Winter Fire (Witchling Series) Read Free Page B

Incident, the worst day of her life.
    “We’re going to decorate as soon as the tree is up. You want to help?”
    “No,” she replied firmly and started walking again, away from him.
    “How are the sisters?” he asked, referring to the two younger teen girls she arrived with. They were all but traumatized when they arrived, having never left home before. She did what she could to help them relax, and then they, too, had found other friends and moved on without her.
    “Fine.”
    “You settling in okay?”
    She sighed. He wasn’t taking the hint. Typical boy, like her brother, who needed a two-by-four to the head to understand when she wanted time alone.
    “Connor and I are fine,” she said.
    That shut him up, though she couldn’t help feeling disappointed that it did. Her brother always came between her and any guy who looked at her twice. Usually, she was grateful, but sometimes, she wondered what it was like to be a normal teen girl. One who didn’t have the dark secret she did or who wasn’t afraid to trust herself or the guys she was attracted to. One without a Dark father, emotional basket case of a Dark mother or a brother who took his role of protecting her too seriously. One who was able to date someone as cute as Beck.
    “I, uh, kinda need to talk to you about something serious.” Beck’s voice jarred her out of her thoughts. She realized he hadn’t gone away; he was following, at a safe distance, as if aware that her fire didn’t react well in close quarters.
    “What?” she asked, turning at last.
    Tall and athletic, Beck was confident enough to be cocky. His smile was quick and friendly. He wore a white puffer jacket and jeans. Dark hair was neatly trimmed, and the combination of his high cheekbones, large eyes and strong jaw rendered him stunning. He glowed with Light that left her feeling inferior, after she was told in class that she was an in-between, neither Light nor Dark, like the polluted gray snow lining busy roads.
    His steady gaze made her face grow warm.
    “Amber says you’re not doing so well in class. I’m supposed to be mentoring you. So, I, uh, just wondered … what’s up,” he said. He rubbed the back of his head, as if unaccustomed to being a mentor with a bad student like her.
    “Nothing,” she replied.
    “She says the only thing you’re really interested in is your fire magick courses.”
    “Yeah, so?” she asked. “Maybe I don’t like it here.”
    “Is that it? You really don’t like it here?”
    I don’t fit in . The mostly wealthy kids here had never been poor or hurt like she had. She’d never met anyone yet with two Dark parents. But it was more than that. She wasn’t about to explain it to him, though.
    “I guess,” she said.
    “Is your offer to set someone’s shoes on fire for me still open?”
    “Yes, of course. No one should ever talk to anyone like she did you,” Morgan said with firmness. “It’s not right to belittle someone else or to hurt them, just because you’re angry or upset.”
    Beck was studying her, and she assessed she’d revealed too much. She flushed and looked away.
    “Tell Amber I’m fine. I’ll adjust, and I don’t need a mentor, especially one who’s gone all the time.” Turning away once more, Morgan began her journey towards the frozen creek that ran beneath a bridge at the edge of campus.
    “Do you want company?” he called after her.
    “No.”
     

     
    Beck watched the gorgeous redhead walk away, now understanding her instructors’ concerns. The normally cheerful head instructor for Light Arts, Amber, had been genuinely upset about one of her newest students, who she described as throwing up walls at every attempt to talk to her.
    Tempted to go with Morgan despite her refusal, Beck debated for a moment then turned towards the Square. He was almost relieved Connor McCloud – Morgan’s brother – wasn’t standing behind him with the familiar glare of warning. If Morgan didn’t want to talk to him now,