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.

my vision blurs from darkness

rage. Blood drips from his ruined eye, painting a

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

have a chance.

rip you apart,” he snarls, spittle

while carrying her. My only choice is

If it

sparks to life inside of me, a crackling current that dances along my nerves.

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Finale (1) END SEASON

beneath my

It’s electric.

It’s terrifying.

It’s hope.

a loud snarl and I trust the power within

been impossible to track is now something

training comes to me without

How to block.

How to move.

his arm, how to utilize his momentum to throw his

please.

to step as

little training in offensive strikes, but I’ve practiced

tries

regain his balance

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Finale (1) END SEASON TWO

go on forever.

can feel the wooziness in

way my knees

my crop top

be unconscious already?

says, an encouraging presence

that I notice the sounds outside

little area.

in the distance.

of

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

occasional crash. A lot of

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

fading, 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

and I have

body.

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

be small.

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

wonder I’m not unconscious.

but the damage has disappeared.

faint outline of

Finale (III)-END SEASON TWO

knowledge she won’t. Come, Ava Grey, Ward of the Witches.

little girl inside of me, the one desperate for the love of

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

make sense of it all. “I’m not leaving

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

blink.

still

kneels before me, cupping my cheek with a soft croon. A lullaby, I think.

Ava!

I whisper, not sure if he asked me