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 blood.

blurs from darkness to light, spotted with prismatic shapes.

his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture. He stalks toward us,

far cry from the elegant monster from

a chance.

snarls, spittle flying from his lips.

with my body. I know I can’t outrun him, not while carrying her. My only

If it

current that dances along my nerves. I feel it

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211

Finale (1) END

beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

snarl and I trust the power

would have been impossible to track is now something I can not only

my training comes to me without thought.

How to block.

How to move.

my hand against his arm, how to utilize his momentum to throw his body as I

please.

to step as I

offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to

time he tries to grab me,

forgod to regain

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A Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON TWO

this can’t go on forever.

can feel the wooziness

way

crop top is soaked

I be unconscious already?

Selene says, an encouraging

notice the sounds outside of our

little area.

in

of sirens.

Perhaps they’re

occasional crash. A

so relatively peaceful back here, with only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form, and the

kitten. I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t you want to

My story?

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you hate these stupid ke? Their rules?

old ways?”

pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe, teach

urgent, and I have so many fucking questions, but I’m swaying on my feet, even with this energy

body.

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

be small.

bring my hand to my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished

I’m not unconscious.

there, throbbing, but the damage has disappeared.

of my coar

Shocking Finale

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. You seek a home, and I have one

girl inside of me, the one desperate for the love of my family,

the faint tingle of the ecstasy I’d felt taunting me from beyond

I say again, trying to make sense of it

feeling it pour out of me. For a second, I can almost imagine golden strands connecting me to the earth,

blink.

vision’s still

my cheek with a soft croon. A lullaby, I

Ava!

if he asked