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.

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

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

sense of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It

Her

volatile.

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

Of course.

separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with a physical

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 answered. We are

You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they

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

what are we, exactly? Are you a Lycan or

Ava: Her

filled with a quiet pride. I came

makes my brain work

who is matched?”

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

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

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

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

much you don’t understand yet. But trust me when I say

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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

humiliation is

the bathroom, tearing off my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are

as I can.

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

my nose.

a little weaker,

Ava!

course does nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on

huddled

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Ava: Her

but it seems to help keep my mind clear

extent.

to Selene through my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I want some