Dud could no longer hide his reaction. The cheerful expression he had worn throughout the fight had disappeared, replaced by disgust as he watched the Fallen Rose cut through the men surrounding them.
Their arrival was bad enough, but he could also see that Hercules had defeated Hugo. The man who was supposed to have been a powerful asset when the time came was now lying dead on the ground.
"Why?" Dud demanded. "Why do you always manage to pull something out of nowhere? Another scheme, another group of people coming to save you. Why are they even helping you? If it's money you want, we have money on our side as well."
"There isn't an offer you could make that would change anything," Vera answered, keeping a firm grip on her wooden sword.
Abby, who was currently inside Vera's body, remembered Dud. She remembered seeing him that day as a member of the Rejected Corps. Now someone from that same group was here, trying to take Max's life again.
