Tangled

Chapter 261

Unshift 261

Unshift 261

261 Ava: Yanking At Her

It's almost like a presence saying hello.

Thinking of that little string, I tug back. Twice.

An answering jerk. One. Two. Three

The words I just spoke drift into my head: It's like the book is alive.

it crazy to talk into this void in my head, in the general direction I hope the book is in?

Sure. But at least no one can see or hear me doing it.

Hello? I call out, trying to

there?

Use the same mental channel I use to speak with Selene. Are you

Another tug on that string.

I really, really need you to come to where I am. It's safer here. Or something. How do you explain. to a book that the world has gone to shit and you want to keep it from being used to create further catastrophe?

Please.

Being polite never hurts.

This time, that string-y feeling yanks, and it feels like my heart is constricted, interfering in its ability to beat.

I can't breathe. Pain explodes in my chest, radiating outward like a supernova. My lungs burn, desperate for air that won't come. The world around me blurs, sounds fading into a high-pitched buzz that fills my

cars.

passes. An eternity compressed

my vision darken, reality

began, the pain recedes. The world snaps back into focus, colors sharpening and sounds returning. I gasp, drawing in a ragged breath that feels like sandpaper in my throat. "Ava? Ava! Are

in my mind. Her hand grips my shoulder, shaking me gently but insistently. I blink, trying to orient myself. We're still in the truck. Marcus is at the wheel, his knuckles white

mirror.

a croak. Swallowing hard,

just happened? It felt like my heart was being squeezed in a vise, like something was trying to pull it right out of my chest. And that string, that connection to the book-it's still there,

Yanking At

thrumming in my veins that's

face went white as

had, hadn't I? The memory of those endless seconds without air sends a shiver down my spine. "I think I made contact with the book. It

meet mine in the mirror.

still scattered, my mind overflowing. "I'm not sure. I was reaching out to it, trying to call it to me like Magister Orion said. And then..." I trail off, unsure how to describe the sensation. "It was like it grabbed hold of me. I

that normal?" Vanessa asks, before shaking her head. "Stupid question.

questions, and so

Marcus's

careful with this. Magic books that try to yank your soul out of your body don't exactly scream 'trustworthy' to

idea. "No, it wasn't malicious. Just desperate." I pause, surprised by my own certainty. How can I be so sure about the intentions of an inanimate object? And yet, I

string inside of me tugs again, and

way, we can't risk you getting hurt.

It's like my body is vibrating from the inside out, a constant reminder of the

try contacting the book again. Too many weird things keep happening

sense of self-preservation in

desperately

Lucas sends

to reach me by now. It's strange."

passed. The realization is chilling. How much

24

Ava Yanking At

slipping away into that

talks with his eyes glued to the road. "I felt a pack presence once," he admits. "But it was brief. Flectr before I

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