Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(38)

Morgan watched him. Summer’s face lit up when he took her hand, and Morgan wondered how the sweet girl and Master of Dark managed a relationship when they were located on two different campuses.

She trailed the group down a hallway, another thought crossing her mind. She’d seen a few Dark students. None of them were the girl she beat up in the forest earlier that day. It was a complete accident; someone grabbed her arm, and Morgan simply reacted the way she was trained.

She felt badly, but wasn’t sure how to find the girl she’d beat up. She kept an eye out for her as they toured the rest of the schoolhouse, dorms, common areas, cafeteria, and gym. After a short lunch, they continued their tour before gathering for the ride back to the Light Campus.

Amber dismissed them early when they got back to the school, and Morgan was almost proud of herself at the end of the day. She won a fight with some Dark girl she stumbled upon in the forest, wrestled with the guy who made her heart fly, did her homework, and didn’t get in the trouble she expected for fighting.

It was a bizarre day, all the way around. Of everything that happened, she couldn’t stop thinking about Beck. Lying on top of her, his breath tickling her ear.

Wow.

“Morgan!”

She blinked, realizing she was standing in the middle of her room, staring into space.

“What, Connor?” she replied.

He opened the door.

“You okay?” he asked, closing the door behind him.

“Good,” she replied. “I didn’t get hauled into Amber’s office about my fight.”

“I asked Beck not to say anything. You know I won’t.”

She nodded, unsettled by the idea that Beck knew. She wasn’t certain why, but she was afraid of him knowing more about her. Maybe because the wall she kept between herself and everyone else wasn’t quite as solid around him.

“You want to tell me what happened?” Connor asked.

“No.”

“Did you win at least?”

“I did!” She smiled. “I almost beat Beck, too, but he cheated.”

“Serves you right.”

“I know.”

Connor was smiling. “I’m proud of you. You won’t ever have to worry about … things happening again.”

She nodded, eyes on the floor. The only one who knew her secret, Connor had pushed her into self-defense training when she turned fourteen and didn’t let up on her, until she proved she could protect herself. She was grateful to him for helping her rebuild her confidence after The Incident.

“Okay. No more fights,” Connor said.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t pick this one. It was self-defense,” she replied.

She could tell he wanted to ask her more about it, but he didn’t. She was just as stubborn as he was, when she wanted to be.

“If you need help, let me know,” he said at last.

“I can take care of myself.”

“Omigod. Some days, Morgan, I just want to strangle you!”

“The feeling is mutual,” she said with a sweet smile.

He turned to leave, shaking his head.

“Connor,” she said quickly. “Thank you.”

“Whatever. You don’t need me looking out for you.”

“Not anymore,” she agreed. “But I meant, thank you for bringing me here.”

He paused at the door.

“I know how much you and Mom did,” she added.

“Not enough,” he said in a quiet voice. “We should’ve saved you earlier.”

“But you did save me. That’s what matters, Connor.”

He smiled and nodded. Her brother left her room. Her smile remained. They fought like cats and dogs, but she loved her brother and everything he’d done to help her over the past few years.

She wasn’t about to tell him her final secret, though, that she was planning on making sure she never had to go home again.

Morgan withdrew the black rock from the top drawer of her dresser. She’d been walking through the forest before dance class this morning, looking for the elusive heart of Light. A Dark girl happened upon her close to the road. Morgan still wasn’t certain what happened or why. Someone grabbed her, and she reacted the way she had been trained.

After the second punch, the girl scrambled away.

Morgan felt horrible. She needed to apologize, but had no idea who the girl was. She knew the rules about fighting and was afraid of Amber finding out, when the Light Arts instructor was already on the verge of calling her dad.

Once again, Connor covered for her. He’d done it at school in New York, too, whenever she showed up battered and bruised.

Morgan pushed those thoughts away. She knew how to get away, now. She wasn’t going to dwell on it.

The rock was too cold to hold for more than a few seconds. She replaced it in her drawer then glanced at the clock. She had two hours until dinner; she could look for the heart again. Allegedly, it was somewhere on campus. She’d been everywhere she could get to and wondered if the snow was preventing her from reaching the point she needed to find.





Chapter Eleven


Pulling on her snow boots and coat, Morgan left the school. While she hated the cold, she loved how fresh the air was. Pine trees sprinkled snow from their boughs as they swayed in a light breeze. The sky was partially cloudy with blue peeking through white clouds. It smelled like more snow was coming.