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.

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

regain some of the warmth that fled my body as

would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says

Her Identity

volatile.

question that’s been bothering me from

Of course.

you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf

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

“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

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

What are you, an English 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

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

who is matched?”

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

in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t

what do you mean, we’re separate and

softening. There is much you don’t understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus on

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

more later.

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,

is

as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to get

as I can.

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

my nose.

One’s a little weaker, but

Ava!

makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on the water at its coldest setting.

shivering in minutes, huddled under

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Ava: Her Identity

help keep my

extent.

I talk to Selene through my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because