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.

to teach each other, too many lives were

of the warmth that fled

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

Ava: Her

volatile.

that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re my wolf, right?”

Of course.

separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with

were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way,

again. All shifters are bonded with ancient

sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the

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

Her

quiet pride. I came to be with you of my own choice.

that somehow makes my brain work

who is matched?”

now, it’s more important that you take a cold shower before your heat starts back

shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils

don’t want to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation

with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one at the same

voice softening. There is much you don’t understand yet. But trust me when I

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

more later.

I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need

humiliation 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

as I can.

don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m lifting my chin to sniff, trying

my nose.

of them. One’s a little

Ava!

to help but makes me feel better for

shivering in minutes, huddled

617

Her Identity

keep my

extent.

my mind again. Why is heat even a thing? This is ridiculous. I’m losing my mind because I want some dick? Who came up with this stupid