Blaze starts laughing.
"Fuck," he gasps, golden eyes wild with residual adrenaline. "We did it. Holyfuck, we actually did it."
His laughter is contagious.
Manic.
Relieved.
The particular kind of hysteria that follows survival.
Jett is checking his weapons, expression calm but hands moving with the slight tremor of someone who's coming down from combat mode. Sage is beside me—I didn't notice when he moved there—his hand finding mine and squeezing with a pressure that saysI'm here, you're here, we made it.
And Kai...
Kai is watching me.
Waiting.
For anger, maybe.
For accusation.
For the hatred he told me not to feel.
"Wait," I say, my voice coming out hoarse. "How are we going to return to Ruthless Academy after that? We just—" I gesturevaguely at everything. "—blew up a warehouse and killed your father and?—"
"We're not returning to Ruthless," Sage interrupts.
I blink.
"What?"
"We're on our way to a private jet." His voice is gentle—patient—the tone of someone explaining something to a person who's been through too much to think clearly. "It's going to take us to our new house."
"New house?"
"Ten minutes from Juilliard."
The words take a moment to penetrate.
Juilliard.
The scholarship.
Martinez.
"Kai reached out to her," Sage continues. "Told her we were worried about your safety. Asked if we could sign the paperwork at the academy instead of the administrative offices."
"She agreed," Kai adds quietly. "The documents will be waiting when we land."
I gawk at them.
All of them.
At Blaze with his manic grin, at Jett with his quiet intensity, at Sage with his warm eyes, at Kai with his guarded expression and his hands still stained with his father's blood.
"So..." The word comes out small.Uncertain."You didn't actually betray me."
