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 blood.

screams in pain and my vision blurs

of rage. Blood drips from his ruined eye, painting a gruesome picture. He stalks toward us, his movements

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

have a

you apart,” he snarls, spittle flying from his

while carrying her. My only choice is to stand and fight, to buy time

it

a crackling current that dances along my nerves.

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A Shocking Finale (1) END

beneath my skin.

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

a loud snarl and I trust the

that before would have been impossible to track is

training comes to me

How to block.

How to move.

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

please.

to step as I dodge.

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

time he tries to grab me,

forgod to regain his balance

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1) END SEASON

this can’t go

the wooziness in

the way

crop top is soaked

I be unconscious

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

only then that I notice the sounds outside

little area.

howls in the

of

Perhaps they’re

crash. A

how it’s so relatively peaceful back here, with only Teddy and Bren’s

us, kitten. I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t

My story?

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you hate these stupid ke? Their rules? Their

old ways?”

Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe, teach you your powers. Tell you the truth

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

body.

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

be small.

neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath

I’m not unconscious.

is there, throbbing, but

the faint outline of my coar remaine

Shocking Finale (III)-END

give you the freedom he can’t. I’ll give you the knowledge she

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

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

I say again, trying to make sense of

closer, and I fall to my knees with a groan. 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,

blink.

still

with a soft croon.

Ava!

whisper, not sure if he asked me