Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(81)

“Summer?” Morgan asked. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Sleepy.”

“You should probably try to stay awake. That girl hit you hard.”

“Yeah,” Summer agreed. “Can we take another break?”

“You’re not okay.”

She heard Morgan shifting and felt a warm hand on her forehead. Fire magick dispelled the chill she felt.

“Do you have any ideas on how to get out of here?” Morgan asked.

“Not really; our air is running out.” The words sounded before she could stop them.

Morgan gasped.

“We’ll be alright for a little while,” Summer added hastily. “Long enough for Decker or Beck to find us.”

“Beck isn’t coming. You heard Dawn.”

“Decker will. He’ll always find me.”

Morgan was crying again.

“What happened?” Summer asked.

“Nothing. Let’s just talk about something else. You have to stay awake and I need to be calm,” Morgan said.

“Did you set the Christmas tree on fire?”

“No. Never. Beck showed me that the trees have spirits. I can’t hurt them,” Morgan replied instantly.

“I didn’t think you did.” Summer smiled. “Beck is a great person.”

“He is. He deserves better than me.”

“That sounds so familiar!” Summer said with a small laugh. “Decker still tells me the same thing. I tell him to shut up and kiss me. I’m with him because I love him. Beck feels the same for you.”

“I don’t think so,” Morgan said sadly. “At least, if he did, he won’t now.”

“Have a little faith in him. We went through a lot when Decker was fighting the Darkness. I know how strong Beck is. Whatever happened, he’ll know you didn’t mean to hurt him.”

Morgan was listening.

“You didn’t go Dark, which is the biggest sign that you didn’t do anything wrong,” Summer added.

“You don’t have to use magick to hurt someone,” Morgan replied.

“True,” Summer said, disturbed by Morgan’s sorrow.

“Can our magick get us out of here?”

“I don’t know. You might be able to heat the sealant or whatever they used on the lid,” Summer suggested.

Morgan shifted. After a moment, Summer saw the glow around her feet, which were braced against the lid. Heat filled the small space again, and Summer inched towards one side of the crypt, away from the fire magick. Morgan’s fire was powerful and her control nowhere near the level of Decker’s. It was a dangerous mix, but at least it took the strange chill out of the air.

The fire grew stifling, and air magick warned Summer that their oxygen was being consumed faster and faster to feed the flames.

“Morgan,” she said when she couldn’t take any more heat.

Morgan looked at her, her eyes visible in the glow of the stone. “Oh, god. Too hot.” She stopped immediately. “I’m not about to kill us to get us out of here.”

Summer nodded, breathing deeply. She was almost nauseous from the sauna-like conditions and her throbbing head.

“I’ll try kicking,” Morgan said.

Summer closed her eyes, exhausted. She heard Morgan kick a few times with her good leg then stop with a sob.

“Maybe if it gets cold enough, we can try kicking again,” Summer murmured. “Like the cheap coffee pots at the orphanage. They cracked if they went from hot to cold too fast.”

Morgan was quiet. Summer started to doze.

“Summer, stay awake,” the girl said quietly. “Tell me how you met Decker.”

Summer smiled. She loved Decker. Something told her Morgan was one of the few people who wouldn’t freak out when she heard the history of their unusual relationship.

“Well, I got here this past summer,” she started. “I’m an orphan, but Amber found me somehow and …”

Morgan listened in silence as Summer told her tale: how she met the Turners, her trip down the path that led to her going Dark, her road to recovery. By the time she finished, the tomb was cold once more.

“Wow,” Morgan said. “Beck said he had to watch his brother almost die.”

“He had to choose between saving Decker and saving me. He chose me, because he knew I could save Decker.”

“I can’t believe it. He’s incredible.”

“They both are. It takes so much courage to do what they do.”

“You, too,” Morgan added. “You faced the Darkness.”

“Because I love my Decker.”

Morgan was quiet. Summer sensed she was troubled once more.

“I ran away,” Morgan’s words were almost too quiet to hear. “Beck was just laying there and I ran away. It’s my fault you’re here and Biji’s … Biji is in danger.”

“Oh, Morgan, it’s not your fault! Dawn has been after me since I got here.”

“Beck deserves someone stronger than I am.”

Summer sighed, uncertain what to say to make Morgan feel better.

“I think Beck chose you like I chose Decker,” she said.

“I’m gonna try again,” Morgan said.

Summer listened to her kicks, able to hear Morgan’s soft crying as well. The girl was devastated about whatever happened to Beck. Summer remembered that feeling well, but she didn’t know how to help someone else who felt it. As much as she wanted to, she didn’t ask about Beck. Morgan was in enough pain, and Summer feared losing what focus the fire witchling had.