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

of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too dangerous, I believe her. It isn’t worth my life to try and grasp

Her

volatile.

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

Of course.

No shifter has a wolf

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 really answered. We are both separate and one at the same

with ancient magic, and

is something that can’t be helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking

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

Ava: Her Identity

her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to be

that somehow makes my brain work better. “How

who is matched?”

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

and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting to

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

how can you just choose to be with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one at the same time? I don’t understand

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

website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and

more later.

feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control before I become a feral,

is enough.

my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties

as I can.

don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m

my nose.

them. One’s a little weaker, but he’ll do

Ava!

I slap my nose, which of course does nothing to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on

shivering in minutes, huddled

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Ava: Her

help keep my mind clear to

extent.

again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m