#viago de riva x reader

[forestsunglasses]

Relationships: Lucanis Dellamorte/Rook, Viago de Riva/Rook, Lucanis Dellamorte/Viago de Riva, Lucanis Dellamorte/Viago de Riva/Rook

Warnings : Rook is dealing with C-PTSD, mental health issues. Implied/referenced self-harm, mentioned medical trauma, intimacy issues. Feel free to check all the additional tags on the ao3 version !

Summary:

Rook, previously named Dawn de Riva, has always kept her composure pristine. Taught to be strong at a young age by her mentor turned colleague, Viago de Riva, she is used to never show her weaknesses. Unfortunately for her, once the gods are deafeated and her contract is fullfilled, she realizes that she is dangerously bordering on the edge of falling apart. As she tiptoes around her blossoming romance with Lucanis Dellamorte, The Demon of Vyrantium, she founds herself bound by years of trauma that are catching up to her. She learns how to be herself again, eventually, and discovers what life truly has to offer beyond the dark and the grim.

Chapter 1 : Another contract

It’s during dinner that she feels the first pang of panic in her chest. They are all assembled in the dining hall of the Lighthouse, sharing a well-deserved moment of peace after weeks and weeks of hard battle and planning. Tomorrow, they will put away their belongings and depart. Neve has planned to help reconstruct Minrathous as soon as possible, and Bellara, as loyal as ever, having found a new love in the arms of the charming mage detective, accompanies her. Davrin is determined to help Assan and the other griffons adapt to Arlathan’s forest. To say goodbye, at least for some time. Emmerich, in hopes of talking with Strife, has agreed beforehand to go with the Warden. Taash said she would ‘hang out’ with Isabela and help in the Hall of Glory for a while. Lucanis needs to prepare his next position as First Talon. Harding…Well, Harding is gone. Dead. Rook knows that very well. There is no reason to believe otherwise, to try to convince herself that she is still alive, because she has seen her die. Rook knows that Solas isn’t there anymore. Sh knows that he can’t pull a Varric move on her again, to try to make her see a flesh and blood Harding when her dwarf friend isn’t even there. After all, he doesn't need to. The gods have been defeated.

The fight is over. They came out victorious, and Solas has gone through the Veil with the Inquisitor. Rook should have been calm. Sad and torn apart by grief, yes, but not on the brink of a panic attack.

The weight of leadership that has strained her shoulders for months is just starting to alleviate. Not that she didn’t like her role as a leader. But during all this time, she had to put a lot aside to make sure their mission succeeded. Her own emotions, her own worries. It had always been kind of like this with the Crows, but not with such high stakes. In any case, the job was done. Contract fulfilled, as she would often say to Viago.

It's no wonder then that she freezes when a plate of bean casserole stew is being placed in front of her. She grips her fork, her knuckles a shade of white death. Looks at her plate. The voices of her companions, engaging in sparse discussion, come to her ears from far, very far away. Glad to be victorious, but tinted with the obvious strain of grief and exhaustion. She barely notices it. Doesn’t listen.

Rook was never really good at regular stuff outside of contracts. Enjoying the moments of peace. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to find herself. To have the strength to get back to herself. Contracts had kept her alive. But after that, she feels different.

It's as she took a way to strong, way to effective kind of drug. Avoiding herself had been made so, so much easier. Now that the fight is over, it's another piece of cake. The moment Solas disappeared through the Veil, an icy fear had started to pervade her. An intuition. The knowledge that, after such a big job, the contracts will not be able to keep her afloat anymore.

She knows then that she has to leave the dining hall. Go to the main building. Take the stairs. Go back to her room. The steps present themselves clearly in her mind, and it’s all she can hang onto to not break down right then and there. She focuses her mind on it. She knows that from the outside, her composure is perfectly smooth. Or as good as can be. She has been trained well.

She stands up and mutters that she has some small business she forgot to attend to, that she’ll be back soon. She doesn’t pay attention to their reaction. Most swallow up the lie like it’s honey. However, Neve looks nonplussed. And a light of alarm immediately goes off in Lucanis’ head. He feels Spite rouse inside him.

When Rook reaches the entrance, she is interrupted by the opening of the door. She almost rushes, nodding in distracted acknowledgment.

“Viago.” she salutes her superior before passing through.

The door shuts close.

“What’s the matter with her?” asks the Fifth Talon.

“I’ll go.” Lucanis says, already standing.

Viago nods. Rook has always been strong. He had taught her how to master one’s composure, how to never let one’s weaknesses show. But that, that’s new. The look on her face that he saw as he was entering the place. Not good. Not one bit.

Soon enough, the door opens again and Teia follows him into the dining hall.

“What’s with Rook ? ” she asks. “She looked…”

“I thought the same," Viago answers.

He doesn’t say the rest out loud, but Teia understands it : this doesn’t look good. As usual, Viago doesn't dwell on things. He clears up his throat.

“For the final arrangements,” he says to the rest of the team. “Neve, we have gathered Crow forces to help with Minrathous.”

~~~

Rook is shaking. She scolds herself for being this way. This isn’t supposed to happen. She’s supposed to deal with stuff in a normal way. Not crumble at the first opportunity, or whatever the hell this is.

She takes gulps of air but that doesn’t seem to help.

She knows, acknowledges her situation from a distance.

“Rook ?”

 Shit.

Lucanis' voice is worried. She hears him approaching carefully, coming to a halt almost behind her. She sees him crouch from the corner of her eye. Her mouth opens, but only a few ragged breaths come out of it.

“Rook, look at me.”

She barely manages to do that. His hand comes to support her chin, lifting it gently towards him. Helping her look at him.

“Breathe. That’s it. In, and out,” he demonstrates.

Tears well up in her eyes. Gods, he can’t see her like this.

“Come back to me, Rook. I know you can do this.”

She follows his movements, the way he shows her how to breathe. When she gets there, she finally manages to speak.

“I’m sorry.”

Lucanis shushes her.

“No apologies, just breathe. I’ve got you.”

She lets herself go slack in his arms. He holds her. His warmth immediately envelopes her, and the cold ice stone under them is left nothing more than a detail. Time passes.

“I’ve never seen you like this, Rook. What is it?”

She doesn’t even know what to say. How to explain it. If there’s even something to explain, at all. Everything is all scrambled up in her brain. When she feels his fingers graze against her scalp, she closes her eyes. Her head is shaved, there’s not a strand of hair on it, but she still feels the pleasurable shivers when he passes his nails along her buzzcut.

“I don’t…I’m not like…”

His fingers pause, then resume their grazing.

“I have these moments, sometimes. I always make sure no one sees.”

Against her, Lucanis doesn’t move, providing a welcoming support for her.

“I never…It never happened like that. I always had things under control, or I dealt with it privately.”

“Until now,” concludes Lucanis. “Something is eating at your mind.”

She turns to dive into his deep, lovely brown eyes.

“What happened with the Antaams before I took this job is still not forgotten. I don’t know where to go from there. I still have to stay low for a while, and that’s okay, but…”

She doesn’t finish her sentence.

“We killed gods, Rook. You made it happen," Lucanis expression is focused on her, full of...what, pride ? "Why would the Crows continue to keep you at an arm’s length ? You’re not fired. If anything, you deserve a raise.”

She laughs at his words.

“You know it’s not like that.”

“It can be.”

He doesn’t say it, but she understands the meaning behind it. He’s First Talon. He won’t let her be cast aside.

“Do you remember what I told you? As long as my duties don’t call to me yet, I’ll be by your side. And even then, I’ll always be by your side.”

Rook smiles.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Alright, lovers,” suddenly interrupts Viago’s voice.

They turn towards the Fifth Talon, now standing at the entrance of Rook’s room. Lucanis reprimands himself for not closing the door sooner.

We’re not…Rook wants to protest, but she stops herself. She has a very specific point of view concerning these things. Of course, she loves Lucanis. She would die for him. And she knows that Lucanis loves her too. Unfortunately, there’s a limit that she cannot allow herself to cross. The night they shared together, before the final fight with Elgar’nan, could have been a night of…well, something more. But Lucanis had noticed her reluctance, and they had just made out and enjoyed each other’s company, hoping to still be alive at the end of all of this. She still doesn’t know how he feels about it.

“We have a meeting tomorrow with some of the houses. I’ll expect you there,” Viago adds, interrupting her train of thoughts.

Her mind grows calmer again. She processes the information. He doesn’t need to specify the place. The Cantori Diamond.

“And, Rook?” he adds. “You should go see a healer.”

She nods distractedly.

“Thanks, Viago?”

She knows she won’t take his advice. She has bad history with healers in general.

~~~

When she first shaved her head, Rook was fourteen. She never liked her strawberry blond curls. Not that they were ugly, but it didn’t match with her. She always had them at about chin’s length, long enough to cover her cheeks and maybe a part of her neck, but never more than that.

It hadn’t been a long time since she was taken in by the Crows. She still went by the name of Dawn. The training had been hard that day, and that was the first time that she felt that something in her was amiss. Not quite exactly right. That night, when she looked into the small wobbly mirror beside her bed, she couldn’t stand to look at her hair anymore.

The first try had been terrible. She’d ended up with splotches of hair scattered all around her partially shaved skull. When Teia had saw the mess she’d made of her head, she’d let out an exclamation of shock. The young woman had helped the girl get rid of the irregularities and had managed to give her a nice, presentable buzzcut. Upon seeing Dawn like this, Viago had raised a brow but hadn’t done anything besides giving her a small nod of encouragement.

