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.

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

regain some of the warmth that fled my body as she spoke.

to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s

Ava: Her Identity

volatile.

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

Of course.

you separate from me? No shifter

with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where

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

I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the nature of what we are.

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

Ava: Her

pride.

work better. “How is

who is matched?”

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

my spine, and I can feel the first

a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t

do you mean, we’re separate and

her voice softening. 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 getting

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more later.

faster now, and I can feel my skin

humiliation is enough.

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

as I can.

don’t know how far they are, but

my nose.

two of them. One’s a little weaker, but

Ava!

but makes me

shivering in minutes, huddled

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Ava: Her Identity

keep my mind clear to an

extent.

heat even a thing? This is ridiculous.