Zarek didn’t speak for hours.
Not because there were no words.
But because every word he wanted to say sounded like murder.
He stood in the center of the Velenza war room, maps spread out, screens flickering with security feeds, his bloodied knuckles dripping onto the glass table. Renzo hovered near the door, silent, waiting for orders.
Finally, Zarek spoke.
> “Lock down the city. No ports. No trains. No planes. Nothing moves without my eyes on it.”
Renzo nodded sharply. “And Ciro?”
Zarek’s jaw tightened. “We kill him last.”
Renzo hesitated. “And Zevian?”
Zarek looked up, his eyes black with rage.
> “We make him wish he’d never crawled out of hell.”
---
Elsewhere – The Cage
Lucien counted breaths in the dark.
One. Two. Three.
The room smelled like velvet and rust. The
