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.

times long past, many talented humans were lost to the recklessness of their magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were lost in the pursuit of

to regain some of the warmth

say, shoving down the odd sense of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if

Ava: Her

volatile.

bothering me from the beginning.

Of course.

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

echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains

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

I can almost

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

Ava: Her Identity

says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came to be with you of my own choice.

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

who is matched?”

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

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

a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation go just yet. I’m finally getting

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

trust me when I say that

Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of

more later.

my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get

is enough.

hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to get control of

as I can.

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

my nose.

them. One’s a

Ava!

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

in minutes, huddled under that

617

Ava: Her

but it seems to help keep my mind clear to an

extent.

are 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