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 lives were lost

vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth that

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

Ava: Her Identity

volatile.

bothering me

Of course.

are you separate from me? No shifter has a

explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing

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

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

And what are we, exactly? Are

Her

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

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

who is matched?”

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

I can feel the first tendrils of heat

But I can’t let this conversation go just yet. I’m finally

you just choose to be with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one at the same time? I

yet. But trust me when I say that everything

Identity Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of

more later.

the heat is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need

humiliation is enough.

and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want

as I can.

a powerful wolf. I don’t know how far they are, but they’re

my nose.

them. One’s a

Ava!

to help but makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on

shivering in minutes, huddled under that freezing

617

Her

seems to help keep

extent.

again. Why is heat even a thing? This is