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.

14:55

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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.

humans were lost to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were lost in the

some of the warmth that

course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It

Her

volatile.

me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re

Of course.

separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with

hums, a thoughtful sound that echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing is really

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 am I

I can almost picture

are we, exactly? Are

Ava: Her

pure, Selene says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to be with you

brain work better. “How is that possible?

who is matched?”

turning brisk. For now, it’s more important that you

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

right; I don’t want to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation go just yet.

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

much you don’t understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be

Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels

more later.

argue, to demand answers, but the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat.

is

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

as I can.

far they are, but they’re

my nose.

One’s a

Ava!

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

minutes, huddled under that

617

Her Identity

to help keep my mind clear to an

extent.

teeth are chattering, so I talk to Selene through my 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