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.

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

rises to his feet, his face a mask of rage. Blood drips from his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture. He stalks toward us, his movements

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

a

he snarls, spittle flying

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

If it arrives.

a crackling current that dances along my nerves.

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A Shocking Finale (1)

beneath my skin.

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

snarl and I trust the power within me, meeting him head

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

comes to me without

How to block.

How to move.

hand against his arm, how to utilize his momentum to throw his body

please.

to step as

offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced

every time he tries to grab me,

forgod to regain his balance

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1)

go on forever.

can feel the wooziness in

the way

how my crop top is soaked in blood…

I be unconscious

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

then that I notice the

little area.

in

of

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

crash. A

here, with only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form,

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

My story?

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these stupid ke?

old ways?”

hand, all the deranged anger gone, his 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

body.

how bad the damage to

be small.

is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers,

wonder I’m

is there, throbbing, but the damage has

of my

Ava: A Shocking Finale (III)-END

give you the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the Witches. You seek a home,

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

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

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

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 the earth, but they disappear in

blink.

vision’s still

my cheek with

Ava!

whisper, not sure if he asked me any questions.