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.

and my vision blurs from darkness

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

far cry from the elegant monster from before. He’s

a

spittle flying from his lips. “Piece by fucking piece.”

myself, 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

it arrives.

to life inside of me, a crackling current that dances

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A Shocking Finale

thrumming beneath

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

and I trust the power within me, meeting him head on.

A punch that before would have been impossible to track is

comes to me without thought.

How to block.

How to move.

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

please.

to step as I

strikes, but I’ve practiced defense to exhaustion

tries to grab me,

to regain his balance

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Ava A Shocking Finale (1) END

can’t go

can feel the wooziness in

the way

crop top is soaked in blood…

be unconscious

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

only then that I notice the

little area.

howls in the distance.

sound of

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

crash. A lot of slurs.

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

changing tactics, his fury fading, his face wary. “Come with us, kitten. I’ve been searching for so long. Don’t you

My story?

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stupid

old ways?”

his face once again settled into that pale, death–transcendent beauty. Come with me, kitten. I’ll keep you safe, teach you your powers.

you. 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

body.

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

be small.

when I bring my hand to my neck again, the skin is smooth and unblemished beneath my fingers, beneath the blood coating every part

wonder I’m

pain is there, throbbing, but the damage

of my coar remaine

Shocking Finale (III)-END SEASON TWO

the knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the Witches. You seek a home, and I have one to give.”

for the

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

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

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

blink.

vision’s still spotty.

before me, cupping my cheek with a soft croon.

Ava!

sure if