Renzo awoke in the bed and looked up before instantly sitting up with a sigh.
He stretched his back, feeling as though he'd been sleeping on a rock shaped like a bed.
He glanced out the cracked window, which offered a view of nothing but bricks and more alleyway.
"Damn… this place is disgusting," he muttered under his breath, finally catching the full stench of the room—something he hadn't noticed last night before passing out. He gagged immediately.
Renzo lifted his coat from the bed, took a sniff, and tossed it back down, deciding to leave it behind. He left the room and headed downstairs, where he locked eyes with the large man—his huge, pink eyes still just as unsettling. Renzo sighed and walked toward the counter.
As he approached, a lantern hanging from the ceiling—one he hadn't noticed the night before—suddenly fell and shattered on the floor. It let out a strange groaning sound as it hit, followed by a sharp crack as the glass broke.
He ignored it and looked up at the man. "Where's a shower at?"
The horse-man stood completely still for thirty seconds, staring into his face before suddenly shouting:
"DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BASEMENT!"
Renzo flinched and shielded his face, squinting slightly from the sheer volume.
"Is there one… in a different building… nearby?"
After another ten seconds of tense silence, the horse-man somehow looked even angrier than he had the night before. He raised his hand, clenched the edge of the table, and shouted even louder, his knuckles turning white:
"YES! GO DOWN THE ALLEYWAY TO THE LEFT, THEN TURN RIGHT AT THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN!"
The stone counter crumbled to dust beneath his grip, veins bulging across his chest, neck, arms, and forehead. Renzo could hear the man's breathing grow heavy.
Renzo nodded and left the Seventy Shades. He turned left immediately and kept walking until he spotted a garden of flowers. He nodded at it, then took the right and came upon a large building with a sign that read: "Showers of Saws."
'What the hell is this name?' he thought.
He stepped inside and saw a piece of paper resting on a counter in the center of the small room. Walking up to it, his eyes scanned the ink-written message:
"The shower rooms are to the left, behind the only door. Women's and Men's sections are separated by corridors leading to different parts of the building. We have a strict policy: no sharing a bath with someone of the opposite sex.
We have eyes watching the corridors only. Someone is always observing, aided by aura and a Seal from one of our staff. If you are caught attempting to enter the wrong shower room, you will be reported to the guards and may serve up to ten years in the cells."
Renzo turned his attention to the only door and stepped through it. The room split into two corridors, each marked by large wooden signs mounted above them—one read Men's, the other Women's.
Without hesitation, Renzo headed down the men's corridor.
An hour later, Renzo had swapped into the clothes provided by the building—a grey leather tunic, silk grey gloves, and long breeches made of black-grey leather. The fit was perfect, the material soft yet sturdy, and he couldn't help but feel more refreshed, and smelled a lot better.
With a sigh, he left the Showers of Saws, stepping back onto the rain-soaked stone streets. The stone street roads were slick from rain. Renzo didn't even notice as he walked, his mind swirling with thoughts.
Renzo found a nearby bench tucked beneath a glass ceiling that jutted out from a building. The runes etched above the glass softly glowed, casting a faint light over the wooden slats of the bench. He sat down heavily, rubbing his temples as the weight of everything pressed on him.
'What the hell am I doing?'
He sighed, his breath visible in the cool, damp air as the rain began to fall around him. The runes above glowed softly, casting shifting light across the wet street.
'There's always been... something strange about Zay. Well, ever since he suddenly got over his illness, at least. He immediately jumped into things. Sure, he's always been the one to act first—researching, exploring, diving headfirst into whatever caught his interest. It's not a stretch to say he was the smartest of us. He definitely cared more about the academy than I ever did... more than Silver did too.'
He paused, watching the rain collect on the glass ceiling above. The runes flickered with orange light as the storm thickened, the streets below soaking fast.
'But really... what's going on with him? I'm scared. No matter how well I try to hide it, no matter how much I've gone along with everything—I've done a pretty damn good job up until now—it's been weighing on me.'
He scratched his nose and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the brick wall behind him. His gloved hands tightened against the bench beneath him.
'I'm sorry, brother... but I can't let this go on. This has to be done—for your own good.'
With that thought, Renzo leaned forward, then pushed himself off the bench, swallowing hard. He couldn't believe he was about to do this—to his own brother as he walked out from underneath the glass ceiling and began walking the streets.
He ran a hand through his damp hair, indecision dragging at his heels like chains. But there was only one path left now.
"I have to tell Selene everything," he whispered to himself, steeling his heart. The two kills on the shore. The twisted history Zay lied about. The stolen book. Hell, even the torture in the Sequence.