Now, quite advanced into her twenties, Rook has kept up with this haircut. Although some of her battle scars extend to her scalp in quite a visible way, she is happy with it. Content. She may always have been kind of lost, but this, she has always been sure of it.

~~~

It’s a bit hard to wake up the next morning, but at least she has something to do : to assist a meeting. A smooth wave of reassurance washes over her as she gets ready to go to Treviso. Lucanis is behind her when they pass through the Eluvian, and Rook can’t help but flash a smile at him when they arrive in their city.

“Good to be home?” Lucanis says with a glint of adoration in his eyes.

She nods, humming the air. Cobblestone, dewy ivy, wood. Floral scents from the bushes nearby. The smell of the night is still lingering.

“Good to be home,” she confirms.

They get to the Diamond without waiting any further. When they enter the meeting room, a space adjacent to the main hall, everyone seems to be already there. Heir, sat next to an expectant Jacobus, gives a polite nod to Rook. Part of De Riva’s house is there as well, some sat on chairs around the big stone table coming up from the ground, others standing on the sides, leaning on the wall. Teia and Viago are waiting right next to the entrance.

Rook cannot escape the look Viago gives her. It’s a blue, ice, cold color. Even though she knows there’s a question in there, she doesn’t try to decipher it further. She’s not in the same state as she was in the last evening. She’s okay and functional now. Let’s get to it.

“Everyone is there,” Viago says, looking at both Rook and Lucanis this time.

Rook knows that look. It’s an easy one: you’re late. Weirdly enough, for a strictly-trained assassin, she sometimes manages to not arrive in time for things. She holds her smirk in. Teia’s voice comes cutting through, diving straight into the subject.

“Although Treviso has been badly affected by the Antaams and Ghilan’nain archdemon, Minrathous needs some more help rebuilding. As you all know, we have gathered a team for this. House de Riva and part of my house will be sent there.”

“Will there be operations in Treviso?” Jacobus asks.

“Of course,” Viago answers. “But we must be a bit more careful there. What’s left of the Antaam army will not go down smoothly. They’ve got their own network. We’re working on a plan.”

“This meeting is for the distribution of contracts,” Teia adds, retrieving a pile of parchments from under a small desk. “All of the previously appointed Crows from House De Riva, here.” She places a smaller pile of paper on the table. The Crows serve themselves. “House Cantori : Egoram, here is the quarter of the town that you're attached to. Take the trainees with you.”

“Maggie, you’ll go to Dock Town. You’ll find Neve Gallus there. Tina and Gregor, at the frontier.”

"Yrina, you’ll make rounds around the Cobbled Swan in search for any Venatori strays. I’ve heard some of them have found a hiding amongst bards and artists.”

Jacobus scoffs, quickly masking his laugh as a raspy cough.

Teia continues to distribute the papers until there’s none left. Heir and Jacobus are assigned to Treviso, which makes the young boy almost complain. He really wanted to travel to Minrathous.

"Jacobus Egrativi," Heir gently scolds as they stand up.

“That leaves us with the both of you,” Viago says, turning to Rook and Lucanis.

Rook is glad that the panic doesn’t knock at her ribcage when she hears it. No need to worry. You will have a contract. You will get busy.

“Obviously, I guess that you have some updating to do with your family, now, Lucanis. You’re First Talon, after all.”

Rook looks at Lucanis. His silky, raven hair shines under the oil lamps. For a moment she almost forgets herself, lost in the admiration of his smooth locks. She looks away, trying to push down the newly arisen thoughts. He’s beautiful. Hot. Kind. That big pleading look he gives me sometimes? Fuck. She shakes her head.

“Rook ?” Teia says.

Her head almost snaps back up, but she controls the movement just in time. She has been lost in thought regarding Minrathous and Treviso, obviously. Not thinking about Lucanis, at all. She was simply planning their next course of action. Not basking in his scent of coffee, and berries, and…

“We think it better for you to stay here a while,” Teia informs her cautiously.

The rest of the Crows are gone. They’re the only four left. At Teia’s call, Rook arches a brow. She resists the urge to scratch her neck in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Here, in Treviso,” Viago specifies while closing the door. “Unless you still have matters to attend to with your team.”

“No, I don’t.”

She’s surprised the topic is even broached.

“Perfect,” he responds.

“What do you need me for, exactly? Am I allowed to retire?” she says with a smirk, knowing full well how Viago will react.

“No, Idiot. It’s a surveillance mission.”

“Okay. What is it?”

There’s a pause, almost imperceptible. But Viago continues:

“You must be prepared. Let me warn you…”

“Viago is worried,” Teia interjects, a smile on her lips. “He didn’t want you to take the job at first.”

Viago gives Teia a bad look.

“Worried? Damn, Viago, that’s not like you,” Rook says, hands on her hips.

“Take this seriously! That’s not me personally worrying over you. It’s way bigger than that. If you don’t do this correctly, the Crows could take a blow to their side.”

Rook isn’t convinced. She catches Lucanis from the corner of her eye: he’s just as confused as her.

“Not to sound arrogant, but we just killed gods,” she says. “I’m sure your new contract will be in reach of my abilities.”

Teia and Viago share a look. Oh-oh. Rook falters.

“Okay, get it out,” Lucanis intervenes. “What is it?”

It almost seems like Viago doesn’t want to open his mouth and say the words. When Teia finally speaks, giving him the chance to stay silent, Rook doesn’t register the words at first. Lucanis places a warm hand on her shoulder.

Levito’s Healing House. Levito’s Healing House. Levito’s…Healing…House. You must investigate around Levito’s Healing House. That’s the name. She hears it, reverberating in her skull, jumping around like a rubberball. Levito’s Healing House. They’re planning something. It’s our chance to root them out of the city for good, but we must have someone investigating around here first.

Rook doesn’t let herself stumble in front of them.

“Why?” she asks, gaze lost in front of her. “Do you need me to infiltrate the place as a spy?”

“No,” Viago reassures her. “Not to that extent. Just observing from afar. Gather information. As I’ve taught you.”

Even though she’s relieved at hearing she won’t have to go back inside this…thing, her throat locks.

“Why me?” she asks.

Her voice is neutral. Not a shake in it.

“Viago thought you’d be the best suited for it, in the end. You have...history, back there.”

Teia looks sorry as she says it. Rook glances furiously at her mentor.

“What? And you don’t even want to tell me yourself? Teia has to be the one saying it? She just said you didn’t want me to take the job!”

“Rook…” pleads Teia. “We’ve tried to find someone, but we know it will be fruitless if it isn’t someone who knows their way of operating.”

Rook takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“So, observing.”

“Yes.” Viago nods. “Rook, I need you to confirm to me that you will not get into this personally. As I said, if you do something rash, I don’t know if the Crows will be as forgiving as they were with your little run-in with the Antaam.”

She nods.

“I need words.” Viago adds sternly.

Rook raises her head to plunge her eyes in his. Ice, blue, cold. Fresh snow. Cooling.

“Okay.”

“Did I miss something?” Lucanis asks.

“It’s Rook’s story to tell,” answers Viago.

“Do you know what Levito’s Healing House is?” Rook asks him.

“I…vaguely remember. It’s a place of healing.” Viago rolls his eyes. Lucanis feels Spite snicker inside of him. “For matters of the mind, as they say themselves,” he adds.

Rook nods.

“Well, I was in there for a part of my childhood. Don’t remember it a lot, but what I remember is…not good.”

“They don’t do healing, obviously.” Teia says, her mouth a crisp line.

Lucanis doesn’t need to ask further details. He knows, now, he remembers, the whispers about the place. This shady mental institution in Treviso. The kids who manage to escape from there, the things they manage to tell, if they're not rendered mute from traumatism.

“You told me about it, once, after Weisshaupt” he says, thoughtful. “That you grew up in this sort of place.”

Rook nods.

“Not for all my life, but yes.”

He wants to know what happened to her in there, but he knows it's not the right time for this.

“You have all my support, in whatever you do, Rook. Remember that.”

“Thank you,” she manages to smile.

Her hand comes to find his, and squeezes. He can see the way her jaw untightens at the contact. He squeezes back.

When they leave, Teia turns to Viago.

“She took this surprisingly well. I mean, she seemed a bit stunned, but that’s to be expected. What do you think of it?”

“Her reaction?” says Viago. “She’s obviously bluffing. But I’ll take her word on this. I trust her.”

“So you think she will take it upon herself? If she’s bluffing, that means she’s affected.”

“She will. She’s strong like that, Teia.”

A pause.

“I know.”

They look at each other, Teia almost reaching to caress Viago’s wrist. He doesn’t seem disturbed, but she notices how he’s still a little bit paler than usual.

[uhbambii]

Sweet as Frosting

The Dellamorte villa was alive with warmth and laughter. The golden light of the kitchen illuminated the flour-dusted counter, where Rook stirred a bowl of batter with a bit more enthusiasm than technique. Her hair was tied loosely back, strands already falling free to frame her flushed cheeks.

Lucanis Dellamorte leaned against the counter beside her, his dark eyes brimming with quiet amusement. He was dressed in casual crow attire, nonetheless a bit intimidating to outsiders, though the frosting smudged across his sleeves made him look just a little less intimidating than usual.

“You know,” he drawled, his voice smooth and laced with mischief, “if you whisk any harder, the bowl might retaliate.”

Rook shot him a look, one brow arched. “I’m trying to make this perfect. You’re the one who insisted on cake instead of pie, so…” She trailed off, gesturing to the mess of ingredients around them.

Lucanis smirked. “Don’t blame me for your ambitious standards, tesoro. You’re the one who said you wanted to impress me.”

“Impress you?” Rook laughed, pausing to flick a pinch of flour at him. “Amorino, I think you’re already impressed enough.”

He tilted his head, watching her intently as though agreeing with that sentiment entirely. Then, without warning, he reached into the nearby frosting bowl, scooping a bit onto his finger and dabbing it across her nose.

“Lucanis!” she yelped, dropping the whisk and swiping at her face.

He was already laughing, the low sound resonating deep in his chest as he stepped back. “You’re much cuter when you’re messy, you know.”

“Oh, you’re asking for it now.”

Rook grabbed a handful of flour and flung it at him, hitting his dark shirt square in the chest. Lucanis stopped short, glancing down at the pale smudge on his otherwise pristine attire.

“You’re going to regret that,” he said, his voice low and teasing.

But Rook wasn’t waiting for his retaliation. She darted around the counter, laughing as Lucanis chased after her with a determined gleam in his eye. They ended up tangled in a playful scuffle, smearing frosting and flour on each other’s faces and hands as they stole kisses in between bursts of laughter.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The cake batter was forgotten for a while, though neither seemed to mind.

It wasn’t until much later, after the cake was baked and half-decorated, and Rook was perched on the countertop with Lucanis standing between her legs, their foreheads pressed together, that she glanced at the clock on the wall.

Her heart sank. “Andraste’s ashes,” she muttered, pulling back.

Lucanis frowned, his brows knitting together. “What is it?”

“It’s one in the morning,” Rook said, sliding off the counter in a panic. “I was supposed to be home by eleven. Viago’s going to kill me.”

