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.

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

to regain some of the warmth that fled my

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

Her Identity

volatile.

been bothering me from the

Of course.

separate from me? No shifter

born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in

shifters are bonded with ancient magic, and they don’t have any ‘separate‘, only ‘one‘. Why am

be helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the nature of what

an English professor now? And what are

Her Identity

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

as if that somehow makes my brain work better. “How

who is matched?”

is 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 is near.

down my spine, and I can feel the

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

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

yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus on getting through your heat. We can talk

Her Identity Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest

more later.

but the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control before I become a feral,

is enough.

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.

of them. One’s a little

Ava!

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

in minutes, huddled under that freezing

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Ava: Her

but it seems to help keep my mind clear to an

extent.

Selene through my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I want some dick? Who