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.

teach each other, too many lives

of the warmth that fled

say, shoving down the odd sense of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says

Her Identity

volatile.

on a question that’s been bothering me from the beginning. “Selene, you’re my wolf,

Of course.

you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with

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

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

that can’t be helped, Selene sighs, and I can almost picture her shaking her head. It’s the nature

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

Ava: Her Identity

am pure, Selene says, her voice filled with a quiet pride. I came

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

who is matched?”

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

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

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

But trust me when I say that everything will

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

more later.

skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under

is enough.

on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone;

as I can.

don’t know how far they are, but they’re close enough

my nose.

of them. One’s a little weaker, but

Ava!

help but makes me feel better for

minutes, huddled

617

Her

it seems to help keep my mind

extent.

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