Tangled

Unshift 232

Unshift 232

232 Ava: Bursting In

"But I didn't do anything," I protest. "I just sat here."

"It doesn't matter," Vanessa says, just as Selene says the same thing in my head.

I swear I can hear a smile in my wolf's voice. Sometimes doing nothing is the hardest thing of all.

I look down at my hands, half expecting to see water droplets forming on my skin. But they look the same as always. "Did I really do it, though?"

I don't know. I'm not a wizard.

Pausing at that, I scowl at the air, since she's not near me. "Then

what was all that advice about?"

A hunch.

What the hell.

It worked, didn't it?

Can't really argue with that.

The door flies open with a resounding bang, and I nearly leap out of my skin. Before I can even process what's happening, Vanessa's between me and the entrance, her body coiled and ready to strike.

My heart's still racing when Magister Orion bursts in, his massive frame filling the doorway. But it's not his size that catches my attention this time. No, it's the tiny sparks of flame dancing above his head like a bizarre halo. I blink, wondering if I'm hallucinating.

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232 Ava: Bursting In

"Fire!" he roars, his voice booming through the room. "You touched fire!"

his words has me flinching, but there's no mistaking the excitement in his tone.

Do you have any idea how long it usually

Sometimes months!"

the sudden intrusion. Marcus follows Magister Orion into the room, taking up his

still on high alert but recognizing that we're safe. I'm grateful

this time.

potential and rare talents when he suddenly stops mid-sentence. His eyes dart around, taking in the room as if seeing it for the first time. The realization dawns on his face, and I watch

from excitement to mortification.

above his head. "My sincerest

that follows is deafening.

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232 Ava: Burstant in

bewildered looks with Vanessa and Marcus, trying to process what just happened. Did that really just occur? Or did I fall asleep during meditation and dream the whole

breaks the stunned silence. Vanessa moves to answer it, and I have to

the situation.

Orion," Vanessa says, her voice carefully neutral.

I please have permission to enter Miss Grey's chambers?" His voice is subdued now, a far cry from the booming enthusiasm of moments ago. Vanessa glances back, catching my eye, and I

to let

somehow seeming smaller than before. His face is beet red, and the dancing flames above his head have disappeared. He clears his throat, looking everywhere except

for intruding upon your personal chambers without so much as a by-your-leave. It was terribly rude

to his earlier behavior that I'm not quite sure how to respond.

St Aubing b

trying to keep my voice steady. "I understand you

still looking uncomfortable. "Yes, well, that's no excuse for such

Vanessa and

content to let me take

for a way to break the

of course. Perhaps we could discuss it in a more... appropriate setting? The library, perhaps?"

he says, backing towards

as the door closes behind him, a hysterical giggle escapes. "Well, I say, looking at Vanessa and

her mouth. "I never heard that the Fae have such

mores."

the exact opposite," Marcus muses. "But then again, the knowledge we have is contained in

Communities"

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27 Ava Thesi