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.

screams in pain and my vision blurs from darkness to light,

Blood drips from his

from the elegant monster from

a

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

him, not while carrying her. My only choice is to stand

it

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

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1) END

thrumming beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

with a loud snarl and I trust the power within

of time itself changes. A punch that before would have been impossible to

to me without thought.

How to block.

How to move.

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

please.

to step as

in offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to exhaustion

so every time he tries to grab

forgod to regain his balance

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Finale (1)

can’t go on forever.

the

way my

crop top is soaked in blood…

be unconscious

encouraging presence in my mind. They’re

that I notice the

little area.

in the

of

and growling of wolves here, fighting. Perhaps they’re on the other

A

only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form, and the vampire in front of me.

fury fading, his face wary. “Come with us, kitten. I’ve been

My story?

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these stupid ke? Their rules? Their

old ways?”

pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come

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

body.

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

be small.

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

wonder I’m not

pain is there, throbbing, but the

faint outline of my

Ava: A Shocking Finale (III)-END

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

inside of me, the one desperate for the love of

back, despite the faint tingle of the ecstasy I’d felt taunting

I say again, trying to make sense of

feeling it pour out

blink.

still

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

Ava!

not sure if