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

slick from

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

drips from his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture. He stalks toward us, his movements jerky, unhinged.

from the elegant monster from before.

a

apart,” he snarls, spittle flying

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

it

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

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Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON

thrumming beneath my skin.

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

with a loud snarl and I trust the power within me, meeting him head on.

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

training comes to

How to block.

How to move.

arm, how to utilize his momentum to throw his body as I

please.

as I dodge.

offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to

he tries to grab

regain his balance

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A Shocking Finale (1) END

this can’t go

can feel the wooziness in

way

how my crop top is soaked in

I be unconscious already?

an encouraging presence in my mind. They’re almost there.

I notice the sounds outside of our

little area.

in

of sirens.

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

occasional crash. A lot of

only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious

“Come with us, kitten. I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t you want to know the truth

My story?

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you hate these stupid ke? Their rules?

old ways?”

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 the

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

body.

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

be small.

is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood

wonder I’m not

is there, throbbing, but the

the faint outline of my

A 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

me, the one desperate for the love of my

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

make sense of it all. “I’m

out of me. For a second, I can almost imagine golden strands

blink.

still

with a

Ava!

if he asked me any questions.