Winter Fire (The Witchling #3)(95)

Summer hugged him hard. Reluctantly, Decker released her and stepped away. All three of them were hurting. He didn’t want to go anywhere.

Sam’s white fog was the color of Beck’s. It snatched him quickly and took him to the yeti.





Chapter Twenty-Six


Morgan clawed her way up the bank. Though she saw the blood on her fingers from struggling out of the water, she couldn’t feel anything. She collapsed, struggling to breathe. Her body shook. Noah’s cool magick raced through her body. It swept away the water, but not the chill. At least the pain in her leg was numb.

“Sorry. That didn’t go as planned.” Noah’s breathless voice came from nearby. “You … okay?”

He was supposed to take her to Priest River, where she hoped to catch a bus and disappear. They hadn’t planned on sinking the SUV. If not for Noah’s water magick, she’d be dead.

When she didn’t answer, she heard the snow crunching beneath his shoes. He knelt beside her, pressing her to his back.

“C’mon. Use your magick,” he said quietly. “I know you’re hurt. Focus.”

She closed her eyes and did as he directed. Warmth spread through her body. Flames enveloped her. Noah cursed and sprang away. The ice block in her chest melted, and Morgan sagged, comforted by the heat of her element. Unfortunately, it awoke the pain in her leg, which burned hotter than the flames around her. The fire faded and she felt exhausted.

“You need a hospital,” Noah said, drawing near again.

“No,” she said.

“Look, Morgan – “

“You promised to help me leave,” she said with more force.

“It’s not gonna matter where you think you’re going if you don’t get your ass to a hospital. No one’s going to come looking for you after sinking the truck.”

“Your sister will.” Morgan struggled into a sitting position. They were at the lake, though where he’d told the water magick to drop them, she had no idea. The light of dawn was breaking across the eastern sky.

“Why do you keep saying that?” he asked. “What did you do to her?”

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t go to a hospital around here,” she said. “I have to get as far away as possible.”

Noah was frowning in the early morning light. He stared at the lake, pensive. Morgan checked her pocket. It was empty except for the soul stone and her dead amulet. She glared at it, eyes watering.

She’d never be anything but in-between. The amulet was a reminder of how much she didn’t fit in with the witchlings and how lucky Beck was to not have her in his life, which one day he would come to realize.

She wiped her eyes. Thinking of him hurt more than her leg.

Morgan threw the amulet. It was everything she failed to be.

He’s in love with her.

Beck would get over her. There were a million blondes waiting to take her place. He had to. She couldn’t bear the thought he’d hurt like she was.

She bent over and clutched her chest. Her fire’s dance was slow and mournful. It barely sparked above an ember. She’d never felt it sad before. Morgan struggled with her emotions and the pain, unable to balance the two.

“I gotta figure out how to get us out of here,” Noah said, standing. “Will you be okay while I find a car or something?”

She nodded. Noah lingered. He wasn’t happy. His pain irritated her magick. He, too, was hurting because he was losing someone he loved. She wanted to thank him, but the words stuck in her throat.

Noah scrambled the rest of the way up the bank.

Morgan clutched her head in her hands.

If you care anything about him, you won’t just walk away, Decker had said.

Beck was better off without her. She was a curse to the Light. The only way to protect him was to take the soul stone far away, where Dawn could never find it, and it would never hurt Beck again.

“Morgan, it’ll take me a couple of hours at least,” Noah called down softly. “I don’t want to leave you here.”

“I’ll be okay,” she said. “I’ve got my fire to keep me warm.”

“But your leg is –“

“Please, Noah. I need to leave.”

“You can soak your leg in the lake to keep the swelling down,” he said hesitantly. “Do you have enough fire magick to keep yourself warm?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. I’ll be back as soon as I can. We’re on the east side of the lake near the road. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Okay.”

He waited another minute then left. Morgan looked up towards the low ridge where he’d been standing to verify he was gone. Her leg was throbbing. Immersing it in frigid lake water sounded appealing, even if it meant getting wet and her clothes freezing.

She struggled to maneuver her worn out, weakened body. Tears sprang free. The slightest movement of her leg hurt.

You survived the lake.

Fevered, Morgan wasn’t certain if she heard the voice or not. She rested on her back. The soul stone was freezing in her pocket, and her fire focused on keeping it from causing frostbite.

She stared at the brightening sky. It smelled like more snow was coming. The gray-bellied clouds weren’t moving.

A tall, blurry figure crossed her vision. Morgan blinked, recognizing the auburn fur.