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.

pain and my vision blurs from darkness to light, spotted with

feet, his face a mask of rage. Blood drips from his

from the elegant monster from before. He’s lost reason. Lost

a chance.

spittle flying from his lips.

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

If it arrives.

current that dances along my nerves. I feel it building,

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Finale

thrumming beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

loud snarl and I trust the power within me, meeting

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

to me

How to block.

How to move.

How to press my hand against his arm, how to utilize his momentum to throw

please.

step as

had little training in offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced

every time he tries to grab

forgod to regain his balance

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Shocking Finale (1)

this can’t go on

feel the

the way my

crop top is

I be unconscious

says, an encouraging

only then that I notice the sounds outside of

little area.

in the distance.

of sirens.

Perhaps they’re on

occasional crash. A lot of

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

I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t you want to know the truth

My story?

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stupid ke? Their

old ways?”

into that pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me,

bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking questions, but I’m

body.

know how bad the

be small.

my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath

wonder I’m not

but the

of my

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

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

for the love of my family, sways toward him.

the faint tingle of the ecstasy I’d felt

make sense of it all. “I’m not leaving here.”

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

blink.

still

kneels before me, cupping my cheek with a soft

Ava!

if he asked me any questions.