Tangled

39 Ava: Her Identity

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.

14:55

177

39 Ava: Her Identity

Talk about a letdown.

O

“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.

to teach each other, too many lives were lost in the pursuit of the

vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my body as she

have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It isn’t worth

Ava: Her Identity

volatile.

that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene,

Of course.

you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with a

she explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing is really answered. We are both separate and one at the

groan. “That makes no sense. You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any ‘separate‘, only ‘one‘. Why

I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the nature of what we

you, an English professor now? And what are we, exactly?

Ava: Her Identity

a quiet pride. I

work better. “How is

who is matched?”

says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it’s more important

shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting to uncurl in my

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

you mean, we’re separate and one at the same time? I don’t understand any of

me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For

Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels

more later.

answers, 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 before I become a feral, slutty mess.

humiliation is

tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want

as I can.

the presence of a powerful wolf. I don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to

my nose.

of them. One’s a little weaker, but he’ll

Ava!

I slap my nose, which of course does nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on the water at its coldest

shivering in minutes, huddled under that freezing

617

Ava: Her Identity

keep my mind clear to

extent.

even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I want some dick? Who came up with this