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.

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

trying to regain some of the warmth that fled

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

Her

volatile.

me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re my wolf,

Of course.

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

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

again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any

helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture

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

Her Identity

pride. I came

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

who is matched?”

another time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it’s more

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

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

can you just choose to be with me? And what do you mean,

don’t understand yet. But trust me when I

Her Identity Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to

more later.

to demand answers, but the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control before

humiliation is enough.

the bathroom, tearing off my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to

as I can.

I don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to sniff, trying to get

my nose.

them. One’s a little weaker,

Ava!

course does nothing to help but makes me feel better

shivering in minutes, huddled under that freezing

617

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