Lucanis caught her hand before she could rush away, his expression softening. “Stay,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. “I can smooth talk Viago tomorrow, save you some trouble.”

She sighed, torn between the warmth of his touch and the dread of her brother’s wrath. Finally, she leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to his lips.

“You’re impossible,” she whispered against his mouth before pulling away.

“And yet, you keep coming back,” Lucanis said with a smirk, watching her gather her things.

Rook rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face. “I’ll see you soon. Try not to miss me too much.”

Lucanis chuckled, “try not to get scolded too much,” his gaze following her as she slipped out into the night.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The De Riva villa was quiet as Rook climbed through the open window of her room, carefully lowering herself onto the floor. She thought she’d gotten away with it, until the light flicked on.

Rook froze, turning slowly to find Viago sitting in a chair by the door, his arms crossed and his dark eyes narrowed. He was still dressed, his usual sharp crow attire despite the late hour, though his expression betrayed his annoyance.

“You want to tell me where you’ve been all night?” he asked, his tone deceptively calm.

Rook scrambled for an excuse. “I was out with Teia,” she said quickly.

Another chair turned, and Teia spun into view with an equally unimpressed look. Her brown hair was loosely braided, and though her expression was softer than Viago’s, it was no less effective.

“Wanna try again?” Teia asked, arching a brow.

Rook winced. “I… was baking. At a friend’s place.”

“Baking,” Viago repeated, his tone flat. “Until one in the morning?”

“It’s… a very complicated recipe?” she offered weakly.

Teia exchanged a look with Viago, her lips twitching as though she were trying to suppress a laugh. Viago, however, didn’t seem amused.

“You know I don’t like it when you’re out this late,” he said, his voice softening slightly but still firm. “Anything could happen.”

Rook sighed, guilt creeping in. “I’m sorry, Vi. I lost track of time, that’s all. Nothing happened. I was perfectly safe at the Dellamorte villa.”

Viago’s brows furrowed, but his expression softened slightly. “Lucanis, huh?” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Look, I’m not going to lecture you about seeing him. He’s… decent, as far as men like him go. Better than I expected, even. But, Rook—” His tone sharpened, the protective older brother coming through. “One in the morning? At his villa? What were you thinking?”

Teia gave him a small nudge, her tone gentler. “Vi, let her explain. She’s fine. Don’t make a scene.”

“I’m not making a scene,” Viago shot back, though his raised voice said otherwise.

Rook held up her hands, trying to de-escalate. “We were baking. Baking, Vi. I wasn’t sneaking off to plot assassinations or rile up the Antaam!”

“That’s not the point,” Viago said, standing now, his dark eyes locking onto hers. “The point is you said you’d be home by eleven. If you’re going to see Lucanis, or anyone for that matter, you don’t just vanish into the night like some teenager with no sense of responsibility.”

“Vanish?” Rook repeated, indignant. “I didn’t vanish, Viago. I was with someone you know and trust.”

“I trust him to keep his blades sharp and his secrets buried,” Viago said. “That doesn’t mean I trust him not to make a bad decision with my little sister.”

Teia sighed, cutting in before the argument could spiral further. “She’s not a child, Vi. She’s more than capable of holding her own. And it’s not like she’s going to take any nonsense from Lucanis or anyone else.” She turned to Rook with a wry smile. “But maybe let your brother know next time if you’re running late? He gets… dramatic when he’s worried.”

Rook couldn’t help but grin at Teia’s dry humor, though she turned back to Viago with a more serious expression. “I’m sorry, Vi. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just lost track of time, that’s all. It won’t happen again.”

Viago exhaled, the tension in his shoulders easing a fraction. “Good. Because if you keep sneaking back at this hour, I might start sending messages to Lucanis about curfews.”

Rook’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare.”

His lips quirked into a sly smirk. “Try me.”

Teia snorted a laugh, nudging Viago toward the door. “Alright, that’s enough. She’s apologized. Let her sleep, papa corvo.”

Viago huffed but relented, though not without a final glance at Rook. “Just… take care of yourself, okay? And next time, send a message through a crow.”

As the door closed behind them, Rook sank onto her bed, letting out a breath of relief. Her brother could be a pain, but at least he wasn’t trying to put Lucanis on some sort of watchlist.

But the lecture was worth it, she thought with a smile, the memory of Lucanis’s flour-dusted grin still fresh in her mind.

———————————————————————————

I wanted to write something with a little bit of comic relief, sprinkled with a touch of protective older brother Viago (My headcanon for crow! Rook).

————————————————————————-

Inspo for story: @trialsofthedas

Rook: *sneaking in through their window after a night at the villa*

Viago: *turning in their chair and flicking the light on* You want to tell me where you've been all night?

Rook: I was out with Teia?

Teia: *turning in their chair* Wanna try again?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[mothsdraw]

More Alis De Riva/Lucanis headcannons:

After the events of Veilguard they have 3 kids: two eldest boys and a girl

Alis sings Dalish lullabies to Lucanis to get him to sleep since he finds her voice a comfort

Sings those same lullabies to her children when they were babies.

Lucanis mentioned shaving once and Alis hid all the knifes in the villa, surprisingly well.

Lucanis does visit Illario in prison occasionally. Either to just talk or announce any happy news

Caterina was apprehensive of their relationship at first but soon came around after seeing them together

Didn’t have a massive wedding- simple ceremony with close friends and family on the family estate. Despite Teia wanting to throw her a massive wedding/reception

[bitethedemon]

Daggers, Poison, and Shiny Things (Lucanis x Reader x Illario): Chapter 3

<-Last Chapter

Link to this fic on AO3

Tags: Slow burn, De Riva Reader, Eventual Smut, Messy Love Triangles

Fic summary: You lost everything in Rivain: your family, your home, and your hopes of ever becoming a seer. Treviso offered you revenge, but you were not prepared for the loneliness you would find amongst the Crows. The busiest assassin in Antiva became your only friend. That is, until he died and left you alone to pick up the pieces of yourself and his devastated cousin.

Imagine then, that your dead old flame shows up after a year, very much alive, with a very loud demon at his side and a hot new boss, while you have to explain that you are now dating his cousin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

WARNING: NSFW Content, Toxic Relationships, Baby-trapping

“How do you work like this?” Viago asked and gestured to your worktable in the laboratory. “No order, ingredients thrown around, solution on the table. River…”

“Good morning to you too,” you mumbled. “There is order to my chaos.”

“A moronic thing to say,” Viago said and started sorting through your mess. “There is no order to chaos. That is why it is called chaos.”

He sighed and swore under his breath in Antivan as he began tidying up your workspace. It had been Viago’s laboratory once. He was a master poison-maker, the best the Crows had to offer, but now he left most of the grunt work to you. 

He looked at you out of the corner of his eye as he tidied up.

“What is you and Illario’s deal?” he asked.

You briefly looked up at him.

“I thought you didn’t care about my love life…”

“I don’t,” he said quickly. “But you are a de Riva. If something is going on, it will reflect badly on all of us. I would simply like to know in advance of the rumors.”

It was all bullshit, of course. Viago was big on gossip even though he acted like he was above it. His nose was solidly planted in everyone’s business.

“Why would you assume that whatever is going on is bad?” you asked. “What have you heard?”

“Nothing…” he said with a frown and a shrug.

He poured a healthy dose of various poisons into his morning coffee. He placed them in front of you afterwards. It was something he had urged you to do when you started working as a poison-maker. A little each day so that you could build up tolerance for your own poisons. You started measuring and pouring a little from each vial into your own cup.

“Although—”

There it was.

“I have seen him walking around slightly inebriated these last couple of days, and Teia swore she saw him flirting with someone a couple of days ago.”

You sighed deeply. Illario really was pissed at what you had said. 

“What do you want me to do about it?” you asked a bit too sharply.

“Well do something,” Viago said and sipped his coffee. “You will look like an idiot if people see him going behind your back. It is shameful.”

“He’s the idiot.”

“Okay, you are both idiots,” he said with a shrug. “Are you happy? Fix it.”

“He proposed to me,” you said calmly.

Viago choked violently on his coffee. He coughed and waved his finger around in the air to signify that he definitely had something to say about that once he was done dying.

“Don’t he dare,” he wheezed in a firm tone and coughed again. “Don’t you dare. I did not invest all this time in you for you to become a Dellamorte. Not that any of the families would approve. Is he—”

“I know,” you said. “I told him that too. I didn’t say yes, obviously. I’m not stupid…Don’t tell anyone.”

Viago opened his mouth to start ranting again before the door to the laboratory opened. It was Lucanis.

“This conversation isn’t over,” Viago said to you before grabbing his coffee and leaving.

He shut the door behind him. Lucanis looked from the door to you.

“Trouble?”

“When isn’t there?” you said with a sigh and then looked up at him with a smile. “Hi.”

He gave you a small smile and walked over to you. He placed a tin container on the table.

“I brought you food,” Lucanis said. “Couscous with mint and bell peppers.”

Your smile widened. It warmed your heart. You had missed his attempts at making Rivaini food dearly. It always tasted amazing, even though it had that distinct Antivan taste that he never quite managed to fix. Not that you ever had the heart to tell him.

“That’s so nice of you,” you said. “I haven’t had Rivaini food in ages, actually. How do you find time to cook when you’re doing…whatever it is you and your new allies are doing?”

He leaned on the edge of the table and looked at what you were doing.

“I don’t sleep,” he said with a shrug. “I try to do something productive with the time.”

You looked up at him. He did look like he had not slept in days. There were dark circles under his eyes.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” you asked with slight worry in your tone.

“Spite,” he said. “He takes over my body when I sleep. So, I don’t.”

You nodded and could not help looking at Spite. He looked as if he was simply listening in on the conversation, though he was observing you intensely. Lucanis cleared his throat in an awkward manner. You blinked and turned your attention back to him.

“Sorry,” you said and shook your head. “He’s difficult to ignore.”

“You are telling me,” Lucanis said with a tired smile.

He most likely wasn’t fond of you seeing him that way, or he was scared of how Spite might act if given too much attention. You decided to change the subject since he seemed uncomfortable.

“Why are you in Treviso?”

He tilted his head slightly.

“Illario didn’t tell you?” he asked.

You weren’t sure if you should tell him that you two were having trouble. Lucanis sure didn’t need more things to worry about, so you simply shook your head.

“He has some information for us,” Lucanis explained. “We are supposed to meet with him at Café Pietra.”

We. 'We', meaning him and Rook. They were just casually going to one of Lucanis’ favorite places in Treviso. That didn’t bother you in the least, obviously…

“Right…” you said quietly.

