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.

long past, many talented humans were lost to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were lost in the pursuit of the power within them. Do not open that door, Ava.

arms vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my

of course. But–if Selene says it’s too

Her

volatile.

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

Of course.

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

mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way,

groan. “That makes no sense. You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with

I can almost

And what are we, exactly? Are you a Lycan

Her Identity

quiet pride. I came

makes my brain work better. “How is that

who is matched?”

more important that you

the alpha sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel

state like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation go just yet. I’m

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

Selene says, her voice softening. There is much you don’t understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in

Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters

more later.

argue, to demand 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

the bathroom, tearing off my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to get

as I can.

know how far they are, but they’re

my nose.

two of them. One’s a little

Ava!

makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on the

shivering in minutes, huddled under that freezing

617

Ava: Her

keep my mind

extent.

to Selene through my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous.