NATHANIEL POV

It's been two months since Morgan's arrival and every day I look into her eyes and I see that spark that lit her face up that first day in the forest being washed away further and further out of reach. I don't know if she even notices the changes inside of herself, she's turned into a darker version of herself but more than that she's losing her chance at being a witch. Any longer and she will never get that spark of magic.

Annie tells me to be patient and that she believes that Morgan will come around and find the magic inside herself but I see the truth. She doesn't even know if she wants this and she needs a push towards it if she's ever going to take it.

I've watched her every afternoon with Hunt. Building her confidence and strength she's almost at level with the younger kids but she's still not there because she's holding back against herself, she would be stronger if she allowed the magic to flow through her bones and help her but she pushes against it.

A shudder of worry fills me every time I watch her practice. If she can't get control of her magic she can't stay here. Even if Annie wants her to, she can't. It's too dangerous.

That thought is what brought me out of my cottage early Saturday morning. I know it's the only day Morgan doesn't have training and that she normally spends it locked in her room away from the other students. Not today, I can't let her lose her spark, her magic.

I knock on the door in quick succession. Then I wait.

Breathing deeply, waiting.

I can hear her inside, walking on slow feet, practically dragging herself to the door. An annoyed mutter before the door swings open and my breathing leaves me complete.

Standing there looking like the definition of disheveled is Morgan. Her hair is up in a tight high ponytail but there are strands flying out everywhere and it's clear that I woke her up. Mostly because of the dark green pajama shorts she's wearing and the matching button-up sleep shirt.

My breathing stops as she glares at me.

"It's Saturday, I don't have any classes, Annie isn't here and I am going back to sleep." Her words are monotone, as she talks she takes a step back inside about to close the door. I stick my foot out quickly, stopping the door from slamming in my face.

Morgan pulls it open again, the glare colder than before.

"You're wrong." My voice practically disappears in the wind. I clear my throat and try again. "You're wrong, you have a lesson with me."

She rolls her eyes.

"No." She tries to slam the door again but I'm faster and my shock - at her being so ... well human - has worn off. I slip in the door barely touching her as I wait behind her. She slams the door but I know she knows I'm there. She leans her head on the door and groans.

"Come on, man. I've been pushed and pulled everywhere all week. I just want the weekend so I can relax." Her emotions are high, I can almost taste them. I shake my head.

"What you need, Witch is your magic," I tell her, I listen as her heart thumps wilder at the idea, and then she's turning slowly, her back firmly against the door as she looks up at me.

"What do you mean?" Her voice is apprehensive but I shrug my shoulders.

"Go get dressed and find out." We stand there for a moment, me waiting and her thinking trying to see past me and see if I'm lying. I keep my face neutral.

"Fine." Her voice is low as she walks around me and into the back room. I don't know what to do as I wait so I stand perfectly still, trying not to think of her in the next room.

She comes out faster than I thought she would and I'm silently glad to see her in some dark grey tights, black boots, and a pullover hoodie that she must have brought in town because it says 'Westtown Peaks home to All Things that go Bump in the Night' I almost laugh at it.

She pulls the hoodie over her head and then glares at me.

"Where are we going for this mysterious lesson?" I shot her grin before turning and pulling open the door.

"Into the forest."

She doesn't say anything, just follows me out into the light rain, and then into the cold coolness of the forest.

Neither of us comments as I pick our way through the forest, heading for the clearing we first met knowing that it's away from the students mulling around in the forest for the weekend but wide enough for us to actually get some magic done, without possibly burning the forest down.

I exit the line of trees and walk into the clearing, the water bubbling in the stream mixes with the noises of the birds singing and playing somewhere above us.

Morgan breaks through the underbrush a second later, scoffing as she recognizes the clearing.

"This is your personal part of the forest or something?" Her voice is condescending but I send her a wink and smirk.

"Something like that." Her face goes pink for a second but then she swallows loudly and the color is removed from her face.

