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.

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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

of the warmth that

of course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It isn’t worth my life to try and grasp something so

Her

volatile.

focus on a question that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re

Of course.

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

magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing is really

are bonded with ancient

Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s

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

Ava: Her

says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to

if that somehow makes my brain work

who is matched?”

more important that you take a

and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting to

to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But

with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one at the same time? I don’t understand any

understand yet. But trust me when I

Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters

more later.

can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under

is enough.

tossing it on the ground as I

as I can.

of a powerful wolf. I don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough

my nose.

One’s a little weaker, but he’ll do

Ava!

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

huddled under

617

Ava: Her

it seems to help keep

extent.

mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind