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.

to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were lost in the pursuit of the power within them. Do not

arms vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my body as she

been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too

Ava: Her Identity

volatile.

on a question that’s been bothering me from

Of course.

why are you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with

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

groan. “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.

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

Her

am pure, Selene says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came

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

who is matched?”

says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it’s more important that you take a cold shower before your

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

state like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation go

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.”

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

Gøøglᴇ

more later.

the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle

is

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

as I can.

far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m

my nose.

two of them. One’s a

Ava!

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

shivering in minutes, huddled under

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Ava: Her Identity

seems to help keep my mind clear to

extent.

thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I want some dick? Who came up with this stupid idea?