Tangled

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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!"

volume of his words has me flinching, but there's no mistaking the excitement in his tone. He's practically vibrating

knew it! I knew you were special, Ava Grey! Do you have any idea how

Sometimes months!"

Orion into the room, taking up his usual

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

this time.

Orion's still going on about magical potential and rare talents when he suddenly stops mid-sentence. His eyes dart around, taking in the room as if

from excitement to mortification.

His words come out in a stammer, his face flushed as red as the fire dancing above his head. "My sincerest apologies, my lady!" Before I can even form a response, he's out the door, slamming it behind him with as much force as when he entered. The

that follows is deafening.

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232 Ava: Burstant in

happened. Did that really just occur? Or did I fall

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

the situation.

voice carefully neutral. "How may we

May 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

to let him

somehow seeming smaller than before. His face is beet red, and the dancing flames above his

as a by-your-leave. It was terribly rude and unprofessional of me. I allowed my excitement to override my manners, and for that, I

to respond. Part of

St Aubing b

okay. Magister Orion, I manage to say, trying to keep my voice

uncomfortable. "Yes, well, that's no excuse

and Marcus, hoping for some clue on how to proceed, but

to let me take

to break the tension, "about that

from launching into another excited tirade. "Yes, of course. Perhaps we could discuss it in a more...

backing towards

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

tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I never heard that the Fae

mores."

heard the exact opposite," Marcus muses. "But then again, the knowledge we have is contained in storybooks. We have very little contact with anyone

Communities"

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27 Ava Thesi