"Right then."

She rolls her eyes and walks around me, closer to the stream. I watch her for a moment, the way her eyes flutter around as if looking for something. I suppose since I said the lesson she's looking for a textbook or something.

"Shall we begin?" I ask as I walk to the middle of the clearing, her eyes cut from the waterfall and she watches me.

"What exactly is your plan here?" She crosses her arms and comes to me, standing right in front of me, just coming up to my shoulder. She tips her head back just slightly to look at me and I can tell that she hates that. I smirk at her to keep the grin from slipping out.

"We are finally going to awaken those powers of yours." She rolls her eyes at me.

"You know I've been trying to do that for the past two months, right?" I shake my head at her, taking a step away from her before starting a slow walk around her. She keeps her body straight but follows me with her eyes, their wide, waiting.

"Like I said in the car, you've been 'trying' without letting yourself open up to the magic." She scoffs but doesn't say anything, I place my finger to my lips telling her to be quiet. She rolls her eyes and I look to the sky to stop the smile. "Morgan, magic is already inside of you, a tiny little ball of power waiting for you to release it, allowing it to fill your body."

"How do I do that?" She asks in a snarky tone, I look at her and shrug my shoulders.

"By opening yourself to the elements. You know that Witch's magic comes from your ancestors passed down through generations but it also comes from the environment and the elements. Allow the air to pass through you, breathe it in, breathe it out. Become one with the earth beneath your feet. Let the water wash over your senses and let the fire burn away."

Her eyes never leave mine but then I see the rise and fall of her chest building, anticipation. I smirk down at her.

"The elements feel you, feel the magic burning inside of you. You just have to let them in." I don't know if she notices it but her eyes are suddenly hungry for the power, her eyes glowing slightly as she nods her head.

"How?" Her voice is breathless and I have to look away from her to get my own breathing under control. I want until I'm in front of her again, this time a couple of steps away from her.

"Anyone that looks at you can see the burning of something deep within your soul. I'm sure at times you can feel it as well. You just have to grab that feeling, let it burn you, and then bring it out."

I can see she wants to roll her eyes at me but she holds it in, instead, she gives me a confused look. I chuckle and roll my eyes at her.

"Close your eyes, Morgan."

Her eyes stay on me for a moment and I think she's going to say something snarky but then she's closing her eyes. Her breathing picking up the instant they closed.

"Slow your breathing," I tell her in a calm voice but she can't seem to get control of it. I take a step closer, coming up behind her so my chest is against her back. I can smell the distant smell of wood coming off of her skin. "Match your breathing to mine."

I control mine, feeling the rise and fall of my chest on her back, and then after a couple of minutes, hers starts matching my own.

"Keep it slow and calm." My voice is lowered and for a second I think I feel her body shudder beneath me but then it's gone and I'm focused again.

"You feel that burning inside of you?" She nods her head and my words. "Relax your body, allow that burning to burn through your body."

She unclenches her muscles one by one and I take a step away from her, her breathing stays steady. I walk back to her front, staying close this time as I watch her.

I stay silent as we stand there letting the rain touch our heads, letting the wind push our hair and skin. The elements brushing against her, waiting just like us.

Minutes pass slowly until Morgan lets out a frustrated groan, opening her eyes again. Around us, the wind slows and the rain backs off instantly. She almost had it.

"Nothing is happening." Her voice is whiny and I roll my eyes at her.

"You're not letting go," I tell her, as I squat down. "You're not allowing yourself to touch the magic."

"What does that even mean?" She groans.

"Morgan, you're holding onto your human side. You don't want to be magic, you want to be normal." She gives me a look of course but I shake my head. "Morgan there is nothing normal about you. You will always be a Witch even if you don't do magic. Never fitting in, unless you open up to yourself now and allow the magic to spread through. Here you can make your own family."

My words seem to have some effect on her and I wonder what images filled her vision for a second. I wonder if I was a part of the family she imagined for herself. I mentally shake the thought from my head and look up at her again.

