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 were lost in the pursuit of the power within them. Do

vigorously, trying to regain some of the warmth that fled my body as she spoke.

of loss. Magic would have been amazing to learn, of course. But–if Selene says it’s too

Her

volatile.

me

Of course.

why are you separate from me? No shifter has a wolf with a

magic, she explains in that non–explaining way,

“That makes no sense. You’re being cryptic 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

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

Ava: Her

filled with a quiet pride. I came to be with you of my

my brain work better. “How

who is matched?”

turning brisk. For now, it’s more important that

of the alpha sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel the first tendrils of heat starting to

in a frantic state like yesterday. But I can’t

how can you just choose to be with me? And what do you mean, we’re separate and one

trust me when I say that everything will be revealed in time. For now, focus on getting through your heat.

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

more later.

is building faster now, and I can feel my skin starting to prickle with sweat. I need to get this under control before I

is

the bathroom, tearing off my hospital gown and tossing it on the ground as I go. Niceties are foregone; I just want to get control of

as I can.

are, but they’re close enough that

my nose.

a little weaker, but he’ll do

Ava!

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

shivering in minutes, huddled

617

Her

help keep my mind clear

extent.

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