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.

14:55

177

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.

magical talent. Until magicians began to teach each other, too many lives were lost in the pursuit of the power within them. Do not

regain some of the

say, shoving down the odd sense 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 something so

Her Identity

volatile.

bothering me from the beginning. “Selene,

Of course.

why are you separate from me? 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 really answered. We are both separate

“That makes no sense. You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have

can’t be helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the nature of

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

Her

pride. I

my brain work better. “How is that possible? Doesn’t the curse decide

who is matched?”

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

shiver down my spine, and I can

to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation

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

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

website on Gøøglᴇ to access

more later.

feel my skin starting to prickle with

humiliation is enough.

bathroom, 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 I can.

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

my nose.

a

Ava!

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

in minutes, huddled under that

617

Her

help keep

extent.

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