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.

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 the

my arms vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth

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

Ava: Her Identity

volatile.

I focus on a question that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene,

Of course.

shifter has a wolf with a physical

echoes through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where

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

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

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

Ava: Her

filled with a quiet pride.

my brain work better. “How is that possible?

who is matched?”

For now, it’s more

can feel the

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

what do you mean, we’re separate

yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For

ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the

more later.

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

humiliation is enough.

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

as I can.

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

my nose.

of them. One’s a little weaker, but

Ava!

nose, which of course does nothing to help but makes me feel

in minutes, huddled under

617

Her

seems to help keep my mind clear to an

extent.

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