Tangled

139 Ava: A Shocking Finale (III) —

END SEASON TWO

“You’re making this so much harder than it should be. I was hoping to savor this moment, but now I have to rush my meal, instead.” He sounds disappointed, not angry, and the difference makes me shudder.

It’s worse than him being infuriated. It shows that my struggles are no more than an inconvenience to him.

When his fangs break skin, the pain is unbearable.

It’s worse than fire in my veins. It’s an ache so deep that my entire body throbs and burns, I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out; I can’t

breathe.

Skimming over the pain is an ecstasy that taunts me with bliss, tantalizing with its lack of pain. I yearn for it, wanting to sink in, wanting to escape this torture-

Eyes, Ava! Selene shouts. Go for the eyes!

With a desperate cry, I jab my fingers toward his face, aiming for those cold, mocking eyes. He jerks his head back and I can feel my neck rip and tear, blood

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139 Ava A Shocking Finale (il)-END SEASON TWO

pouring.

But not before I fe

my nails sink into something soft

and yielding. He howis, his grip loosens, and I wrench myself free, staggering away.

The vampire clutches at his face, blood seeping between his fingers. One eye is a ruined mess, but the other glares at me with unadulterated hatred.

“You’ll pay for that, bitch,” he spits, his voice a guttural

rasp.

I hold my hands against my neck, against the blood pouring out, gasping for air to fill my lungs. It’s like they can’t inflate fully, can’t fill with oxygen.

This time rage fuels his movements as he lunges for me, messy and uncoordinated. My brain’s already off, moving on instinct, through repetitive motions in

training.

A quick sidestep. A knee to the groin, a practiced weak point. He’s wide open and doubles over with a grunt as I follow up with an elbow to the back of his neck,

sacrificing blood loss for success.

He hits the ground hard. Good to know pressure

points also work on vampires

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139 Ava: A Shocking Finale ()-END SEASON TWO

He won’t be down long–may

seconds.

I dart to Lisa, grabbing her under the arms and dragging her back, scrabbling for purchase.with my

from

vision blurs from darkness

from his ruined eye,

cry from the elegant monster from before. He’s lost

a chance.

he snarls, spittle flying from his lips. “Piece by fucking

body. I know I can’t outrun him, not while carrying her. My only choice is to stand and

it

sparks to life inside of me, a crackling current that dances along

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Finale (1) END

thrumming beneath my skin.

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

a loud snarl and I trust the

A punch that before would have been impossible to track is now something I can

training comes to

How to block.

How to move.

hand against his arm, how to utilize his momentum

please.

step as

but I’ve

he tries to grab me,

forgod to regain his

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1)

go on

feel the

the way

crop top

be unconscious already?

longer, Selene says, an encouraging presence

that I notice the sounds outside

little area.

howls in

sound of sirens.

growling of wolves here, fighting. Perhaps

crash. A

it’s so relatively peaceful back here, with only Teddy and Bren’s

wary. “Come with us, kitten. I’ve been searching for

My story?

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stupid ke? Their rules? Their

old ways?”

a clawed hand, all the deranged anger gone, his face once again settled into that pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe, teach you your powers. Tell you

will bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I

body.

can even speak. I don’t know how bad the damage to

be small.

I bring my hand to my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood coating every part of

I’m not

is there, throbbing, but the damage

faint outline of my coar

A Shocking Finale (III)-END SEASON

kitten. You and your friend, too. I’ll give you the freedom he can’t. I’ll give you the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the Witches.

little girl inside of me, the one desperate for the love of

her back, despite the faint tingle of the

to make sense of it all. “I’m

to my knees with a groan. I can’t hold on to the power, feeling it pour out of me. For a second, I can

blink.

still

me, cupping my cheek with a soft

Ava!

whisper, not sure if he asked me any