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.

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

trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my body as she spoke.

learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I

Her Identity

volatile.

that’s been bothering me from the

Of course.

from me? No shifter has a

You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing is really answered. We are both separate and

makes no sense. You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any

helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her

are we, exactly? Are you a

Ava: Her

with a quiet pride. I came to be with you

my brain work better. “How is that

who is matched?”

For now, it’s more important that you take a cold shower before your

sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting to uncurl in my

frantic state like yesterday. But I

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

one, 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 time. For now, focus on getting

on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters

more later.

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

is enough.

hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to get control of my body as soon

as I can.

presence of a powerful wolf. I don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to

my nose.

them. One’s a little weaker,

Ava!

my nose, which of course does nothing to help but makes me feel better

shivering in minutes, huddled under that

617

Her

to help keep my mind clear to an

extent.

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