Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 260 Ava: Call It

"I know." Nibbling the side of my finger, my brows pull together. Why would he tellto keep it safe, knowing it

might be too dangerous?

What were the words he used again? They seemed significant.

"Ava, | need you to tellyou're not going to the Blackwood territory."

Jerking my head up, | blink at Vanessa's worried stare. "I'm not going. I'm just trying to think."

My brain's dead set on remembering what Magister Orion said.

What was it?

Call my book?

Yeah, that's it.

"The book is useless to anyone even if they find it," Marcus says, his words soft. Is he trying to comfort me?

"Don't worry, Ava. It'll be a paperweight. Or, if we're lucky, they'll be allergic. Like Selene."

He is trying to comfort me.

How sweet.

"That's if we assthey don't know how to open it. The knowledge has been lost to us, but there are Fae

involved now, remember?"

Marcus sighs. "Life was easier without this magic shit," he mutters, almost too soft forto hear.

But | do.

My lips quirk. | agree with him wholeheartedly.

"Magister Orion said to call the book to me," | say, looking to Vanessa instead. Sometimes it helps to talk out my

thought process. "He wouldn't have said it like that if | were to go pick it up, right?"

Her eyes squint as she thinks it through. "That sounds right. But what does it mean? Can you move it from place

to place with your magic?"

My nose itches, and | rub at it in frustration. "I think that's exactly what he means, but | have no idea how to

implement it." A long sigh, filled with regrets and lack of time. Tis always in short supply. "I wish Magister

Orion had taughtsomething like that before everything happened."

Vanessa's lips quirk into a small smile. "If wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets."

| stare at her for a moment, the unexpected phrase catchingoff guard. Then, despite the gravity of our

situation, a laugh bubbles up from my chest. "I haven't heard that phrase since | was in human school."

The laughter feels good, a brief respite from the tension that's been coiling tighter and tighter inside me. It's

strange how such a small thing can bring back memories of a simpler time, before | knew about the complexities

of pack politics, before | discovered my own magical abilities, before the world seemed to be falling apart around

us. Not a happy time. But simpler.

"My grandmother used to say that all the time," Vanessa says, her eyes softening with the memory. "She had a

saying for everything."

Marcus clears his throat, bringing us back to the present as his eyes remain glued to the road ahead. "As much

as | appreciate the trip down memory lane, we should focus. It must be important, for him to warn her in that

situation.”

The car hums, jostling its way over the road as if it's full of potholes, making it even harder to concentrate. "We

spent most of our ton basic control exercises." Also known as the thing that would keepfrom kabooming

everyone within radius if | didn't get training. "I can light a candlestick if you needtoo. Blackouts? I'm your

girl. Summoning a magical book across hundreds of miles?"

"Not so much," Vanessa chimes in with a chuckle.

| close my eyes, trying to recall anything that might be useful. "He did mention something about intent being

crucial in magic. He must think I'm capable of doing this, so | just need to figure out how. Right?"

Vanessa turns almost completely around on the passenger side of the bench to face me. There are no seatbelts.

Well, there were once upon a time—they were all cut out at spoint in this truck's long and busy life.

"Intent, huh? That makes sense. Magic seems to be all about willpower."

I nod, latching onto the idea. "If I lose concentration, | lose control. So it's the bedrock of my magic."

Even the back of Marcus' head can't hide his skepticism. Probably because it leaks out in his voice. "So what, you

just think really hard about the book and it appears?"

| shrug, feeling a bit foolish. "Maybe? It's worth a try, right?"

Vanessa leans over the seat to whisper, "He just doesn't have the imagination to comprehend what you can do."

"I can hear you, Healer Thorn."

"You were meant to," she chides. "Don't make her feel bad when she's trying to figure things out."

"lI wasn't trying to—" he bites back the rest of his words. "Never mind. I'll just drive."

Taking a deep breath, | close my eyes and try to empty my mind.

