Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(12)

Unless he was one of the guys Connor always warned her about. They flirted with everyone and slept around then moved on. She didn’t get that sense from Beck; then again, no one ever asked her out, so how would she know? Maybe that was the real sign: if someone actually asked her out, there had to be something wrong with him.

“That’s it,” she said, melancholy descending over her.

Beck would turn out to be like all the others.

During times like these, she often tried to imagine what the perfect guy was like. He’d look like Beck, but not be afraid of her temper or her brother’s three black belts. Oh, and he’d like animals and nature, because she hated to be embarrassed. And he’d know never to try to tie her down; like dancing flames, she loved her freedom. He wouldn’t make fun of the freckles across her nose or call her carrot-top or any of the other horrible names she grew up with, and he’d be understanding when she told him about … The Incident. She doubted she’d ever be able to trust anyone else enough to tell them what happened.

He’d listen then tell her she was beautiful. Like Beck did. Only, the perfect guy would mean it.

Morgan sighed and rolled onto her belly. The perfect guy didn’t exist.

She pulled the rock out of her pocket. It was small, smooth and black. It was always cold. She had tried to heat it up with her fire magick, without success. Her mother gave it to her when she turned seventeen and swore her to secrecy, claiming it was an heirloom that had been in their family for many generations. Somehow, her uncle knew about it, probably through her father. There was a time when her parents were happy together; she remembered it fondly.

As usual, everything fell a part. Her mother gave her the stone, and her uncle and father refused to let her come to the school, unless she agreed to place the stone in the heart of Light, where they said it belonged.

It gave her the creeps. Sometimes, it was almost alive. She wasn’t certain how a rock could be alive, or how it could scare her. After all, it was just a rock.

A cold, black, evil rock. One that absorbed her fire magick sometimes and at other times, turned her whole room cold, even if the heater was on and her magick was trying to warm her.

A knock at her door startled her. She shoved the rock in her pocket, wary of the warnings her uncle and mother gave her about not letting anyone else know about it. She crossed to her door, expecting it to be Connor again or maybe Amber coming to tell her she was being thrown out.

Bracing herself for a lecture, she didn’t expect Beck to be in the hallway outside her door. Morgan looked up at him, suddenly wishing the two meter distance he kept in the basement was between them now instead of the two feet separating them.

“What?” she asked when he simply stared at her.

“Tonight or tomorrow?”

“Tonight or tomorrow what?”

“We’re going to the light display.”

Morgan folded her arms across her chest. “You asked my brother, didn’t you?”

“Nope. You’re right. You’re old enough to decide for yourself,” he said, smiling.

“What makes you think I want to go at all?”

“I’m Beck,” he said, motioning to himself. “Have you met me? I’m awesome.”

She almost smiled. It was too easy to feel comfortable around him. Whereas Connor’s water magick made him too serious, Beck’s earth magick was playful, unlike the intensity of her fire magick.

“So, tonight or tomorrow night? A date with this guy?”

Date. He was asking her out, which meant ...

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked, perplexed.

“Nothing, aside from the usual.”

“Hmmm.”

“I’ll bring cookies.”

Morgan considered for a moment longer, until a flash of fear went through her. She had no idea how to act on a date. She had so many secrets, and what if he tried to hold her hand or kiss her and she freaked out? Worse, what if she actually ended up liking him? He was already the hottest guy she’d ever met, and he was interested in her.

“I’ll think about it,” she said.

He looked surprised.

She closed the door and leaned against it. Fire magick danced in her blood. When her excitement wore off, she began to realize something else. Beck had asked her directly instead of talking to her brother. He called her beautiful and hadn’t made fun of her freckles or red hair.

Thus far, he was going down the list of things she wanted in a perfect guy. Instead of being happy about it, she was angry again. Not him. Not now.

The dorm room felt too restrictive suddenly, and she snatched her coat to go outside for air. She didn’t like the cold, but being confined was even worse. Irritable, Morgan left the main schoolhouse. Rather than see all the happy students decorating the Christmas tree, she walked down the long, gravel driveway leading to the road.

Trees flung snow off in a sudden wind, and it swirled around her for a long moment. Morgan froze in place, watching the whirlwind in fascination. It went on too long to be anything other than magick. After a moment, the snow froze in midair then dropped to the ground, forming a ring of white around her.

She looked around, curious to see what caused the whirlwind. From the few classes she paid attention to, it was probably an earth or air student who caused the whirlwind. But she saw no one at all around her.

A branch snapped from somewhere within the forest, and she whirled in time to see what looked like someone with auburn hair ducking behind a tree. Morgan hesitated to follow, until the trees in front of her bent their branches to the ground. They made sweeping motions to push away the snow and create a pathway.