Then silence fell over both of you. You both just stood there for a moment. It was hard to put a finger on it, but everything was so just odd between the two of you. As if there was an invisible wall between you that hadn’t ever been there before. You hated it.

“Right,” you repeated and scratched your neck awkwardly.

You moved to one of the many bookshelves along the wall to pull out a book. It was one of those he had once given you. You looked through it and bookmarked two chapters with strips of paper before handing it over to him.

“Here,” you said. “You can borrow this. There are a few chapters on seer meditation and how to move out of trance after a possession. I don’t know…It might be helpful.”

He smiled when he recognized the book as one of the ones he gave you.

“Thank you.”

“Of course,” you said and smiled back at him.

“NO BOOK. Help. Us,” Spite hissed. “River is SAFE. Help Lucanis. FREE US!”

Lucanis’ eyes closed and his jaw clenched for a moment.

 “I…need to go. Good luck with Viago,” he said.

“NO!” Spite hissed in frustration.

You nodded and watched him leave in slight puzzlement. Free…us? You couldn’t stop wondering what Spite had meant by that. Something more was going on than just an unruly spirit.

You were tired. You had just closed down the laboratory and were on your way home. You heard close steps behind you and then an arm wrapped around your waist. You jumped slightly and turned to see Teia smiling up at you.

“River…” she said in a low, conspiratorial tone. “One of my fledgling’s just came back here from the bar down the street. The Sun.”

You knew of the Setting Sun, of course. It was Illario’s favorite spot to drink himself into a stupor. You already had a hunch were this was going.

“Yeah?”

“They saw Illario practically eating the face of some poor girl down there. It would just be a shame if you caught him red-handed.”

You felt a flare of anger in your stomach. Your jaw clenched and you looked at Teia.

“Thank you,” you said.

“Give him my best regards,” she said with a smile. “Don’t go easy on him.”

There were so many excuses. Illario could not quite figure out if he should play the victim card or the aggressive card. He was drunk, of course, so that did not help in the least. You had found him with the girl sitting on his lap. Now you were loudly arguing outside the bar.

“You are no different from everyone else,” he snapped at you. “You don’t love me. I am just the next best thing to him, isn’t that it?”

“If I wanted to be with Lucanis, you and I would not be together!” you yelled at him. “You have humiliated me. How stupid do you think I am, Illario?”

“I have humiliated you?” he hissed. “Do you think it is not humiliating to know that you will ever only see me in his shadow? That you will not even marry me?”

“I won't marry you because it is a ridiculous idea,” you snapped back. “Don’t you play the victim with me right now. You went behind my back.”

“As if you have only ever been upfront with me,” he said with a scoff. “Don’t you think I notice how you look at him? How you still pine after him? I hope I was a good replacement until the real thing came back.”

“Oh, shut up,” you gritted out in frustration.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” he said bitterly. “Hm? He still visits you as if nothing has happened. How do you think that makes me feel?”

“You weren’t a fucking replacement!” you snapped at him. “Lucanis and I are still friends, yes, but I love you. We needed each other at a moment in our lives when we both had nothing, and I am loyal to that. Which is why it hurts so much to see that you cannot pay the same respect to me.”

He sneered at you. He ran his hand over his face, shook his head, and sighed.

“It doesn’t matter…” he said with a bitter scoff. “You are going to leave me. Everyone does eventually. My parents, Lucanis, Caterina, and now you. It doesn’t matter what I do.”

He was playing dirty with his sad eyes and bitter tone. It pissed you off to no end. You groaned in frustration and kicked the wall behind you hard. Gods, you wanted to strangle him sometimes.

You closed your eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then looked at him.

You shouldn’t forgive him. You were better than that. Had you been back in your village in Rivain and had you two been married, he would have been shunned from the community for what he just did. You really shouldn’t…

You gave another frustrated groan and then walked up to him until you were in his face.

“If I ever catch you with another woman again, you will wish that I had left you now,” you growled at him. “You humiliate me like this again, Illario, and not even death will give you peace from my anger. Do you understand?”

It was clear in his eyes that he was torn between whether he should let you speak to him like that or if he should simply agree with you. He had not seen this side of you like this before and it clearly threw him for a loop. You were raised in a society where a man should feel honored if a woman like you looked at him twice. Illario grew up in a society that told him that everyone should bow and scrape around him.

He eventually gave you a curt nod and put his hands on your hips. You slapped his hands away.

“You reek of her,” you said with utter disdain.

You turned and walked home, leaving him there alone.

You had removed the key to your house from where it usually was hidden. You did not want to even look at him. You were tired and you were pissed off.

Of course, removing the key did nothing more but send a message that you did not want him there. Illario found a way inside anyway, to no surprise. It was late in the evening when you heard some commotion from your bedroom. You grabbed a knife from your kitchen before going upstairs.

You swung the door open and pointed the knife at him.

“No,” you said firmly and pointed to the window he had come from with the knife. “Go.”

He looked like he had somewhat sobered up since you had yelled at him a few hours ago. He was not impressed with the knife. He knew as well as you did that you had never been good with them. His expression said as much when he looked down at the knife and then smiled at you in slight amusement.

You raised a brow in challenge and slammed the knife down on the top of the drawer beside you. A flash of fire emerged from your hand instead. He frowned slightly then.

“Don’t be like that,” he said.

“I have nothing more to say to you tonight, Illario,” you said. “Leave. I am not playing this game with you.”

“I am not here to play games, love,” he said in an almost pleading tone. “I thought we agreed to put it to rest. You’re sorry, I’m sorry… I just wanted to see you. We’re fine, no?”

Gods, he could be so thickheaded sometimes. You glared at him.

“So let us move on,” he said and slowly walked towards you. “I’ve missed you...”

You did not extinguish the flame in your hand. His eyes flicked from it to you.

“We both know you won’t throw that.”

The flame grew bigger, and your fingers twitched. He took a small step back.

“What do you want me to do? Hm?” he said with a hint of frustration.

“What do I want?” you repeated his question in an irritated voice. “I want you to leave, Illario. Instead, you are here acting as if everything is completely fine. As if you wouldn’t have fucked that girl, had I not intervened.”

“River, amore,” he said in an exasperated voice as if what you were saying was unreasonable. “We talked about this. I was in a bad state of mind. It should never have happened. I told you.”

“I need time.”

He sighed and looked from the flame to your face again. You saw how he relaxed his body language, and you had been around enough assassins to know it was a ruse. You tensed and readied yourself to move away.

He got ahold of you before you could even flinch. He wrapped his arms around both of yours and forced your arms down, making you to extinguish the flame so as to not set fire to yourself. He turned you around and wrapped one arm loosely around your neck and the other tightly around your middle and arms.

“You are cute when you’re jealous,” he spoke into your ear. “Please, love. Don’t be like this.”

You gave a low, irritated groan at his words. It wasn’t his first time pissing you off and then trying to fix it with honeyed words like this. You just felt stupid that it always somehow worked on you.

He slowly kissed his way from your neck to your ear.

“It was hot when you yelled at me earlier,” he said and bit the lobe of your ear. “I’ve missed you so much…”

He pressed himself against your ass and you felt that familiar stir of arousal in your stomach. You cursed yourself for giving in so easily. He loosened his grip on you when he felt you becoming calmer. You turned around to face him.

“Never again,” you said firmly.

“Never…” he agreed.

You sighed. You leaned forward and kissed him. He smiled against your lips and began walking you backwards towards the bed.

He pushed you gently to sit on the bed and started unbuttoning his pants. You sighed internally but took the hint when he started running his hand through your hair. You really ought to bite it off, you morbidly thought to yourself as you started to kiss your way up his shaft, it would save you so many problems with this man.

His breath hitched when your lips closed around him. His grip on your hair tightened slightly when you did. His thumb ran gently over your ear.

“You are so beautiful like this,” he murmured. “Don’t stop.”

You didn’t. You took him as deep as you could go without gagging, eliciting a low groan from him.

You knew this little dance of yours, because you had done it so many times. Illario was a selfish lover. You didn’t particularly mind taking care of him like this, but it was slightly infuriating at times like these where he had been an asshole. Still, you liked making him feel good.

He pulled out of your mouth after a while and helped you out of your clothes. He grabbed your hips and turned you so that you were on all fours in front of him. He ran his fingers over your folds, teasing your clit for only a moment before one of his fingers entered you. You were already wet, which in Illario’s head meant that not much more foreplay was needed.

His fingers pressed into the soft flesh of your hips before he sank his cock into you with a groan. He leaned down to kiss your back. His hands moved from your sides to your chest to play with your tits. He began driving into you in a slow steady rhythm.

“You are mine, aren’t you?” he mumbled into your ear.

“Yes,” you moaned.

He groaned and his thrusts became quicker.

“And you won’t leave me,” he said breathlessly as he moved. “When I become First Talon, we will get married, and no one will be able to take you from me.”

You were used to Illario babbling nonsense when fucking you. You mostly tuned it out, but the First Talon thing was a new one. His thrusts became deeper and harder. He leaned down to whisper in your ear.

“You should have seen how he eye-fucked that elven girl the other day,” he hissed into your ear. “I doubt he ever flirted with you like that. He doesn’t deserve you. He never did.”

You bit the inside of your cheek and tried your hardest to ignore him. He was close. You knew it from the way he bit your neck and shoulders. Your hand went to your clit and you started rubbing it in circles. He fucked you harder, and with your own help, you managed to come half a second before he did.

Though this time, he did not pull out like he had done millions of times before. You panicked when he bottomed out and came deep inside you.

“Are you fucking stu—”

He grabbed you in a way that made sure you couldn’t move, and he pressed you facedown down into the mattress.

“I’m serious about this, River,” he growled into your ear. “I want you.”

You winced as the contents of the bottle violated your tastebuds and went down your throat. You had to make a potion that would ensure you did not get pregnant from Illario’s spontaneous desire for fatherhood. Everything was such a mess right now. What the fuck was up with him these days?

Viago entered at some point and started speaking at you: Something, something, remember to request new ingredients, something, something, five batches behind.

“Are you listening, River?”

“No,” you mumbled absentmindedly.

