Ava?


    Ava!


    Selene''s mental shout has me shaking my head, startled. I''m back, and it''s like I was never gone.


    Ava, are you listening?


    "Sorry. What is it?"


    Selene stands in front of me, her ears twitching. You were here, but our bond was silent. Like you were far away.


    "Ah." Clearing my throat, which is parched now that I''ve returned, I blink until I adjust to the darkness of my room, compared to the brightness of that magical place I was in just moments ago.


    "Selene, what does the Moon Goddess look like?"


    Why do you ask? Selene''s head tilts, her icy eyes studying me with an intensity that would be unnerving if I wasn''t so used to it by now.


    I glance at Marcus, who stands sentinel by the door, before focusing my thoughts inward. It''s so much harder to think this way, and I wonder if it will ever feel completely natural. I think I met her. The Moon Goddess.


    Selene''s confusion ripples through our bond. She was never here, Ava.


    I know. We were somewhere else.@@@@


    You never left the room. Selene''s voice in my mind is tinged with concern, her mental words hesitant.


    I think my consciousness did. It was like my spirit traveled to this magical place. I struggle to find the words to describe the ethereal experience. Even my body felt real there.


    Selene''s worry intensifies, a cold thread winding through my thoughts. Will it happen again?


    I don''t know. Absently stroking the pages of the book in my lap, I think back, trying to focus on the details. Yet the memories are already fading, vivid pictures blurring in my mind''s eye. There was a woman there. She called herself Selena. She spoke to me about my magic, about embracing it.


    I don''t know what the Moon Goddess looks like. I can''t remember, Selene admits. Though, they say she appears differently to everyone who sees her. Some even see her as a wolf. She pauses. I think I saw her as a wolf.


    Nodding, I look down at the book again, my gaze drawn to the strange runic text that dances across the pages. Each symbol seems to breathe with a life of its own, pulsing in a mesmerizing rhythm.


    What are you doing? Selene''s question breaks through my fascination.


    "Looking at the text. Trying to figure out how I''m supposed to learn to read it." My finger traces the graceful lines of a particularly intricate rune.


    Ava, there is no text. Selene''s voice is slow, cautious.


    I blink, my finger stilling on the page. "What do you mean? It''s right here. Can''t you see it?"


    Selene''s ears flatten to her skull. The pages are blank, Ava.


    I''m sorry, I whisper, my heart aching at the distance between us. I don''t know how to show you.


    Selene presses her nose against my leg, offering silent comfort even as I sense her unease. It''s okay, Ava. We''ll figure it out.


    As I stare at the pages, I feel the familiar tingling sensation in my fingertips, a warmth that spreads up my arms and into my chest. It''s like the book is calling to me, urging me to delve deeper into its secrets.


    And then, to my amazement, the runes begin to move in a way that I can observe.


    They swirl and dance, rearranging themselves into new patterns, new shapes. I watch, transfixed, as they slowly coalesce into something recognizable.


    Letters.


    Words.


    A message.


    For me?


    My breath catches in my throat as I read the words, each one searing itself into my mind with the force of a brand.


    "Embrace your destiny, Ava Grey. The time has come to..."


    The runes shiver, their edges blurring as if they''re struggling to maintain their form. I lean closer, my heart pounding as I wait for the rest of the message to reveal itself.


    But instead of clarity, the symbols dissolve into chaos, their meanings lost in a swirl of ink and magic. I blink, my eyes straining to make sense of the jumble, but it''s like trying to catch smoke with my bare hands.


    Selene, something''s happening, I whisper, my voice trembling with a mixture of awe and fear. The runes, they''re trying to tell me something.


    Her warmth by my side keeps me grounded, with half my mind deep in this weird place between here and there—between reality and the magic of this book.


    What do they say?


    "I don''t know... They''re fighting. Trying to break through..."


    My breath catches as the runes continue to shift and change, growing more frantic as each second passes.


    Then, as suddenly as it began, the chaos stills.


    One by one, lines emerge.


    "Your teacher awaits. Enter the sanctuary of wizards, Ava Grey." What the hell does that mean?


    What sanctuary?


    Wizards? Yet a new term brought to my ears. First magicians. Then witches. Now, wizards?


    My phone rings, a quick musical note. A text message.