"Okay, let's try again." Her voice is determined and I allow a smile to drift up at her, she grins back almost instantly.

I stand up and nod my head.

"Close your eyes." She does immediately. Her breathing is already steady. Instantly the wind picks up pushing her hood down and blowing her hair around. The rain wets her face and the trees above us groan and all I can do is smile. This is it.

I see the magic building inside of her long before I see the magic actually happening. Her eyes are like windows to her soul and right now they are crackling like a campfire. The wind brushes us and I breathe in the scent of fire it brings with her. She doesn't know it but it tells me immediately that Morgan is more powerful than any of us know.

She brings the fire with her, it's in her scent, in her eyes, and in her belly.

She smiles and her eyes flash brighter, she feels it now. The magic spreads fire through her limbs. She looks at me and then brings her hand up slowly, dangerous because sitting in the middle, the perfectly controlled flame sits for a second as she watches it.

Her fingers give a tinkle and the sparks start flying immediately, they fly from her hand, hitting the canopy above and the old leaves below. Her eyes widen.

"Keep calm. Believe that the leaves won't catch." I tell her, keeping my voice calm to try to calm her.

She closes her eyes, her fist closing a second later. The fire in her hand dissolving into nothing. A leaf beside her catches on fire but she doesn't notice, she calms her breathing deep sounds leave her and by the time she opens her eyes, the fire is out.

Her smile is wide as she looks around the small area.

"Holy shit I actually did it." Her voice is full of amazement.

"You did great," I tell her keeping my voice monotone as she turns to look at me, her eyes still lit with fire that makes me want to grin at her instead I shake my head. "But fire will be easy for you, it seems that is your specialty after all. Now we need to work on the other elements of magic."

As I watch her expression I know she's caught on to the fact that fire is her specialty. I had thought it was obvious but apparently not.

I wait, breathing in the thick scent of a campfire coming from her as the wind picks up. She looks at me determined once again, this time not from me forcing her but for the same reason she brought the flames. She finally allowed that part of her to open up, burning brighter than anyone I have ever seen.

"What's next?" Her voice is just as determined as her face. She's set her shoulders ready for anything. I let the smirk fall onto my lips.

"Let's jump right into it. The opposite of your fire element, water." Her eyes quiver as she turns to the stream of water, bubbling away beside us. The sound seems magnified in the silence. She swallows thickly. "Fire is burning and bright but water needs calm, it needs to rush all over you, washing you clean. You need to be mindful of every move and every thought."

She nods her head.

"Step into the stream." My voice is calm but she turns her eyes on me, the burning fire back.

"It's freezing cold, I'm not getting into the stream."

I roll my eyes.

"You control the fire, you'll be fine. Now get into the water, close your eyes and focus on the feeling of the water rushing over your toes and try to take the feeling further up your leg."

I watch as she tries to fight me on it but then she's slipping the boots off of her feet and rolling her pants up. She takes one step into the water, pulling back at the cold before glaring at me and walking definitely into the center.

Her body shakes but she works quickly, closing her eyes.

Her breathing slows and I can see the concentration on her face. I allow myself a brief smile at the image, if only because her eyes are closed and she can't see me.

Seconds pass and then minutes, nothing happens.

"Focus on the feeling of the water in between your toes, over your feet." My voice is bored and her eyes open immediately.

"I am focused." I roll my eyes.

"Focus harder." She groans, shutting her eyes again. Another smile slips from my lips before I pull it back into a smirk instead.

AUTHOR NOTE

Oh god, this chapter ended up being a lot more than I thought it was going to be. At first, I was annoyed with this chapter but then it ended up being my favorite. I think unfairly that Nathaniel is my favorite boy, clearly, lately, he's had a lot more story but I promise the others are coming back soon.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as always if you see any spelling or grammar mistakes please comment on them so that I may be able to fix them.

Thank you for reading,

LAURA