“I would ask if your ears were for decoration, but I have seen how they look and know that cannot be the case,” Viago chided harshly. “What is wrong with you?”

“So many things,” you mumbled tiredly and started noting down ingredients on a piece of paper. “I’m only three batches behind. I’ll get the remaining two done today.”

“Hey,” Viago said and snapped his fingers in front of your face to catch your attention. “You are not focused. What happens when we are not focused?”

“Mistakes.”

“Correct,” he said, and his tone softened slightly. “Is this because of Illario? Teia told me of his little…fling. I did tell you to do something.”

“We made up,” you said absentmindedly.

You could almost hear Viago roll his eyes across the room. As if he and Teia were any better...

You turned to face him. You needed to talk to someone. You had three someones: Illario, Lucanis, and Viago. One was the problem, the other was riddled with other problems, so there was just Viago left.

“He’s sure he’ll become First Talon,” you said. “Like dead sure. It’s weird.”

“Illario? First Talon?” Viago let out a rare laugh. “Are you serious?”

“It’s weird, don’t you think?” you said, putting the thoughts that had swirled around in your head since he first mentioned it into words. “I mean Caterina just died, his cousin just came back, and now he has mentioned it to me twice.”

“Why does he think that?” Viago asked. “We both know that if another Dellamorte were to take the place of First Talon after Caterina, it would not be Illario.”

“I didn’t ask,” you said with a shrug. “But it’s weird.”

“Someone says something like that, and you don’t think to ask?” Viago asked with a scoff. “He could be planning something.”

“Well, please do forgive me,” you said sarcastically. “Illario was in the middle of proposing the first time he said it, and the second time, he was inside me. It didn’t really seem like the time to bring it up.”

Viago’s face soured as if he had just taken a bite of something utterly disgusting. He raised his finger at you.

“Don’t ever say those words in that order to me ever again,” he said.

You smiled. Making Viago uncomfortable was one of the few joys in life. It was painfully easy.

“I will send someone to sniff around a bit,” he said. “Keep this between us for now, yes?”

You nodded.

[pikapeppa]

Pikapeppa says hello: welcome new followers!

It’s been a while since I updated this, so here we go!

(Sketch by the insanely talented @lethendralis-paints​​!)

I am first and foremost a fanfic writer: Pikapeppa on AO3 (formerly queenofkadara). All of my writing is the result of expressing my love for fictional characters by wanting to give them tens (or hundreds...) of thousands of words’ worth of sex. 😂

An organized list of my writing is here on Tumblr, with links back to AO3. My writing tag on Tumblr is #pikapeppa writes. The main fandoms I write for are Dragon Age, The Witcher, and Horizon. 

As of Dec 2024, my only ongoing fic right is as follows:

Felassan x Tamaris Lavellan x Solas: The Sweetness of Second Chances. This is a Veilguard era sequel to The Love That Grows From Violence (Felassan x Tamaris).

Other ships I write/have written for are as follows:

Baldur’s Gate 3: Karlach x Dammon, Rolan x f!Tav, Halsin x f!Tav, Astarion x f!Tav, Halsin/Astarion/f!Tav

Horizon (Zero Dawn and Forbidden West): I have written Aloy with Kotallo, Drakka, Nil, Nil and Drakka both, Kotallo and Drakka both, Ikrie, Avad, Erend, and the Stealth Trials Keeper. I have also written a little bit for Fashav/Vanasha. 

Dragon Age: Fenris x f!Hawke, Solavellan, Abelas x Lavellan, Felassan x Lavellan, Blackwall x Lavellan, Cullen Rutherford x Lavellan, Samson x f!Hawke, Sten x f!Mahariel, Teia Cantori x Viago De Riva

Mass Effect: Reyes Vidal x Mara Ryder, Reyes Vidal x Aria T’Loak

The Witcher 3: Geralt of Rivia x f!Reader.

Far Cry 5: John Seed x f!Deputy 

Samurai Champloo: Fuu x Jin x Mugen

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: David Martinez x Lucy

One Piece: Zoro x f!Reader

I sometimes post tutorials about writing, which you can find here under #pikapeppa tutors. BE WARNED that I don’t have any formal writing training, so these are mainly based on my own experience as a writer.

I occasionally draw stupid cartoons, which you can find under the tag #pikapeppa draws.

Otherwise, my blog is primarily reblobs of others’ amazing art!

Finally, and most importantly, I have a daemon cat named Meeko, and she is precious and good and sits on my desk while I write. Here she is in all her judgmental glory.

Thanks for joining me, friends, and enjoy your stay!

- Love from your friendly neighbourhood Pikapeppa xoxo

[uhbambii]

Warm Evenings

Lucanis Dellamorte stretched out lazily on the plush couch in the sitting room of his family villa, the soft glow of the evening sun streaming in through the large windows. His dark hair was slightly mussed from Rook’s fingers combing through it absentmindedly earlier, and his deep brown eyes, rich and warm as espresso, glimmered with a rare tranquility.

Rook lay draped against his chest, her head nestled just below his chin. Her slight frame fit perfectly against him, and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat was a soothing counterpoint to the muted sounds of the villa beyond their cozy cocoon.

“You know,” Rook murmured, her voice soft and laced with amusement, “Viago and Teia were at it again earlier.”

Lucanis chuckled, a low, gravelly sound that made Rook smile. “Flirting like their lives depend on it?”

“Always,” she replied with a laugh. “Viago was leaning against the doorway, reciting some ridiculous poem, and Teia just ate it up. She’s pretending she doesn’t care, but we both know she loves it.”

Lucanis grinned. “You’re right. Teia would gut someone for saying she has a soft spot, but the moment Viago walks in…” He trailed off, tilting his head to look down at Rook. “I don’t know how they manage to keep a straight face half the time. Maybe they think we don’t notice.”

Rook smirked, tracing lazy circles on his chest with her finger. “They’re not exactly subtle.”

“Subtle?” Lucanis scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “They’ve redefined the word ‘obvious.’ Honestly, I’m tempted to start flirting openly with you just to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

Rook raised an eyebrow, glancing up at him. “Oh? And how would you do that, Lucanis Dellamorte?” Her tone was playful, teasing.

He smirked, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “I’d start by dramatically throwing myself at your feet, professing my undying devotion.”

Rook burst out laughing, the sound light and infectious. “You’d never!”

“I would! And then I’d serenade you from the balcony. Viago would have to unwillingly listen to his little sister be serenaded.”

Her laughter only grew, and Lucanis grinned triumphantly, clearly pleased with himself. “Mark my words, uccellina, One day, you’ll even find me reciting sonnets in the middle of the market square.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said, her voice still thick with laughter.

The gentle warmth of the moment wrapped around them like a soft blanket. Slowly, Lucanis’ breathing evened out, and his arms grew slack around her. Rook tilted her head slightly to look up at him and found his eyes closed, his lips parted as he slipped into a peaceful sleep.

Carefully, she shifted in his arms, wiggling free without waking him. She paused for a moment, watching the way the evening light highlighted the sharp planes of his face. He looked so peaceful, so at ease. Smiling softly, she padded off to the kitchen.

——————————————————————————

As Rook padded into the kitchen, her thoughts swirled with the comforting idea of freshly brewed coffee. She reached for the kettle and set it on the stovetop, humming softly to herself. The soft clinks of cups and spoons echoed in the cozy space as she moved about, the domestic rhythm soothing and familiar.

Just as she began scooping coffee grounds into the pot, two warm arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her gently against a solid chest. Lucanis rested his chin on her shoulder, his dark eyes still a little hazy from his nap, but his lips curved into a small, mischievous smile.

“Caught you,” he murmured, his voice low and teasing. “Trying to sneak off and leave me alone. Shame on you, uccellina.”

She grinned, shaking her head. “I was making coffee, not abandoning you. Big difference.”

“Mmm,” he hummed, clearly unconvinced. “You could’ve woken me, you know. It’s cruel to leave me cold and alone while you’re in here, hoarding all the warmth.”

Rook laughed softly, placing a hand over his where it rested on her waist. “You were too peaceful to wake up. Besides, I thought you’d appreciate the smell of coffee more than me nudging you.”

Lucanis tightened his hold slightly, swaying them both gently from side to side. “Fair point,” he admitted. “But now that I’m awake, I think I should help. Or, at least, supervise.”

“Oh, you’re supervising now?” she teased, tilting her head to glance at him. “You don’t trust me with coffee-making? Afraid I’ll make a Neve brew?”

“You wound me,” he said dramatically, his dark eyes sparkling with humor. “I’ll have you know, I can make an excellent cup of coffee. In fact, I’m better at it than you and definitely Neve.” He chuckled.

“Big words for someone who’s holding me hostage instead of grabbing the sugar,” she shot back, smirking.

Lucanis laughed, his breath warm against her ear. “All right, all right. I’ll grab the sugar.” He reluctantly released her, stepping away to rummage through the cupboards, his tousled hair falling into his eyes. Rook watched him for a moment, her chest tightening with an inexplicable wave of affection.

When he returned with the sugar jar, he set it on the counter and leaned against it, watching her as she poured the boiling water into the coffee pot. “You know,” he said, his tone shifting to something softer, “this is nice.”

“Making coffee?” she asked, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Being here. With you. Doing something so… normal,” he said, gesturing to the scene around them. “I’ve had enough chaos in my life to know how rare this is.”

Rook paused, her hands stilling for a moment as she looked at him. His dark eyes held hers, earnest and warm, and the weight of his words settled over her like a soft blanket. “I think I needed this too,” she admitted quietly, her voice tinged with the same tenderness.

He smiled, the corners of his mouth tilting upward in that roguish way that always made her heart flutter. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.” He stepped closer, his hand brushing hers as he reached for the cups. “Now, let me prove to you that I’m more than just a charming face. I’ll finish the coffee, and you can sit there looking adorable.”

Rook laughed, swatting at his arm. “Adorable? That’s your grand romantic line?”

“It worked, didn’t it?” he shot back with a grin, deftly pouring the coffee into the cups and adding just the right amount of sugar and cream to each. He handed her a cup, their fingers brushing briefly, and for a moment, the kitchen fell quiet, the world narrowing down to just the two of them.

As they stood there, sipping their coffee and exchanging soft smiles, Lucanis suddenly reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered, tracing the line of her jaw as he looked at her with an expression so full of warmth it made her knees weak.

“I hope you know,” he said softly, his voice dropping to a near whisper, “that these little moments with you? They’re everything to me.”

Rook felt her cheeks flush, but she met his gaze steadily, her lips curving into a small smile. “Lucanis…”

“No, let me finish,” he murmured, stepping closer. “I’ve been in places— the Ossuary… where I didn’t know if I’d ever feel… this. This kind of peace. But you—you’ve given me that. You’ve given me so much more than I ever thought I deserved.”

Her heart swelled, and she reached up to rest a hand on his chest. “You deserve all of it,” she said softly. “And more.”

Lucanis’ smile widened slightly, his hand cupping her cheek as he leaned in to press a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead. “You’re going to make me fall even harder for you, Rook,” he teased gently, though his tone was thick with emotion.

