while."
I roll my eyes. “All right then, I’ll let you stay.”
He dips his lips toward my ear and whispers, “One day, though, you and I are going to travel the worlds, just like I promised. I’m making sure that happens.”
My heart skips in my chest. “I know.”
“I’m going to go help find this other power source,” Easton announces, walking toward the portal. “I need a break from all this lovey-dovey shit.” He winks at me. “Don’t worry; I’ll visit soon. I know how much you’re going to miss me.” With that, he jumps through the portal.
Sighing, Holden follows him, and so do the rest of the Everettsons brothers and Gabe.
Emaline gives us another hug before she leaves, with the promise to return after she gets a few things set up so we can travel to Spellbinding.
And just like that, Foster and I are alone in our own little world.
“So, now what do we do?” His eyes sparkle with mischievousness as he looks at me.
I tap my finger against my lip. “Take a nap?”
“I have an even better idea.” Then he scoops me up in his arms and seals his lips to mine.
Thunder and lightning snap in the distance as I start to lose grasp on my powers.
But I don’t mind. I just let it go. Let it be.
Be who I was always meant to be and hope that the other power sources will get to this place one day.
That the girl of fire will one day not be in so much pain.
About the Author
Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
Also by Jessica Sorensen
Chasing Hadley Series:
Chasing Hadley
Falling for Hadley
Holding onto Hadley
Holding onto Hadley: The Deal
Untitled (coming soon)
Enchanted Chaos Series:
Enchanted Chaos
Shimmering Chaos
Untitled (coming soon)
The Breathing Undead Series
Breathing Lies
Shadowed Whisperers (coming 2019)
My Cursed Superhero Life:
Grim
Untitled (coming soon)
Capturing Magic:
Chasing Wishes
Chasing Magic
Untitled (coming soon)
Cursed Hadley:
Cursed Hadley
Enchanting Hadley (coming soon)
Tangled Realms:
Forever Violet
Untitled (coming soon)
Curse of the Vampire Queen:
>
Tempting Raven
Enchanting Raven
Alluring Raven
Untitled (coming soon)
Unraveling You Series:
Unraveling You
Raveling You
Awakening You
Inspiring You
Fated by Darkness
Untitled (coming soon)
Unexpected Series:
The Unexpected Way of Falling
The Unpredictable Way of Falling
Untitled (coming soon)
Shadow Cove Series:
What Lies in the Darkness
What Lies in the Dark
Untitled (coming soon)
Mystic Willow Bay Series:
The Secret Life of a Witch
Broken Magic
Untitled (coming soon)
Standalones:
The Forgotten Girl
The Illusion of Annabella
Confessions of a Kleptomaniac
Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl
The Heartbreaker Society:
The Opposite of Ordinary
Untitled (coming soon)
Broken City Series:
Nameless
Forsaken
Oblivion
Forbidden (coming soon)
Guardian Academy Series:
Entranced
Entangled
Enchanted
Entice (coming soon)
Sunnyvale Series:
The Year I Became Isabella Anders
The Year of Falling in Love
The Year of Second Chances
The Coincidence Series:
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden
The Destiny of Violet and Luke
The Probability of Violet and Luke
The Certainty of Violet and Luke
The Resolution of Callie and Kayden
Seth & Greyson
The Secret Series:
The Prelude of Ella and Micha
The Secret of Ella and Micha
Enchanted Chaos Series: Sky & Foster’s Complete Novel Page 34