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

neck screams in pain and my vision blurs from darkness

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

elegant monster from before. He’s lost reason.

a chance.

he snarls, spittle flying from his lips.

brace myself, shielding Lisa with my body. I know I can’t outrun him, not while carrying her. My only choice

it arrives.

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

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1)

thrumming beneath my

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

charges with a loud snarl and I trust the power within me,

itself changes. A punch that before would have been impossible to track is now something I can not only see, but think about.

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 I dodge.

had little training in offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to exhaustion every

time he tries to grab

to regain his

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A Shocking Finale (1)

go on

feel the wooziness

way

top is soaked in

be

longer, Selene says, an encouraging presence in my mind. They’re almost there.

that I notice the sounds outside of

little area.

howls in the distance.

sound of sirens.

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

A lot of slurs.

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

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

My story?

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hate these stupid

old ways?”

face once again settled into that pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me,

Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so many fucking questions, but I’m swaying on my feet, even with this energy flowing through my

body.

don’t know how

be small.

again, the skin is smooth and unblemished

I’m

pain is there, throbbing, but the damage

outline of my coar remaine

Ava: A Shocking Finale

the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward

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

tingle of the ecstasy I’d

again, trying to make sense of it all. “I’m not

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

blink.

still spotty.

cheek with a soft croon.

Ava!

if he asked me any