Winter Fire (Witchling Series) (23 page)

“Okay?” he asked. “We can go see her together.”

His mind kept going to her intent to run away. Was he enough to keep her there after this? Because whatever was between them was beyond what he’d felt with other girls.

“We’ll go now,” he said and drew away. He took her hand. No part of him wanted to be around her without touching her. She was calmer when he was in contact, and the guardedness around her went down.

Morgan went with him. She squeezed his hand tightly as they went down the stairwell towards the instructors’ wing. Beck knocked on Amber’s door.

“Come in.” The Light Arts instructor sounded tired.

Beck opened the door. Amber looked up from her seat near the corner. Her smile faded when she saw Morgan.

“So, we need to talk,” Beck started.

“It looks like it,” Amber agreed. “Morgan, we’ve been looking all over for you. Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Morgan’s voice was faint.

“Sit down,” Amber motioned to the chairs in front of her desk. “Looks like you have quite a bit of explaining to do.” Her eyes were on their clasped hands.

Morgan’s hand was starting to tremble, but Beck smiled confidently. He sat, pushing earth magick to calm her.

Amber looked between them then sighed. “Start talking.”

“First, to clear the air,” Beck said. “Morgan had nothing to do with the fire. We were at my cousin’s wedding last night. We’ve got several dozen people who will tell you that.”

“All night?” Amber asked, eyebrow raised.

“The ceremony lasts all night,” Beck replied calmly.

Amber considered him then glanced at Morgan.

“I don’t have time to deal with the fraternization issue,” she said. “Beck, you know better.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Just … keep it off school property.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Beck winked at her.

Despite being exhausted, Amber smiled.

“This doesn’t help me figure out who did this,” she added. “You want to talk to your friends and find out?”

“Sure,” Beck replied. “You ask Matilda to check the whereabouts of the Dark witchlings?”

“She’s working on it. Decker’s helping.”

“Cool.”

“I didn’t think you’d do this, Morgan,” Amber said regretfully. “I’m sorry if the kids are being mean. Connor got into a scuffle with a couple of them this morning over it.”

“It’s okay,” Morgan said softly.

“We couldn’t find you, though. I called your parents to see if they’d heard from you. I’ll let them know you’re okay,” Amber added.

Morgan’s breath caught.

“Connor said your mother is coming out this weekend?”

“Yes,” Morgan replied.

“Your father said he might move up his plans as well. I guess he was coming out next weekend.”

Morgan said nothing.

“It’ll be nice to meet them,” Amber added with a smile.

Beck sensed the shift in Morgan before he looked at her. Her fire went cold. When he glanced at her, he saw how pale she’d gotten. Her eyes took on an empty look, and her face was as pale as snow.

“Amber, I think we need to call them and tell them to wait a week or two,” he said carefully, not wanting to reveal what he knew. “The fire is going to cause chaos here. It might help calm things down, if we don’t disrupt the daily routine.”

It was advice his attorneys had given him when he freaked out a few months ago under all the pressure.

Amber stared at him. Normally, he was on the receiving end of advice.

Morgan stood suddenly and walked out. Her step was hurried, her features blank. She seemed to be in shock.

Beck had a feeling – if faced with the threat of seeing her abuser again – she was going to bolt.

“Amber, you have to call them back and tell them not to come,” he said quietly, standing. “It’s important.”

“Beck, what’s going on?” Amber searched his face.

“There might be a situation of um, abuse, in her family. Please, can you call them and tell them not to come?” He moved towards the door as he spoke but didn’t leave without her response.

Amber looked surprised. Finally, she nodded.

Beck left quickly and trotted down the hallway. Some of the kids were at breakfast. He ducked his head into the dining room, already suspecting he wasn’t going to find Morgan there. Waving at Biji, he went to the stairwell and took the steps two at a time. Beck strode to Morgan’s room and rapped at the door. She didn’t answer, but he could hear her moving around.

He didn’t hesitate to walk in. The sense she was his, that they somehow belonged together, had only grown stronger since she made her decision last night. Beck walked in and closed the door behind him, watching. Morgan was flinging her clothing into one of two suitcases that yawned open on her bed. He once saw Decker so agitated, he burst into flames.