“Good,” she whispered, her lips curving into a playful smile. “Because I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

They stood there for a moment longer, the smell of coffee wrapping around them like a warm embrace. Eventually, Lucanis chuckled and stepped back, lifting his cup with a wink. “Now, let’s see if my coffee-making skills really are better than yours.”

Rook rolled her eyes, though her smile didn’t falter. “If they’re not, I’m making the next pot.”

“Deal,” he said, clinking his cup lightly against hers. “But I warn you—I plan on winning this argument. And every other one after that.”

“Dream on, Amorino,” she teased, laughing as they wandered back to the sitting room together, the warmth of their coffee and their shared love making the villa feel like home.

———————————————————————————

Cute little cuddly moment, while also bullying her brother…. Yes!

Uccellina = little bird/little crow

Amorino = Masc. Ver. Of darling

Also deserved, Teia and Viago have some… open dialogue

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[uhbambii]

A Satinalia to Remember

The Dellamorte villa had been transformed. What was once a stately, shadowed retreat of tall pillars, marble floors, and quiet menace now sparkled with golden light and festive color. Twinkling candles lined every windowsill, garlands draped the staircases, and ribbons in deep greens and reds cascaded from every imaginable surface. The air smelled of pine, cinnamon, and something sweet—likely the cookies Rook had insisted that Lucanis prepare earlier that day, all while she “taste tested” the batter.

Lucanis stood in the doorway of the parlor, one arm braced against the frame, a cup of black coffee in hand. His dark eyes scanned the room with a slow, practiced deliberation, but no amount of training could prepare him for this level of… festive assault.

His gaze finally landed on the culprit. Rook was curled up on the couch beneath a soft blanket, one leg tucked under her, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of hot chocolate. She had decorated herself almost as much as the room—her hair tied loosely back, a soft sweater that hinted at curves he knew far too well, and the faintest dusting of powdered sugar on her cheek from earlier “taste testing.”

“You know,” he began, his voice a velvety mix of amusement and exasperation, “I’m starting to think the that the De Riva Crows sent you to drown me in garlands and twinkling lights.”

Rook glanced up, her eyes sparkling. “Is that your way of saying you like it?”

Lucanis crossed the room, his stride unhurried, predatory in its precision, before settling onto the couch beside her. He leaned back, stretching his arm along the top of the couch, his fingers idly brushing her shoulder. “Like is a strong word,” he teased, taking a slow sip of coffee. “I’m just wondering if I’ll ever be able to look at my villa again without seeing glitter in the shadows.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Rook replied, smirking as she leaned against him. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she sighed contentedly. “It’s Satinalia! You’re supposed to enjoy it, not sit there brooding like some tragic hero from a bard’s tale.”

“Tragic hero?” He chuckled, a low, rich sound that sent a shiver down her spine. “Tesoro mio, I am neither tragic nor a hero. If anything, I’m the shadow lurking behind the bard, waiting for the right moment to cut his strings.”

Rook rolled her eyes, though her smile betrayed her amusement. “You can’t even let Satinalia soften you, can you? All this warmth, this beauty…” She gestured dramatically to the room.

“It’s my charm,” he replied smoothly, his dark eyes glittering as they met hers. “You seem to enjoy it well enough.”

“Hmm.” Rook took a slow sip of her hot chocolate, her lips quirking into a smirk over the rim of her mug. “I do enjoy it. But you know what I’d enjoy more?”

“Do tell,” Lucanis drawled, setting his coffee aside. He leaned closer, his arm tightening around her shoulders. “I’m dying to know what else I can do to make you happy, amore mio.”

She tilted her face up toward his, her eyes locked on his. “Well,” she began, her voice dropping just slightly, “I’d enjoy it if you stopped pretending you don’t love all of this.” Her free hand gestured to the tree, the garlands, the twinkling lights. “Admit it. You love it. You love me. And you love the idea of doing this every year—with our child.”

Lucanis froze for a fraction of a second, his sharp composure cracking just enough for her to notice. His fingers tightened slightly around his coffee cup before he set it down beside her mug, turning to face her fully.

"Our child?" he repeated, his voice low and smooth, though the faintest trace of surprise flickered in his dark eyes.

“Yes,” Rook said matter-of-factly, setting her mug down and turning to face him fully. “Our child. The one we’ll have someday, who will absolutely adore Satinalia because I’ll make sure they have all the best memories of it. And they’ll think their father is ridiculous for pretending to hate decorating.”

Lucanis chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ve already planned their childhood, have you? Impressive. Tell me, have involved am I in this scheme of yours.”

“Oh, you’re very much a part of it.” She leaned in, her voice a playful whisper. “You’re going to be the one handing me the tinsel while I tell them stories about how their father tried to outlaw fun before I got here.”

“Outlaw fun?” he repeated, his tone mock-offended. “You make me sound like some kind of tyrant.”

“Maybe you are,” she teased, her fingers lightly tracing the line of his jaw. “But I like tyrants. Especially handsome ones with dark eyes and even darker secrets.”

His grin widened, and he caught her wrist, bringing her hand to his lips to press a kiss against her palm. “Flattery will get you everywhere, tesoro.”

“Good,” Rook murmured, her voice softening as she leaned closer. “Because I have plans for you, Lucanis Dellamorte. Big plans. Decorating, parenting, maybe even teaching you how to smile without looking like you’re about to stab someone.”

He raised an eyebrow, feigning shock. “You mean you think I can be taught? I must be more charming than I thought.”

“You’re something,” she replied, her lips curving into a smirk.

Lucanis's smile softened as he tilted her chin up with a gentle touch, his dark eyes holding hers as if she were the only thing that existed. "You know, tesoro, you've turned this villa into something more than I ever imagined it could be," he murmured, his thumb brushing her cheek. "A place where I actually want to stay. A home. Our home."

Rook laughed softly, her fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. "Don't worry, Lucanis. I'll keep your secret... mostly. Although I think I might enjoy people knowing just how soft you are when it comes to me."

His hand slid down to her waist, his touch lingering as he pulled her even closer. "Soft, am I?" he murmured, his voice low and teasing as his lips brushed along the curve of her jaw. "Careful, Rook, or I'll have to remind you just how dangerous I can be."

"Oh, I'm terrified," she teased back, her voice warm and full of laughter. But her breath hitched as his lips traveled lower, trailing a line of heat along her neck, his hands sliding over her curves with a possessive reverence.

Lucanis's smile deepened as he tilted her chin up with a touch that was both firm and tender, his dark eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. "Do you have any idea what you've done to me, tesoro mio?" he murmured, his thumb brushing slowly along the curve of her jaw. "You've turned my life upside down-and somehow, I can't bring myself to care."

Before Rook could reply, he leaned in, his lips capturing hers in a kiss that was far from gentle. It was deep and consuming, the kind of kiss that stole her breath and made her knees weak. His hand slid from her chin to cradle the back of her neck, his fingers tangling in her hair as he tilted her head to deepen the angle. The pressure of his mouth against hers was unrelenting, as if he were determined to show her everything he couldn't quite put into words.

Rook's hands moved of their own accord, one curling around his neck while the other slid down his chest, her fingers tracing the lines of his well-tailored shirt. The heat between them seemed to spark and grow with every touch, every brush of lips, until it felt like the air itself was charged with it.

When Lucanis finally pulled back, his breathing was uneven, his dark eyes burning as they locked onto hers. "You drive me mad," he murmured, his voice low and rough as his hands moved to her waist, pulling her flush against him. His lips traced a heated path down the side of her neck, lingering at the sensitive spot just below her ear. "Do you know that, Rook? I can't think straight when you're near me."

Rook's laugh was soft and breathless as her hands slid up his chest to cup his face, tilting his head back so she could meet his gaze. "Good," she teased, though her voice wavered with the warmth pooling in her chest. "I wouldn't want to be the only one losing my mind tonight."

Lucanis's smirk returned, but it was darker now, more dangerous. "You're playing with fire, amore mio," he murmured, his lips brushing hers with teasing softness before pulling away just enough to make her chase him. His hands roamed her curves with deliberate slowness, as if memorizing every inch of her. "But I don't mind getting burned."

Before she could reply, he captured her lips again, this time with even more intensity. His kiss was demanding, his hands sliding over her hips and up her sides, his touch leaving a trail of fire in its wake. He pulled her closer, his fingers slipping beneath the fabric of her blouse to skim the bare skin of her back. The sensation sent a shiver through her, and she pressed herself against him, her nails grazing the back of his neck.

Lucanis groaned softly against her lips, the sound vibrating through her as his hands moved to her thighs, lifting her effortlessly as he stood. She let out a surprised laugh, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck as he carried her toward the bedroom with purpose in his stride.

"You could've warned me," she murmured, though the laughter in her voice betrayed her delight.

"And ruin the surprise?" he teased, his voice a low, velvety murmur. "I don't think so, tesoro."

When they reached the bedroom, Lucanis kicked the door shut behind them before lowering her onto the bed with a care that belied the hunger in his gaze. He hovered over her for a moment, his hands braced on either side of her as he studied her, his dark eyes tracing every feature of her face as if committing it to memory.

"You're dangerous," he said softly, his voice carrying a weight that made her heart race. His hand came up to brush a strand of hair from her face, his fingers lingering on her cheek. "You've wrapped me around your finger, Rook. And Maker help me, I don't ever want to break free."

Her breath hitched as he leaned down, his lips pressing against hers once more, slower this time, but no less passionate. His hand slid down her side, tracing the curve of her waist before moving to her thigh, his touch firm and deliberate. The weight of him above her, the heat of his touch, the way his lips moved against hers-all of it left her breathless and wanting more.

Rook's hands found their way beneath his shirt, her fingers skimming the hard planes of his chest as she pulled him closer. Her lips parted against his, and he took full advantage, deepening the kiss until it felt like nothing else in the world existed but them.

When he finally pulled back, his lips were swollen, his breathing ragged as he rested his forehead against hers. "Happy Satinalia, Rook," he murmured, his voice rough with affection and desire.

Rook smiled, her hands sliding up to cradle his face as she leaned into him. "Happy Satinalia, Lucanis."

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So I read somewhere that Satinalia is their version of Christmas? Idk but it was inspo 😌

Eat up? I’m working with bread crumbs atp!

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[uhbambii]

Of Hushed Whispers

