Epilogue

Victoria

Two Years Later

Needingair and some space from the stuffy event inside the rooftop bar, I step out onto the terrace.

"Hey," Luke says, slipping his arm around me. "My parents love you, you know. They keep talking about babies."

"Pah," I scoff. "Who has time for that?"

But I'm joking, and he knows it. We will get there, but now isn't that time. I twirl the enormous diamond ring on my finger that Gianluca gave me on our wedding day two years ago today and smile. His parents keep going on about babies as well. It's like they're obsessed. I'm glad that I don't have Cian's parents added to it, although I am sad I never got to meet his mum. She sounded way too nice and sweet for Oisin. Fucking prick.

The cold wind whips my hair around my face as I cross over to the railing, towering over a city that now dances to our tune. I can't believe it's been two years since we left BlackBriar University, since the world we knew was wrenched apart and stitched back together under our rule. The skyline is a silhouette against the night, lights flickering like distant stars fallen to earth—stars we've snatched from the sky.

"Look at this," I murmur, my voice nearly lost in the gusts that howl around us, "This is ours."

Beside me, Cian joins us. His arm snakes around my waist, pulling me closer to the heat of his body. His other hand gestures out across the expanse before us, a king showing his queen their kingdom. Luke stands to my other side, his gaze piercing through the darkness, sharp and assessing. Gianluca wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses my bare shoulder.

"I'm about ready to gut that fucker who keeps looking at you," he murmurs.

"Don't worry about me. Worry about that fucking meeting tomorrow. This has gone on long enough, G. It needs to be locked down. Tensions are rising again after they backed down last time, and I say we go in and wipe the board clean of these asshole rebels who seem to do a lot of yapping and very little doing."

"That's politics for you," G grins. "Boring as all fuck."

"Well, if I'm the Princess, I say this is the way it goes down."

"And I love how bloodthirsty you are, my Queen."

Luke chuckles softly, his breath warm against my ear. "She always did have a taste for the dramatic." His hand rests on my waist, a gentle possessive reassurance.

"All part of the charm," Cian agrees.

"We need to be ready," I insist. "The rebels' next move won't be subtle. They're desperate now, and desperate people do stupid things."

Luke nods, his eyes scanning the horizon like a hawk. "They do, but G is right. They're scared and posturing now. But wiping them out, probably isn't the best move, right now."

Cian's grip tightens around my waist, a silent vow of protection. "Damn shame. We should finish them off before they even think about making a move. Clear the board once and for all."

A sudden burst of laughter from inside the bar interrupts our conversation. It's a sharp reminder of the life we balance on a razor's edge—luxury and danger, love and power.

"I say we head back inside," I suggest, turning in Gianluca's arms to face him. "Enjoy what's left of our night before the storm hits."

"In a minute," G murmurs.

I tilt my head back, and he kisses my nose before I gaze back out over the city lights, the ominous shadow of BlackBriar University looming in the distance.

We've shed blood for this city and spilt secrets darker than the night. Betrayals cut deep, leaving scars that mark us. But it has forged something unbreakable between us—us against the world.

"Remember when this seemed impossible?" Gianluca's voice cuts through the wind, a low rumble of dark amusement.

"Nothing's impossible for us. We are a force," Cian replies.

Luke stays silent, but his hand finds mine, fingers intertwining with a grip that speaks volumes. His touch sends a shiver through me, not from the chill air—it's the thrill of the dangerous balance we maintain. His loyalty, once solely Cian's, now threads through me, binding us all.

"There are more challenges ahead," I say, meeting each of their gazes. "We've got rivals hungry to take what's ours. They don't know what we're capable of, do they?"

"Let them come," Gianluca says, his eyes glinting with the promise of violence.

"Let them," I echo, a savage joy bubbling within me.

We turn away from the edge, our backs to the city we've claimed. Inside the warmth of a penthouse on the other side of town, it's a different world—a sanctuary where our darkest desires play out, where we're untouchable. Where I am theirs, and they are mine, wholly, fiercely, irrevocably. But here is where the savage side of us can never drop.

"Two years down, forever to go," I whisper, sealing the vow with a kiss on Cian's lips that tastes of power and passion.

"Forever," they agree, their voices a chorus that wraps around me, as reassuring as it is foreboding.

Together, we step into a future rife with peril and promise, the city we control merely the first of many conquests in our twisted romance. As we fall into the depravity that binds us, I know there's no place I'd rather be. This is our fucked up fairy tale, our happily ever after—and hell, we're just getting started.