Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(15)
“Boys suck,” she muttered.
“Yeah,” Sonya agreed. She seemed sadder.
“Did you just break up with someone?” Morgan asked.
“No. Well, maybe, but not like, a guy. My best friend went crazy and did something bad. So now, we’re not best friends anymore,” Sonya explained. “I’m like, tainted by association, so no one here wants to talk to me.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m talking to you.”
“But you’re …” Sonya giggled. “… you’re a troublemaker.”
“Rebel,” Morgan corrected her. “I’m rebelling against the system.”
“What system?”
Morgan looked around and shrugged. Sonya’s giggle turned into a laugh. Morgan relaxed, her magick settling to see the girl no longer troubled. The flames of the candles nearest her stretched towards her.
“I’ve never met a girl fire witchling,” Sonya said, watching them.
“My mother was one, too. Connor – my brother – says it means I have a horrible temper.”
“I don’t think elements determine that. I mean, I know two air witchlings who have like, the total opposite personalities. One is legitimately psycho and the other so sweet. I imagine they enhance who we already are.”
“That makes sense. Connor has a temper, too, and he’s a water element.”
“He’s so sexy.” Sonya leaned around Morgan to get a glimpse of her brother.
“You think so?”
“He’s totally hot. He’s got like that bad boy charm.”
Morgan studied her brother. With dark hair that swept over one green eye, their mother’s Italian coloring, and their father’s tall, lean frame, Connor wasn’t ugly. He had a quiet voice and was too observant for her comfort. He always knew when she was about to get into trouble.
“I guess. He’s my brother, so I just see the jerk who used to push me down when we were growing up,” she said. “We’re Irish twins, born ten months apart, same calendar year.”
“You must’ve been really close growing up.”
“Sorta.” Until her fourteenth birthday, when her parents divorced and The Incident happened. Morgan focused on eating, not about to go into her warped family history.
Chapter Five
The food was hearty enough that she considered going to bed after dinner. Any thought she had of going with Beck to see the lights was dashed when she saw him looking at the sexy blonde, and she assumed the invite was revoked in favor of a prettier girl.
Not that she blamed him, but it was going to make it harder for her to protect him. A few of the students moved to the living area to watch football on TV while most filtered out back to the brightly lit Christmas tree.
“You want to go out back?” Sonya asked as the two of them rose from dinner.
“Not really. I’m not a fan of Christmas.”
“Lame.”
“Omigod!” Morgan exclaimed. “Lame? You don’t even know why!”
“It’s Christmas,” Sonya said emphatically. “Everyone likes presents and stuff.”
“I don’t.”
“You really are rebelling against everything normal.”
Morgan laughed. “I guess I am.”
“Okay, I’m going for minty cocoa and s’mores.”
“Have fun. I’m probably going to my room.”
Sonya appeared as if she wanted to say something, but stopped and smiled. She followed a few other girls out the back door into the Square. Morgan watched her, gratified to see the girl in much better spirits. It just wasn’t right for anyone else to be in worse spirits than she was in. It made her feel better – even if just a little – to know she helped someone else.
Content to return to her room for the night, she watched Sonya disappear out the back door and turned away with a quick step. Only to smack into someone tall and solid. Strange magick crept through her, gentle and calm, lulling the sparks of fire in her blood into quiet. Strong hands steadied her, and she regained her composure quickly, putting distance between them. Her sparks flared to life again, the strange moment making more of an impact than she expected.
“Touching you is like putting my hand in a light socket,” Beck joked.
She crossed her arms.
“I meant that in a good way.”
“There’s no good way to put your hand in a light socket.”
“You’re not going to cut me any slack, are you?” he asked, a smile crossing his features.
He was close enough that his magick crept back to her. She resisted the urge to swat the invisible sensation away; she didn’t want to be calm and reasonable. She wanted to keep her distance from him. It was bad enough that he agitated her magick and made her thoughts buzz around like angry bees.
“Are you still thinking about the lights?” he asked.
“You still want me to go?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Because you were totally eyeballing that blonde! Why was she jealous of someone she just met and wasn’t voluntarily going out with in the first place?
“Alright,” she said.
“Is that a yes?” He raised an eyebrow.