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 in the pursuit of the power within them. Do not open that door,

trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my body as she

sense of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says

Her

volatile.

on a question that’s been bothering me from the

Of course.

No shifter has a

born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing

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

can’t be helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture

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

Ava: Her Identity

filled with a quiet pride. I came to

as if that somehow makes my brain work better. “How is that possible? Doesn’t the

who is matched?”

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

down my spine, and I can

want to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But

with me? And what do you mean,

I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus on getting through

Identity Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ

more later.

argue, to demand answers, but the heat is building 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

as I can.

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

my nose.

them. One’s a little weaker, but he’ll do

Ava!

makes me feel better for at least trying, and turn on the water at its

in minutes, huddled under

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Her Identity

it seems to help keep my mind

extent.

chattering, so I talk to Selene through my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because