The old truck rattles and shakes, every bump in the road threatening to jostleout of my concentration. A

stale, acrid smell of cigarette smoke lingers in the air, tickling my nose and temptingto sneeze. | push it all

away, focusing on the task at hand.

Mrs. Elkins' book. | picture it in my mind, with the silky feel its leather cover and the ornate silver clasps,

tarnished by age. The way the pages felt beneath my fingertips. The symbols that appeared and disappeared

like magic.

Magic. That's what | need now.

| take a deep breath, trying to center myself. The truck hits another pothole, and | grit my teeth.

Focus, Ava. Focus.

The symbols dance in my memory, swirling and shifting. | try to grasp them, to hold onto their meaning, but they

slip away like smoke. Frustration bubbles up inside me, and I push it down.

Calm. | need to be calm.

"Ava?" Vanessa's voice breaks through my concentration. "Are you okay? You look pale."

I nod, not opening my eyes. "I'm trying to focus."

"Okay," she says softly. "We'll be quiet."

The truck rumbles on, and | sink deeper into my thoughts. | picture the book again, trying to will it into existence.

Con, | think. Cto me.

But whenever | open my eyes—nothing happens.

No book in my hands.

Just the three of us, this ancient rust bucket on wheels, and the deserted rural road we're traveling.

| frown, concentrating harder. Magister Orion said to call it to me, so it must be possible; | just have to figure out

how.

A massive undertaking for a new magic user.

The smell of smoke grows stronger, and | wrinkle my nose. It's distracting, pullingout of my focus. | try to

push it away, but it lingers, stubborn and persistent.

I'm not giving up. Besides, we have a long way still before we make it to wherever Lucas is at.

| picture the book again, this tfocusing on the feeling it gavewhen I held it. The sense of power, of

potential. The way it seemed to hum with energy, as if it was alive somehow. | reach out with my mind, trying to

connect with that energy.

For a moment, | think | feel something. A spark, a flicker of... something. But then it's gone, lost in the rumble of

the truck's engine and the jostling of the road.

The snarl that rips out ofis a sound I've never made in my life, sounding more wolfish than human.

Vanessa's brows are high on her forehead as she stares at me.

I shrug. "It's not working. | thought | had it for a second, but..." My mouth twists. "It's gone."

Marcus glances atin the rearview mirror. "If you felt something, that must mean you've made progress," he

says, his tone softer than before. "Don't discount that. Even if you haven't done it yet."

I nod, grateful for his attempt at encouragement. "You're right. | just wish | had more tto figure it out."

Vanessa turns in her seat to face me. "Why don't you tell us more about the book? Maybe talking it through will

help center your..." She wiggles her fingers atin a strange gesture. "You know. Magic visions."

| can't help but laugh. "You guys have seen it already."

"But tell us how you see it. How you remember it."

| consider this for a moment. "Well, it's old. Really old. The cover is leather, and so worn that it's as soft as butter.

The silver is intricate, but in the little nooks and crannies it's all black and tarnished. There's an energy to it.

It tingles on my fingers and goes up my arms sometimes."

As | speak, | can almost feel the book in my hands again. The weight of it, the texture of the cover. "The symbols

inside aren't like anything I've ever seen before. They appear and disappear, like they have a mind of their own."

"That was unsettling," Marcus agrees.

I nod. "Yeah. And amazing, too." | pause, remembering the awe | felt when I first realized what | was seeing. "It's

like the book is alive somehow. Like it knows things."

The truck hits another bump, and | grab onto the seat to steady myself.

| close my eyes again, trying to recapture that sense of connection | felt earlier. The book is out there

somewhere, waiting for me. | just need to reach it.

| think about the magic I've learned so far. The way it flows through me, an extension of my will. | picture that

energy extending outward, searching for the book, trying to connect with that thrumming magic within.

For a moment, nothing happens. Then, suddenly, | feel... something. A tug, like a string attached to my magic.

It's faint, barely there, but it's real.

word

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