AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, she does. Just as much as my brothers matter to me,” Max replies, and the stupidest drop of warmth sparks inside my chest. “Remember that.”
“I will, I will, I will,” Ollie murmurs, his voice quieting until it fades completely as he leaves the bathroom.
“Is she okay?” Max asks, his tone crammed with concern.
“I’m not sure. He woke her up, chased her in here, and then tried to …” Foster shakes his head, the muscles in his jaw pulsating. “What the hell, Max? Why is he out?”
“My bet is he broke the lock on the trunk again,” Max says remorsefully. “Usually, it’s not a big deal … Ollie swore an oath not to harm our family when I took him in, but Sky wasn’t part of that oath. It’s why I was so freaked out when I found out she had been in the attic, something you and Easton did.”
“I know. You don’t need to remind me.” Foster exhales deafeningly. “Can you make Ollie take an oath not to harm her? It’d be much better if you can.”
“That’s a good idea. Let me put the request in with my boss.” Max gives a short pause. “Sky, you doing okay back there?”
I collect my breath before speaking. “Yeah, I’m good.” Kind of feels like a lie, though. Honestly, I feel shaky and off balance. But an ogre did just try to eat me, so …
“I really am sorry,” Max apologizes again. “I’m surprised none of us felt your fear. I mean, I know we were all asleep, but still …”
“That might’ve been my fault,” Foster says with a bit of reluctance.
“And why’s that?” Max asks, sounding positively amused. “No, let me guess. It probably has something to do with why the bathroom looks like all the worlds meshed together.”
For some dumbass reason, I blush.
Is there, like, a cure for uncontrollable embarrassment? Because I could really use it around these guys.
“That’s none of your business,” Foster states. “Now go take care of your ogre.”
Chuckling, Max leaves the bathroom.
Foster lets out a frustrated sigh before rotating around to face me. “Are you okay?”
I nod, suddenly realizing I’m clutching his sides. I hastily withdraw my hands. Then horror sweeps through me.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry.” I smooth the pad of my fingers along the pink, crescent-shaped marks my fingernails left on his skin. “I didn’t realize I was digging my fingernails into you.”
“I’m fine.” The corners of his lips quirk up. “I thought we already established that earlier.”
I roll my eyes. “That was lame.”
“It was,” he agrees with a smile. “But it got you to blush, so …” He shrugs, his grin as bright as the flames dancing around us.
Shit, am I blushing again?
I move to cover my cheeks, but he stops me, capturing my hands in his. “Don’t. It’s cute.”
“Stop calling me cute,” I gripe. “It’s driving me crazy.”
His grin is all sorts of amused. “Why? It’s the truth.”
Good God, I can’t take this anymore. Compliments are too foreign to me. All of this is.
“I need to get dressed for school,” I change the subject, wiggling my hands from his grip. Then I swing around him but pause in the doorway and peer over my shoulder at him. “Is there a dress code at this school? It’s an academy, right? Doesn’t that mean there’re uniforms?”
“Nah, we can dress however we want. But we do need to put eye drops in your eyes before we go.” His muscles flex as he crosses his arms and leans his hip against the edge of the counter. “Have you decided what element you’re going to go with? You need to decide really soon.”
I shake my head. “Honestly, between the whole merging thing, the dreams of darkness, and waking up to Ollie hovering over my bed, I kind of forgot I was supposed to pick one.”
“You can pick whatever one you want, but it might be better if you went with water, like me.” He shifts his weight and massages the back of his neck. “My parents have been talking about speaking with the headmistress and requesting you be placed in as many of my classes as possible so I can guide you through how our school works and help you keep your powers hidden. Although, the school doesn’t know about the last part. All they’re going to know is that you’re an elemental protector of whatever element you choose and that you just barely discovered your powers.”
