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.

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

of the warmth that fled my body as she spoke.

But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It isn’t worth my life to

Ava: Her Identity

volatile.

question that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re my wolf,

Of course.

me? No shifter has a wolf with a

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

with ancient magic, and they don’t have any ‘separate‘, only ‘one‘. Why

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

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

Her Identity

a quiet pride. I came to be

squint, as if that somehow makes my brain work better. “How is that possible? Doesn’t

who is matched?”

brisk. For now, it’s more important that you take a cold shower

sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils

I don’t want to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t let

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

me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now,

Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of

more later.

feel my skin starting to prickle

is

the bathroom, tearing off my hospital gown 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.

know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my

my nose.

One’s a little weaker, but

Ava!

does nothing to help but makes me feel better for at

shivering in minutes, huddled under

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Ava: Her Identity

to help keep my mind clear

extent.

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