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

18.10

1/11

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

18/10

211

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 blood.

neck screams in pain and my vision blurs from darkness to

mask of rage. Blood drips from his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture. He stalks toward us,

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

a

you apart,” he snarls, spittle flying from his lips. “Piece by fucking piece.”

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

If it

crackling current

15-11

211

Finale (1) END

thrumming beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

trust the power within me, meeting

punch that before would have been impossible to track

my training comes to me

How to block.

How to move.

my hand against his arm, how to utilize his momentum to

please.

step as I

little training in offensive strikes, but I’ve

every time he tries to grab me, he’s

regain his

13 11

4/11

Ava A Shocking Finale (1) END

go

the wooziness

way my

my crop top is soaked

be unconscious already?

little longer, Selene says, an encouraging presence in my

only then that I notice the sounds outside

little area.

in the

sound of sirens.

Perhaps they’re on the other side

A lot of slurs.

here, with only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form, and the vampire in

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

My story?

18:11

5/11

hate these stupid

old ways?”

that pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with

agree with him. You’re half in contract. Any agreement will bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking questions, but I’m swaying on my feet,

body.

speak. I don’t know how bad the damage to my neck is, but it

be small.

my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood coating every part

wonder I’m not unconscious.

pain is there, throbbing, but the damage has

outline of my

Shocking Finale (III)-END SEASON TWO

You and your friend, too. I’ll give you the freedom he can’t. I’ll give you the knowledge she won’t. Come,

inside of me, the one desperate for the love of

of me holds her back, despite the faint tingle of the ecstasy I’d felt taunting me from beyond the pain when

say again, trying to make sense of it

I fall 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 almost imagine golden strands connecting me to the earth,

blink.

still

before me, cupping my cheek with a soft croon. A

Ava!

I whisper, not sure if he