Morgan was near that point. Beck moved forward.

“Hey, I think we need to talk,” he said. He touched her arm as he spoke. She yanked away.

“I don’t need to talk!” she snapped, whirling to face him. Her face had gone from pale to red, her eyes furious.

“Okay,” he said.

Morgan returned to her task. She tossed clothing from the closet into the suitcase.

“Where do you plan on going?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “It doesn’t matter.”

She dropped to her knees to retrieve shoes from the bottom of the closet. When she stood, she tossed them. She paused for a moment, gazing around her.

“Morgan,” he said softly. He sat on the bed between the suitcases.

She looked at him quickly then away. Her eyes were red-rimmed. She went to the dresser and pulled open all four drawers.

“If you leave, I lose you,” he said quietly.

She stopped.

“Hey, come on,” he said. He reached out to her again, stretching his long arm across the space between the bed and dresser. “Talk to me.”

Morgan didn’t pull away this time. Beck took that as a good sign and stood, moving behind her. He rested his hands on her upper arms. His gaze went from her unruly curls to a strange, black rock on her dresser. It looked … familiar. Before he could determine why, she spoke.

“It’s better this way.”

“What’s better?” he asked.

“Everything I touch turns to ash.”

“I won’t,” he replied. “I can promise you that.”

“You deserve someone better than me.”

“Morgan.” His heart broke at the pain in her tone. “That’s not true at all. I want to be with you.”

“You don’t even know me!”

“You’re beautiful and sweet and strong. Your heart is so good, you try to prevent others from feeling the pain that you’ve been through,” he whispered. “You’re incredible, Morgan. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”

She was quiet, breathing deeply enough he could tell she was struggling to control herself. Her magick zipped through him, and he gently tried to calm her.

“I don’t want to lose you, either,” she said finally.

Beck almost sighed. He turned her to face him. She wiped her face hastily, and he tipped her chin up.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“I kinda need to know,” he pressed.

Morgan’s distress was rising. Her pine-colored eyes swam with emotions. He wasn’t certain she’d answer, but he loved gazing into those eyes that reminded him of the forest. Of all the things he expected her to do, kissing him wasn’t one of them.

Morgan took his face in her hands and rose up on her tiptoes. Her lips touched his timidly. The flash of fire magick that shot through him lit his desire, the way it had last night.

Beck wasn’t about to reject her, even if he suspected she was trying to distract him. He responded slowly, unwilling to pressure her in any way. When he deepened the kiss this time, she didn’t hesitate as she had every other time, but leaned into him. Beck’s arms went around her instinctively.

Morgan responded boldly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Beck sensed her control of her magick slipping under a combination of extreme emotion and desire.

“Morgan,” he whispered, pulling away. “We need to figure this out.”

“No, we don’t,” she replied and kissed him again.

Fire tore through him. When it came to Morgan, he didn’t want to say no. Ever. He felt like dry kindle to a hungry fire; her passion only grew as he responded. Beck lost himself in the sweetness of her taste and the softness of her skin. He’d tumbled into bed with many girls, but this one would be different. Not only did he feel so much more for her, but her magick would make any encounter explosive.

“Morgan,” he tried once again.

Her breathing was ragged.

“I don’t want to do anything you regret. I don’t want to push you into anything or for you –“

“Will you regret anything we do?” she asked, her voice husky.

“Hell no.”

“Beck.” There were tears in her voice, a tremble to her chin that made him want to do whatever he had to in order to ease her pain. “I trust you. I’m scared.”

“I never thought I’d hear those words,” he said. He wanted to assure her he’d never let anything happen to her.

He kissed her this time. Morgan’s body eased against his in a sign of surrender that unraveled more of his resistance. His own passion was barely restrained; he wasn’t known for resisting women in the first place, but this one and her fire had driven him crazy with desire since their meeting.

