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.

recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other,

trying to regain some of the warmth that

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

Ava: Her

volatile.

me from the

Of course.

you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf

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

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

helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture

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

Her

says, her voice filled with a quiet pride.

that somehow makes my brain work better. “How is that possible? Doesn’t the curse decide

who is matched?”

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

my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting

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

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

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

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more later.

to 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

humiliation is

ground as I go. Niceties are

as I can.

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

my nose.

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

Ava!

nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and

shivering in minutes, huddled

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Ava: Her

it seems to help keep my mind clear to

extent.

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