The glittering city of Treviso stretched out under the warm Antivan night, its cobblestone streets alive with the sound of music and laughter. The grand ballroom belonging to Dellamorte house was already packed with elegantly dressed figures, their masks gleaming under chandeliers that sparkled like captured starlight.

Rook adjusted her raven-black mask, her sharp eyes scanning the room. A surge of nerves threatened to unsettle her, though she did her best to bury it. Antiva’s crows were not known for their timidity, after all. Tonight, she was dressed in a sleek, dark red gown that clung to her frame, blending elegance with a touch of menace—appropriate for a crow, she thought.

“You clean up nicely, uccellina,” came a low, familiar voice behind her.

Rook turned to see Lucanis Dellamorte, his dark eyes glinting with mischief beneath a gold-lined mask. His midnight-black suit was impeccably tailored, the deep red accents along the lapel complementing the dark locs that framed his face. His gaze was sharp, but his smile was softer—dangerous, yet inviting.

“And you look entirely too comfortable,” Rook quipped, though she couldn’t help the faint smile tugging at her lips.

“Ah, comfort is confidence, no?” Lucanis stepped closer, offering his arm. “Come, dance with me. Let’s show these amateurs how it’s done.”

Rook raised a skeptical brow. “You think you can keep up?”

Lucanis chuckled, his tone dripping with playful arrogance. “Tesoro, I was born to lead.”

Without waiting for an answer, he led her onto the polished marble dance floor. The orchestra swelled, and the other masked dancers parted slightly to make way for the pair. Lucanis’s hand slid to Rook’s waist, guiding her as they began to move.

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The music was a lively waltz, and Lucanis’s movements were fluid, confident. Rook found herself following his lead with ease, though she would never admit how much she enjoyed it.

“You’re good,” she said, trying to sound unimpressed, though her heart raced at the closeness between them.

“Good? Amore mio, I am magnifico,” Lucanis teased, leaning closer. His breath ghosted over her ear as he murmured, “And you—well, you’re dazzling tonight. It’s almost unfair to everyone else in this room.”

Rook felt heat rise to her cheeks but managed to roll her eyes. “Sweet talk won’t distract me, Amorino.”

“Distract you?” He smirked, spinning her expertly. “Why would I want to distract you when I can simply enjoy this moment, eh? You, in my arms, under the stars…”

“Under the chandeliers,” Rook corrected dryly, though her smile betrayed her.

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Nearby, Teia and Viago observed the pair with mixed reactions. Teia sipped her wine and raised a brow at Viago. “Would you stop glaring holes into Lucanis?” she chided. “It’s unbecoming.”

Viago, whose dark eyes had been fixed on the dancing couple, scowled. His sharp features were framed by his usual untamed hair, and his black attire was as severe as his mood. “I’m not glaring.”

“You’re definitely glaring,” Teia replied. “Rook’s fine. She’s not some fledgling anymore.”

“She’s family,” Viago said curtly. “And Lucanis is—well, Lucanis.”

“Mm, fair point,” Teia said, hiding a smirk behind her glass. “But I think your sister can handle herself. And besides, she looks like she’s enjoying herself.”

Viago’s frown deepened as Lucanis whispered something to Rook, making her laugh softly.

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The music slowed, shifting to a more intimate rhythm. Lucanis’s hand tightened slightly on Rook’s waist, pulling her closer. Their movements slowed, matching the sultry melody.

“You’re staring,” Rook said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Can you blame me?” Lucanis replied, his voice low and velvety. “You are… breathtaking.”

Rook felt her heart skip a beat. “You’re laying it on thick tonight, aren’t you?”

“Only because it’s true, bella mia,” he murmured, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. “And because I can’t stop thinking about how beautiful you look when you smile.”

Before she could reply, the music ended, and the room erupted in applause. Lucanis took a step back and bowed dramatically, earning a soft laugh from Rook. She shook her head, but the warmth in her chest was undeniable.

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Later that night, Lucanis led Rook back to his villa on the outskirts of Treviso. The air was cool and fragrant with the scent of blooming jasmine. The rooftop terrace of the Dellamorte villa was a world unto itself, far above the golden lights of the city.

Lucanis led her up to a blanket he had laid out. The view was stunning-stars scattered across the velvety sky, the city lights twinkling below like fireflies.

"Thoughtful," Rook said, sitting down and leaning back on her hands.

Lucanis sat beside her, his shoulder brushing hers. "I have my moments."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, the quiet punctuated by the distant hum of the city. Eventually, Lucanis turned to her, his expression unusually soft.

"You know, Rook," Lucanis began, his tone softer now, "there's a saying about the stars."

"Oh?" She turned her head to look at him, curious.

He nodded, pointing upward. "They say the brightest ones are the souls of those destined to burn the fiercest in life. Dangerous, fiery, unforgettable."

She smirked. "Are you trying to say l'm a star?"

Lucanis smiled, his gaze shifting to something gentler. "No, uccellina. You're the whole night sky."

Rook stared at him for a moment, unsure whether to tease him or let the warmth of his words settle in her chest. She chose the latter, though she couldn't resist a small grin. “Smooth, Amorino. Very smooth.”

"What can I say? I'm a man of many talents." The playful glint returned to his eyes as he shifted closer, propping himself up on one arm.

Rook shook her head softly, then leaned closer. "You're not so bad yourself," she teased, her voice barely audible.

Lucanis chuckled, leaning in until their lips met in a slow, gentle kiss. His lips were warm and insistent, coaxing her into the moment.

Rook melted into him, her fingers threading into his dark hair as the kiss deepened, their surroundings fading into insignificance. When they finally broke apart, her cheeks were flushed, and she swatted his chest lightly.

"You're insufferable," she muttered, though there was no mistaking the affection in her tone.

"And you love it," he countered, stealing another kiss before she could reply. This one was quicker but just as meaningful, his lips lingering on hers before trailing to the corner of her mouth. "Ammettilo," he murmured against her skin, his voice low and teasing. "You'd be lost without me."

Rook arched an eyebrow, though her fingers stayed tangled in his hair. "Bold of you to assume."

"Not bold… truthful," he corrected, reclining back onto the blanket and tugging her down to rest against his chest. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, his voice turning serious, though there was still a playful edge to it. "I'm the perfect man for you, uccellina mia. Every touch, every kiss— it's all for you."

Rook smiled against his chest, her fingers tracing the outline of his shirt. "Then I suppose I should be grateful you've decided to share yourself with me."

Lucanis chuckled, his fingers gently brushing through her hair. "Cara mia, I'm not sharing— I'm giving my heart to you. And trust me, I'll be making sure you never forget that."

She lifted her head to meet his eyes, her gaze steady. "Oh? Is that a promise, Lucanis?"

He kissed her again, slow and deep, his voice barely a whisper as they broke apart. "Promise, amore. My heart is yours, now and always."

The stars above them seemed to shine a little brighter as they held each other close, the quiet moments between kisses full of promises, laughter, and the kind of love that burned as brightly as the night sky itself.

———————————————————————————

So this actually took me 4hrs. to write because I kept changing the ending ��

ANYWAYS, I’m turning crumbs to meals! Eat up!

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[uhbambii]

Sweet Mischief

The sun was setting over the lush estate of the Dellamorte Villa, its golden rays streaming through the arched windows of the spacious kitchen. The warm glow softened the edges of the old stone walls, the copper pots hanging above the counter gleaming like little halos. It was a scene far removed from the blood-soaked world of intrigue, blades, and whispered betrayals that Lucanis Dellamorte and his fellow Crows inhabited.

Tonight, however, was about something infinitely simpler. Cookies.

“Are you sure you’ve done this before?” Lucanis teased, leaning against the counter, his arms crossed in that deceptively casual way of his. His dark hair fell loosely around his face, and those dark, calculating eyes of his watched Rook like a hawk circling prey. There was no menace in them tonight, only a gleam of amusement.

Rook glared at him, a smear of flour on her cheek. “I said I’ve eaten cookies before. That doesn’t mean I’ve made them. Details.”

“Details are everything, Rook,” he said with a soft chuckle, pushing away from the counter. He stepped closer, his movements smooth and deliberate, the way they always were. She knew he couldn’t help it—he could make baking cookies feel like plotting an assassination.

“Alright, master baker,” Rook said, rolling her eyes. “What’s next? Do I crack this egg or stab it first?” She held up an egg like it was an unfamiliar artifact, smirking when Lucanis gave her that slow shake of his head.

Lucanis sighed dramatically, stepping into her space. “I’m beginning to think you’re sabotaging this on purpose just to keep me here longer,” he murmured, his voice dropping into that velvet tone that made her heart trip.

Rook huffed, turning her face away from him—and directly into the cloud of flour she’d just spilled on the counter. She coughed, waving her hand to clear the air.

“Maker’s breath,” Lucanis laughed, the sound rich and rare, his shoulders shaking as he leaned closer. “You’re a disaster.”

“I’m your disaster,” Rook shot back, grinning at him despite her flour-covered state.

He froze for half a heartbeat, the amusement in his eyes softening into something warmer. “That you are,” he said softly, brushing a stray lock of her hair back behind her ear. His fingertips lingered for just a moment too long, and then he was stepping away, clearing his throat.

“Right,” Lucanis said, turning his attention back to the counter. “Lesson one: Don’t assault the eggs.”

Rook stuck her tongue out at him but followed his instructions this time, cracking the eggs—mostly successfully—into the mixing bowl. Lucanis moved like he owned the kitchen, measuring ingredients by eye, kneading dough with a precision that belied his reputation as a deadly assassin.

“You’re oddly good at this,” Rook observed, watching him shape the dough into perfect little spheres. She’d tried to mimic his technique, but her attempts looked more like misshapen lumps.

“Let’s just say baking requires the same patience and attention to detail as my other…skills,” Lucanis replied, glancing at her with a knowing smirk. “Besides, everyone has their secrets.”

“Not sure baking cookies is the kind of secret that makes you terrifying, Luc,” Rook said, grinning as she leaned a hip against the counter.

“Ah, but imagine how devastating it would be,” Lucanis said, leaning closer again. “An enemy expecting poison…only to find perfectly baked cookies instead. Psychological warfare at its finest.”

Rook laughed, shaking her head. “Maker help me, I actually believe you’d do that.”

“I would,” he said solemnly, his gaze dropping briefly to her lips before flicking back to her eyes.

The moment stretched, and Rook felt her breath hitch. Lucanis was close enough now that she could feel the warmth radiating from him, the spice of his cologne mingling with the sweet scent of the cookie dough. She opened her mouth to say something—anything—but before she could, he reached out and swiped a fingerful of dough from the bowl.

"Here," he murmured, his voice dropping into that dangerous, honeyed tone he reserved for when he wanted something-usually trouble. "Taste."

Rook raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Really? Feeding me dough like l'm some pampered noble's pet?"