He looked up at the glowing runes. The rain drummed harder on the glass above, but his thoughts were louder still.
"If I tell her... there's no going back. I'm basically making myself an enemy of Zay. But I can't let this go on. I can't just sit back and watch my brother destroy himself chasing after some hidden truth—committing all these vile crimes along the way."
He exhaled slowly.
"Maybe I'll be locked up too... for helping him. Maybe that's for the better though."
And yet, even as those words left his mouth, the memories started to surface—uninvited, but relentless.
The sound of the rain faded as his mind drifted backward.
He remembered a time when Zay was barely able to speak—his words soft and broken, his steps always a little unsure. Renzo had sat with him every day, repeating the names of things in the garden.
"Sunflower," Renzo had said, holding one up with a grin.
"Sa-ra-flower," Zay had repeated proudly, eyes wide and glowing with joy.
He smiled at that—just for a second.
Then came the walks through the capital. Exploring the edges of the Ovaris Empire together, sneaking food from merchant stalls, splitting skewers and laughing with full mouths and sticky fingers.
Zay had always been the one with too many questions, dragging them into alleyways and strange shrines just to poke at runes or beg an old traveler to tell a story.
There were birthdays too—dozens of them. Maple decorating the room with streamers made from garden vines. Lily baking something that always tasted slightly burnt. Silver smuggling gifts from places they were definitely not allowed to enter. And Renzo... he was always the one who remembered to bring Zay's favorite drink.
Back then, Zay would smile so wide it almost didn't fit his face. Eyes shining. A boy who felt more wonder than anything else in the world.
'Where did that version of him go?'
Then came the harder memories.
Zay, standing in the academy courtyard, face bruised and clothes torn after being shoved around by older students. His aura control was weak, and the others never let him forget it. Renzo could still feel the sting in his fists from throwing punches in Zay's defense.
"You don't get to touch him," Renzo had growled back then, standing in front of his brother. "Ever."
They had all protected him. Maple wiped his tears, Lily healed his wounds, Silver taught him to block better—and Renzo stayed by his side, day after day, no matter how hard things got.
Zay never asked for help. But he never pushed them away either. Not back then.
'But now?' Now there was something distant in his eyes—something colder.
Renzo clenched his fists.
'He used to lean on us... now he keeps everything... hidden so deep I just don't know...'
Everything weighed on him heavily. Renzo shook his head and let out a deep sigh, the rain pattering softly against his shoulders.
Suddenly, the grand doors of the castle creaked open, and Zay stepped out.
Renzo froze. His breath caught in his throat as Zay's eyes found him through the mist.
Zay adjusted the gloves on his hands as he approached, each step slow and steady. The rain streamed off the edges of his cloak, droplets tapping softly against the soaked stone beneath him. His expression, as always, was unreadable—calm, distant.
"Where have you been?" Zay asked, a flicker of curiosity in his voice.
Renzo let out a breath, his wet hair clinging to his forehead. "The weirdest damn place I've ever been. The receptionist was some giant horse-man who shouted every word like he was trying to wake the dead. And the room? Disgusting. Looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the last era."
He shook his head, the rain dripping from his jawline. "Then I went to this place called Showers of Saws. Weird name, but worth it. Gave me this amazing tunic, breeches, and these grey silk gloves." He held his hands up briefly, the gloves glinting faintly under the rune-lit rain.
Zay smirked faintly. "Sounds like an adventure."
Renzo exhaled, his breath fogging the air. "So... what about you? What were you doing here?"
"Just returned the Archives of Aura key Selene gave us," Zay said, brushing a few wet strands of hair from his face. He paused, then added casually, "I'm heading to a tavern nearby. Place is called Nine Tides. Thought I'd get a room there for the night."
Renzo raised a brow. "Nine Tides? Doesn't ring a bell."
"It's small. Quiet. But the food's solid, and they've got a drink that actually warms you up without tasting like ash."
Renzo gave a faint chuckle. "That's rare."
"Yeah," Zay replied, stepping past him, the rain cascading off his shoulders. "If you need me, I'll be there."
Renzo watched him go, the steady sound of Zay's footsteps muffled by the rain—but somehow each one echoed in his chest.
The moment lingered longer than it should have.
Renzo stood in silence, the runes above the glass canopy behind him glowing a dim amber through the downpour. The rain rolled down his back, soaking into his clothes as he turned his gaze toward the castle.
With a slow breath, he stepped forward. Reaching the large doors, he swallowed hard and knocked.