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.

magicians began to teach each other, too many lives

some of the warmth that fled my body as

of course. But–if Selene

Ava: Her

volatile.

a question that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene,

Of course.

shifter has a wolf with a physical body.”

through my mind. You were born bonded with the ancient magic, she explains in that non–explaining way, where nothing is really answered. We are both separate

sense. You’re being cryptic again. All shifters are bonded with

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

professor now? And what are

Her

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

if that somehow makes my brain work

who is matched?”

for another time, Selene says, her tone turning brisk. For now, it’s more important

spine, and I can feel the

want to be in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t let this conversation go just yet. I’m

choose to be with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one at the same time? I don’t understand any of this.”

much you don’t understand yet. But trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus on getting through your heat. We can

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more later.

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

humiliation is enough.

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

as I can.

wolf. I don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough that I’m

my nose.

two of them. One’s a little weaker,

Ava!

slap my nose, which of course does nothing to help but makes me feel better for at

minutes, huddled under

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Ava: Her Identity

keep my mind clear to an

extent.

through 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 idea?