Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(65)

Your first kill, Bartholomew said. You got away with it.

Dawn paused mid-scrub, considering. She felt sick and shaky. But he was right. She’d done it. It wasn’t as hard as she expected. She experienced no remorse, and Bartholomew had taken mercy on her by overcoming her body to shield her from the worst of it.

I can do the same for Alexa. Morgan. Noah.

“No,” she whispered. “Not Noah. Never Noah.”

Bartholomew said nothing. Dawn scrubbed herself clean, mind turning in a new direction. Alexa had grabbed Morgan and Summer, both bitches who deserved what Isaac got. Biji had crossed Dawn one time too many as well. Dealing with her would silence another pain.

Soul stone first. We cannot destroy Beck without it.

“You can make it so no one ever knows, right?”

Trust me, he replied.





Chapter Seventeen


Morgan awoke on a cold floor. Her body ached, and she felt bruised. The metal of handcuffs surrounded her wrists. The room was cold and dark, except for the light of a hallway lining a door. She listened, recalling what happened to bring her here.

Beck.

She swallowed a sob. Whatever the Dark kids did to her, she deserved it. The rock in her pocket was cold, and she roused her fire magick to warm her body. Tears trickled down her face. She swiped at them.

Movement came from nearby. Morgan squinted but couldn’t see into the darkness. She pushed herself into a seated position and held out her hands, summoning a flame.

“Summer?” she asked.

The two Light girls were huddled together in a corner for warmth. Their breath hung suspended in the air, and Morgan looked around what appeared to be a basement. They, too, were tied. Biji’s cheek was bruised and Summer’s lip busted.

“Why didn’t you just go back?” Morgan asked, dismayed. She scooted towards them on her knees and held out flames to keep them warm.

Summer took one while Biji hesitated, until she saw it didn’t burn Summer.

“Are you okay?” Summer asked her.

“Yeah.”

“They shocked you for like an hour,” Biji added.

“I beat up Alexa twice already,” Morgan explained. “It’s a good sign.”

“Good sign?” Summer exchanged a look at Biji.

“It means she’s scared,” Morgan said.

“I’d be scared, too, if I knew Beck and Decker were going to kill me,” Biji said. “She can’t kidnap their girls and think they won’t.”

“I’m not Beck’s girl,” Morgan said in a hushed voice. I don’t even know if he’s alive. Her chest seized, or maybe it was her heart. He’d never be able to forgive her for hurting him. The look on his face when he asked her about the rock wouldn’t leave her thoughts.

He thought she’d betrayed him.

She cared too much to hurt him, but she had.

“Do you know where we are?” she asked to take her mind off her failure.

“We can’t be far,” Summer answered. “We might be …” she drifted off, frowning.

“Where?”

“The room is cement, so we can’t talk to the air,” Biji said in frustration.

“Or earth. I was thinking we’re in the resort where they found Tanya’s body,” Summer’s voice was hushed.

“There are three closed resorts around the lake,” Biji said. “During summer, we explored them. But we didn’t go down into the basements, which this smells like.” Her nose wrinkled.

Morgan glanced around the room. They were right. There were no windows, and the entire room was cement. It smelled moldy and stale. Her fire revealed a puddle of water in one corner and green moss lining one wall.

The door, however, was wooden. She could burn it down. She just didn’t know what – or who – was on the other side.

Morgan focused her magick on the cuffs. They grew hot and glowed red. She waited until they were soft enough almost to melt then pried them off. She took Summer’s hands and frowned.

“I don’t know if I can take them off without hurting you,” she said.

“Try,” Summer replied.

Morgan met her gaze, surprised. Summer smiled.

“I’ve been through a lot.”

“Okay, but if I hurt you, tell me,” Morgan said.

Summer nodded.

Morgan placed her thumb over the lock of one of Summer’s cuffs, then focused her energy. Magick made the metal turn red. The red crept up the cuff, and Morgan glanced at Summer’s face. The Light witchling’s eyes were closed, and she was breathing deep and steady, as if meditating.

The scent of burning skin made Morgan hesitate.

“Keep going,” Summer directed her calmly.

Morgan considered for a moment. She’d been warming it slowly, but it was causing too much pain.

“This is going to hurt,” she murmured.

Summer nodded.

Morgan’s fire flashed. She melted the metal with an intense wave of magick then wrenched Summer’s hand free, before the metal seared through her wrist.

Summer released a breath and rubbed her free wrist. An angry red burn wound all the way around it.

“Me next,” Biji said and stuck out her arms. “Summer can pain patch me. I’m not going to let them beat me again.”