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 light,

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

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

a

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

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

If it arrives.

of 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.

trust the power within me, meeting him head on.

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

to me

How to block.

How to move.

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

please.

as I

training in offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced defense

time he tries to grab

forgod to regain his balance

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A Shocking Finale (1)

this can’t go on forever.

feel the wooziness

the way my knees

top is

I be unconscious

says, an encouraging

I notice the

little area.

howls in the

of sirens.

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

occasional crash. A lot of slurs.

crazy how it’s so relatively peaceful back here, with only Teddy and Bren’s corpses, Lisa’s unconscious form, and the

fury fading, his face wary. “Come with us, kitten. I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t you want to know the truth of your story?”

My story?

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these stupid ke? Their rules? Their

old ways?”

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

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,

body.

Honestly, I’m shocked I can even speak. I don’t know how bad the damage to my neck is, but it

be small.

when I bring my hand to my neck again, the skin is smooth

wonder I’m not unconscious.

is there, throbbing, but the damage

the faint outline of my

Shocking Finale (III)-END SEASON TWO

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

one desperate for the love of my family,

the ecstasy I’d

sense of it all. “I’m not leaving

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

blink.

vision’s still spotty.

cupping my cheek with a soft croon. A lullaby,

Ava!

sure if