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.

the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each

regain some of the

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

Ava: Her

volatile.

that’s been bothering me from the beginning.

Of course.

No shifter has a wolf with a

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

are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any

sighs, and I can almost

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

Her Identity

with a quiet pride. I came to be with you of my own

somehow makes my brain work better. “How is

who is matched?”

For now, it’s more important

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

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

be with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one

when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus on getting through your heat. We can talk

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more later.

the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get

is enough.

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 soon

as I can.

far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to sniff, trying to get

my nose.

a little weaker, but

Ava!

nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on the water at its coldest

in minutes, huddled under that freezing

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Ava: Her Identity

keep my

extent.

is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I