Pierce Danger's POV
We fought like hell.
Smoke curled from the breached walls as I drove my blade through an Imperial loyalist. Caleb covered my left. Dax handled charges along the main gate.
Then I saw him.
Luthor.
Standing on the balcony of the headmaster's hall, watching it all unfold.
No panic.
No rage.
Just... calculation.
He looked directly at me.
And smiled.
We breached the final gate.
My boots slammed into the cracked stone of the central plaza—the same place I first fought in the arena. Where blood ran cheap and victories were bought in silence.
But this time, I didn't fight alone.
Behind me: Dax. Caleb. Delancey, bound but walking.
Beside me: Violet, covered in smoke and scars.
And above us—descending from the skies—royal banners unfurled like wings of vengeance.