He pressed her against the wall, anxious to feel her perfect body. Morgan’s hands went over his chest and arms, and he wanted nothing more than to remove the clothing that separated their bodies. Her passion matched his. Beck’s hands started up her shirt, and he was thrilled to feel the magick increase at the direct contact with her skin.

A knock at the door jarred him, and he realized how little control each of them retained. He rested his forehead against the wall, breathing hard. Morgan’s breath tickled his ear, and her cheek rested against his.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Morgan, you’re playing with fire,” he warned.

She said nothing, and he peered into her eyes again. She touched his face.

“I love fire,” she whispered.

“Hold that thought,” he said, smiling. He pushed himself away from the wall, resisting the urge to shake his head to free his mind from the fire.

He opened the door enough to see who was there. Connor was pacing in the hallway. Morgan’s brother appeared surprised to see him.

“Is she here?” he asked anxiously.

“Yeah,” Beck replied.

“My father is coming. Does she know?”

Beck nodded. “She’s a little upset.”

Connor studied him.

“Leave me alone, Connor!” Morgan snapped and whipped the door open. She stepped in front of Beck, hands on her hips.

“If you told me where you were last night, I –“

“You couldn’t make something up to keep her from blaming me?”

“Okay,” Beck said calmly. He rested a hand at the small of Morgan’s back. “What’s done is done. We need to figure out how to handle it.”

“It’s simple. I’m leaving,” Morgan said stubbornly.

“No, you’re not,” Beck replied.

She twisted to look up at him, her direct challenge stirring his desire.

“No,” he said again and touched her hair.

“Then what do I do?” she replied, eyes sparking.

“You get pissed at me, and I kiss you. Seems to work, doesn’t it?” he teased.

“What?” Connor snapped.

“Don’t you start, Connor!” Morgan whirled. “I can date who I want, and I want to date him!”

“I know where you can stay, Morgan,” Beck said before Connor could be drawn into another fight. “I promised to take care of you. Whatever it takes.”

Morgan’s gaze returned to him. She was guarded – yet hopeful. He wasn’t about to let her down.

“Finish packing, and I’ll take you,” he said.

After a long moment, she listened to him and left the doorway.

“Connor, you’re going to have to trust me.” Beck lowered his voice.

“She’ll be safe?”

“I promise. I’m taking her to my parents’ cabin. It’s not far up the road. Please don’t tell anyone else.”

“I’ll check up on her,” Connor said firmly.

“Totally fine.”

“Beck, she’s wild.”

“I know.”
I love that about her.

Her brother hesitated then nodded. With visible reluctance, he walked away. Beck closed the door. Morgan was finishing up packing. He watched her before his gaze settled again on the rock on her dresser.

Fire. Soul stone.

He recalled where he saw it: in the vision the earth showed him. The earth had acted alarmed when it showed him, as if the rock was to be feared, and Sam said it was concentrated Darkness. From across the room, Beck felt the Darkness clinging to the stone, just as he felt it around his twin. It was cold.

Dangerous.

Only fire witchlings can repel the coldness of the Dark.

He moved towards the dresser. “Morgan, where did you get this?” he asked.

“What?” she called from the bathroom, where she was tossing what sounded like shampoo bottles into a bag.

Beck gazed at the rock. He didn’t like it. The Light in him wanted it gone. He looked down suddenly, a second vision returning to his thoughts. The earth had showed him the core of Light being eaten away from its center. He had gone to the basement without seeing anything.

He never thought to look up. Morgan’s room was directly over the spot the earth showed him. As usual, the magick communicated in a way that wasn’t clear until he realized the truth.

A line of fire witchlings was entrusted with the soul stone.

Morgan.

Beck felt cold. He’d trusted Dawn, too, before she turned out to be a crazy kidnapping killer. Had he made the same mistake with Morgan?

Why did she have this … thing that was capable of destroying Light? Capable of destroying him?

“I didn’t hear you,” she said, emerging from the bathroom. “What did you …” She stopped.

Beck looked at her. Her attention flew from the rock to him.

“Why do you have this?” he asked in a low, calm voice.

Guilt then panic crossed her features. Beck reached for it.

“No, Beck!” she cried, reaching to stop him.