Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 39 Ava: Her Identity

You have the potential, Selene says, her voice a cautious whisper in my mind. The arcane flows through your veins. But…

My breath escapes me in a giddy rush. Magic. Real magic. Human magic. It's something out of a fairy tale, not something that should exist in my life. Then again, supernaturals exist—and we're pretty nonstandard, ourselves.

It's not that simple, Selene continues, her tone growing more serious. Magic is not a toy, little one. It's a force of nature, raw and untamed. To wield it requires knowledge, discipline, and control.

I swallow hard, feeling the warning in her words. "But how do I learn? I don't even know where to start."

You would need a teacher, Selene explains, her voice tinged with hesitation. Someone well-versed in the arcane arts, who could guide you, show you how to harness and control your power. But magic is a lost art. Magicians were lost to the curse and became shifters.

Talk about a letdown.

"So, I won't be able to do magic." Is that how you say it? Do magic? Cast magic? Spell magic? Cast spells? It all feels weird in my mouth.

It is unlikely, Selene says, but she still has that cautious sound to her voice.

"If I tried, what's the worst that could happen?"

Death.

A simple word, bluntly given, with all the truth in the world behind it. I shudder at the matter-of-fact tone.

past, many talented humans were lost to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were

trying to regain some of the

shoving down the odd sense of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But—if Selene says it's too dangerous, I believe her. It isn't worth my life

focus on a question that's been bothering me

Of course.

me? No shifter has a

echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non-explaining way, where nothing is really answered. We are both separate and one

are bonded with ancient magic, and they don't have any 'separate', only 'one'. Why am I

and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It's

English professor now? And what are we, exactly?

with a quiet pride. I came to

better.

for another time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it's more important that you take a

my spine, and I

be in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can't let this conversation go just yet.

how can you just choose to be with me? And what do you mean, we're separate and one

softening. There is much you don't understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus on getting

but the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control

One humiliation is enough.

my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I

are, but they're close enough that I'm lifting my chin to