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

screams in pain and my vision blurs from darkness to

vampire rises to his feet, his face a mask of rage. Blood drips from his ruined eye, painting

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

have a

going to rip you apart,” he snarls, spittle flying from his

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

If it arrives.

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

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Shocking Finale (1)

beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

charges with a loud snarl and I trust the power within

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

comes to me

How to block.

How to move.

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

please.

step as I

strikes, but

so every time he tries to grab

to regain his

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Shocking Finale (1) END

can’t go

feel the

way my knees

crop top is

I be unconscious already?

little longer, Selene says, an encouraging presence in my

only then that I notice the sounds

little area.

in

of

Perhaps they’re on the other side of the

an occasional crash. A lot of

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

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

My story?

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hate these stupid ke? Their

old ways?”

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.

agreement will bind you. Selene’s words are urgent, and I have so

body.

I’m shocked I can even speak. I don’t know how bad the damage to

be small.

smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers,

I’m

throbbing, but the damage has

the faint outline of

Finale (III)-END

too. I’ll give you the freedom he can’t. I’ll give you the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward

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

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

to make sense of

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

blink.

vision’s still spotty.

my cheek with a

Ava!

if he