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.

talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were lost in the pursuit of the

of the warmth that

course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It isn’t worth

Her

volatile.

me from

Of course.

No shifter has a wolf with a

magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where

You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any ‘separate‘, only ‘one‘. Why am I

Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the nature of what

professor now? And what are we, exactly? Are you a Lycan or a shifter?”

Ava: Her

voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to be with you of my

brain work better. “How is that possible? Doesn’t the curse

who is matched?”

story for another time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it’s more important that you take a cold shower before your heat starts back up.

a shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first

yesterday. But I can’t let this

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

understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed

Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest

more later.

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

is enough.

tossing it on the ground as I

as I can.

know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to sniff, trying to get their scent

my nose.

a little

Ava!

me feel better for at least trying,

shivering in minutes, huddled under

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Ava: Her

but it seems to help keep my mind clear to an

extent.

a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I want