Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(2)

He never faltered in his faith in the Light. He never lost his hope.

“Interesting,” Beck murmured. “I’m not sure I can live up to that. What would you say about me, if someone in a hundred years asked you?”

I would say … Sam was quiet for a minute. I would say his heart was the purest of any Light Master, but he doubted himself.

“Deep,” Beck said. “Sounds like a train wreck.”

Sam was right. Beck did doubt himself. It started with not realizing Summer’s danger and turned crippling when he discovered that people could die, if he made the wrong choice. Someone did die, because he underestimated the depth of Darkness in the mother of his child. It didn’t help that his predecessor and aunt – Nora, the Mistress of Light – had been dead for twenty years. He had no one to teach him the ins-and-outs of his duties and only the mysterious communications of his earth element and Sam to guide him.

But he tried. Every day, he woke up and swore to do his best. He never in his life thought his best wouldn’t be good enough to save the life of someone innocent, like Tanya.

You are a child of my forest. It pains me to see you distressed.

“It pains me to be distressed,” Beck responded with a small smile. “How does the story end?”

Any way you wish it to.

“Do I get a name? Like Bartholomew-the-Terrible, Nataniel-the-Darkbringer, Alexander-the-Lightbringer, Tyron-the-Bright.”

You will, yes. Right now, you are Beck-the-Sleepless.

“So not funny,” Beck said, though he smiled. “It’s gotta be a strong name.”

You have been the Master of Light for four months. It’s early to name yourself, isn’t it? The yeti was laughing at him.

“I guess I’m looking for something. Motivation maybe. Clarity. Hope.” Beck flicked away snow from his feet. Sam was right. His confidence was shaken after the events of the past few months. He wanted to believe the best in everyone, but he couldn’t do so and protect witchlings.

Look within.

“I thought that was the problem to start off with. I keep hearing my bad judgment is behind everything,” Beck grumbled.

Young judgment, not bad.

“I keep thinking of Tanya. I had to tell her parents, Sam. I’ve never hurt so much for someone else.”

Sam was quiet, leaving Beck with his thoughts. It wasn’t the crazy text messages preventing him from sleeping. It was the memory of Tanya and her family. Facing them was difficult, knowing his crazy ex had hurt her out of jealousy. He was responsible, because he was blind to the depths of Dawn’s cruelty.

Tanya wasn’t the only one at Dawn’s mercy.

The little girl Dawn carried was also in the middle of a disaster waiting to happen. His daughter would be born stuck between Light and Dark, after her mother went Dark while pregnant. By no fault of her own, his daughter would face a difficult life, one Beck didn’t yet know how to make better.

He expected to feel even more anxious about learning the baby was his, but thus far, the confirmation had settled the uncertainty and given him a firm goal. He was going to do everything he could to raise his daughter with love in the ways of the Light, even if that meant Dawn wasn’t a part of her life.

Before Tanya, he wouldn’t have been so decisive. Maybe that was the only blessing to come from her death. He now knew he had to save his little girl.

Of course, if he stopped to see beyond Dawn’s flawless looks in the first place, he wouldn’t have any of these concerns. He wanted to blame hormones, but Decker had warned him about the beautiful girl. At the time, Beck simply didn’t care.

Beck-the-Darktamer.

“That one’s nice.” He smiled, sensing Sam was trying to cheer him up. “I’ll try to live up to it.”

You have come far. You will learn, Sam said. Try to rest.

Beck nodded, doubting he would. He pushed himself to his feet. Sam stayed where he was while a path was cleared by the earth for Beck to return to the dorms. He offered another smile at the ugly, but wise forest creature and left, his thoughts no lighter than when he’d arrived.





Chapter Two


Summer.

Her eyes flew open at the soft summons. Summer rose quickly and quietly, careful not to disturb her roommate, Biji. She pulled on a heavy jacket over her pajamas, swept her long hair into a loose ponytail and tiptoed down the hallway to the stairwell that led from the girls’ dorm area of the schoolhouse to the main floor and common areas. The large, log structure was silent, its occupants sleeping. No smells came from the kitchen yet, indicating it was sometime in the middle of the night before four, when the cooks began preparing breakfast.

Outside, it was freezing and the night sky clear. Her breath floated upwards, and air magick greeted her. It zipped through her body while the quiet earth magick warmed her feet.

Halfway down the driveway leading to the school, he was waiting for her. Summer’s heart quickened the way it did every time she saw him. At night, the magick of the Master of Dark was more powerful, unfurling around him in a black fog that settled at his feet. He waited with his hands crossed before him and his stance wide. He wasn’t allowed closer to the school, now that it was common knowledge that Dark students were causing the Light source beneath the school to shrink.

Sometimes, he still scared her. Sometimes, she remembered when she’d looked into his soul and saw the Darkness looking back at her.