Lucanis's lips curved into a slow, wolfish grin. "You're too spirited to be a pet. But I wouldn't mind taming you, uccellina." The nickname-a playful twist on her name, meaning "little bird"-rolled off his tongue in a way that made her stomach flip.

Rook narrowed her eyes, trying to ignore the heat creeping up her neck. "Fine. If it'll shut you up."

She leaned forward, her lips brushing against his finger as she let her tongue dart out to taste the dough. The sweetness of the batter hit her tongue first, but it was the sensation of Lucanis's gaze on her that made her pulse quicken. Her tongue slid along the length of his finger, slow and deliberate, as if she were savoring every flavor. She pulled back just slightly, her lips still grazing his skin, and gave him a sly look through her lashes to see how far she could push him.

Lucanis's smirk faltered for a heartbeat, his dark eyes flickering with something hotter, hungrier. His finger lingered against her lips, the pads of his fingers brushing her skin as she pulled away.

"Sweet," she said, her voice deliberately soft, almost sultry. "But... not quite as good as you were making it out to be."

Lucanis blinked, his mask of composure slipping for a fraction of a second. His jaw tightened, and a low chuckle escaped him-a sound that was all heat and danger. "You're playing a dangerous game, Rook," he murmured, his voice smooth but tinged with something darker. "Careful, or you might find yourself in over your head."

"Please," she replied, grinning as she leaned back, her hand brushing against the counter as if to steady herself. "You talk a big game, but all I see is someone flustered over a little finger-licking."

"Oh, you want to play this game?" he said, his voice a soft growl as he stepped closer, his frame towering just enough to make her feel cornered in the most thrilling way. "Careful, little bird. You might find I play to win."

Rook swallowed hard, her pulse racing. "What's the worst you'll do? Bake me into the next batch of cookies?"

He lifted his hand, the same finger she'd licked, and trailed it down the side of her cheek, brushing away the faint smear of flour there. "No," he murmured, his tone low and teasing. "But if you're this bold with dough, uccellina, I can only imagine how bold you'd be with something else." Lucanis leaned in until his lips were near her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "I'll make you beg for a taste of something better," he whispered, his voice low enough to make her knees weaken.

Rook's heart raced, and for a moment, her sharp tongue failed her. She swallowed, forcing herself to smirk even as heat bloomed in her cheeks. "Guess you'll just have to keep wondering," she shot back, though her voice was a touch breathier than she intended.

Lucanis blinked, then laughed, a real laugh that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Oh? Truly uccellina, I never just wonder," he said, his voice velvet and fire. "I make sure I find out," he smirked, grabbing a handful of flour.

“Don’t you dare!” Rook shrieked, ducking under his arm.

The next few minutes devolved into chaos—flour flying, dough sticking to everything, and laughter echoing off the walls. By the time they called a truce, both of them were a mess, their clothes and hair dusted white, but neither seemed to care.

Lucanis stepped closer, "You truly are trouble," he murmured, his voice low and smooth, laced with a teasing edge. But there was no mistaking the warmth in it, a heat that wrapped around her and made her pulse flutter. "An chaotic bundle of trouble."

Rook swallowed, forcing herself to find her voice despite the way his gaze pinned her in place. "But you like trouble, right?" she quipped, her tone light but her grin faltering under the weight of his attention.

Lucanis's lips curved into a slow, predatory smile, one that made her stomach twist and her knees feel weak. "Only if it’s you," he said, the words a quiet, unshakable promise. His hand fell from her cheek, only to find its place on her waist, the firm weight of his palm sending a shiver racing down her spine. He tugged her closer, just enough for her to feel the heat radiating off him.

"Maker's breath, Luc," she whispered, her voice softer now, almost vulnerable. "You're going to ruin me with that look."

He leaned in, his face so close she could feel the warmth of his breath brushing her skin. His lips hovered just out of reach, his voice dropping to a husky murmur. "Funny. You've been ruining me since the moment I met you."

The words hit her like a jolt, but she didn't have time to respond before he closed the distance, his lips claiming hers with the kind of confidence that left no room for hesitation. The kiss wasn't soft-it was firm, purposeful, like he was staking his claim.

Rook gasped against his mouth, her hands instinctively gripping the front of his flour-dusted shirt. Lucanis responded instantly, his hand sliding to the small of her back and pulling her flush against him. His other hand came up to cradle her jaw, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

His lips moved against hers with a skill that made her head spin, teasing and coaxing until she was practically melting into him. He kissed her like he owned her, like he wanted to savor every second but couldn't resist taking more. The faint taste of sugar and spice lingered between them, adding to the intoxicating pull of him.

When he finally broke the kiss, Rook was left breathless, her cheeks flushed and her heart racing. He didn't pull away entirely, though-his forehead rested against hers, his hand still firmly at her waist, keeping her close.

"You're dangerous, you know that?" she murmured, her voice uneven as she tried to catch her breath.

Lucanis chuckled softly, the sound a low rumble that sent heat pooling in her stomach. His thumb brushed her cheek, his smirk returning, though the heat in his eyes hadn't dimmed. "Dangerous?" he echoed, his tone playful but edged with something darker, something irresistible. "Coming from the woman who just made me forget the rest of the world existed, I'll take that as a compliment."

Rook's lips twitched into a grin, though her cheeks were still burning. "You're impossible," she muttered, though the words lacked any real bite.

"Impossible to resist, maybe," he replied, his smirk widening as his thumb traced along her jawline. His gaze dipped to her lips again, his voice dropping lower. "Care for another taste, uccellina?"

Before she could answer, he tilted her chin up and kissed her again, harder this time, with more fire. His grip on her waist tightened, his fingers digging in just enough to make her breath catch as he pulled her firmly against him. Rook responded instinctively, her hands sliding up his chest to wrap around his neck, her body molding against his like they were two pieces of a puzzle.

Lucanis shifted, guiding her back against the counter, his hands steady and sure as he deepened the kiss. His lips left hers briefly, only to trail a path along her jaw, down to the curve of her neck. The soft scrape of his teeth against her skin made her gasp, her fingers tightening in his hair as he kissed the sensitive spot just below her ear.

"Luc.." she managed, her voice a breathless mix of protest and plea.

"Hm?" he murmured against her neck, his tone amused but layered with heat. His hand slid up her back, his touch firm and possessive. "Distracted, uccellina? Should I stop?"

"Don't you dare," she shot back, her voice sharper now, though the flush on her cheeks betrayed her.

Lucanis chuckled again, the sound low and dangerous. He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze, his dark eyes burning with something that made her knees feel weak.

"Good," he said, his lips brushing hers in a teasing almost-kiss. "Because I'm not done with you yet." He claimed her lips again, his kiss so consuming that the world around them— flour-dusted counters, forgotten cookie dough, the faint smell of something baking— disappeared entirely.

When they finally broke apart, their breaths mingling and their cheeks flushed, Rook managed to find her voice. "The cookies," she said, though her tone lacked any real urgency.

"Let them burn," Lucanis murmured, his smirk back in full force as his thumb brushed her bottom lip. "I have much better things to taste."

And as his lips captured hers once more, the cookies were forgotten. For now….

———————————————————————————

Trying to write more adult themes!

Advice is welcomed 🙏

——————————————————————————

[bitethedemon]

Daggers, Poison, and Shiny Things (Lucanis x Reader x Illario): Chapter 2

<-Last Chapter / Next Chapter ->

Link to this fic on AO3

Tags: Slow burn, De Riva Reader, Eventual Smut, Messy Love Triangles

Fic summary: You lost everything in Rivain: your family, your home, and your hopes of ever becoming a seer. Treviso offered you revenge, but you were not prepared for the loneliness you would find amongst the Crows. The busiest assassin in Antiva became your only friend. That is, until he died and left you alone to pick up the pieces of yourself and his devastated cousin.

Imagine then, that your dead old flame shows up after a year, very much alive, with a very loud demon at his side and a hot new boss, while you have to explain that you are now dating his cousin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

Warning: A little NSFW

You were completely numb as you were led to the others. You registered that Illario embraced and kissed you. You tensed a bit at the gesture. You heard his words too: Caterina is dead. There were just too many things going on at once for you to properly process it.

Viago and Teia were there. Illario was there. Lucanis, who was very much not dead, was there, with a demon at his side. There were a few strangers too. You noticed one in particular: a woman. A very pretty elven woman with a Mourn Watcher pendant around her neck. You did not like the way she looked at Lucanis as if she knew him.

“Rook,” The demon said directly to you. His mouth was not even moving. “Saved Lucanis. From prison.”

Your eyes narrowed at the demon.

“Who are you? What do you want Lucanis for?” you asked the demon mentally.

“Spite,” the demon responded. “Trapped with him. He. Keeps me. HERE! Want out.”

Your eyes narrowed at Spite. You caught Lucanis looking at you. Only a second later you felt Illario snake his arm around your waist and pull you closer. Lucanis averted his eyes.

He looked so broken. Caterina had been the only parental figure he ever had, he was now stuck with a demon too, and gods know what he went through in that prison. You wished you could comfort him.

He was not yours to comfort anymore, your realized. Illario was, and he seemed broken by the news too. What you and Lucanis had was barely a thing before he died. Illario and you had been together for months.

You had found him one day on your way home. It was around two months after Lucanis had died. Illario was outside the Setting Sun, which was a bar that you knew he had also frequently visited before. Although at that time he was so drunk that he could barely stand.

You had heard rumors, since Illario had stopped coming around the Diamond. Caterina did not accept sloppiness or drunkenness, and she certainly did not allow the other Crows at the base to see a Dellamorte in such a shape. He was alone. Utterly alone.

“Illario?”

He was standing with his back up against the wall as to not fall. He looked up at you briefly.

“River…” he mumbled. “I’m so sorry…”

With certain words and phrases, the two cousins sounded so similar. The way he said your name was a knife to the heart. He sounded so much like him. Lucanis would have hated to see him like that…

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” you said and looked from the bottle in his hand to his face. “You don’t look so good. Should I help you home?”

He shook his head.

“There is plenty to be sorry for…” he mumbled solemnly.

You sighed softly and looked him up and down. He was a mess.

“Let me get you home, yeah?”

You gently touched his arm. He moved it away from you.

“Illario, I will get you home now or I will stay here with you until you want to go,” you said firmly. “You will fall into the canal in this state.”

He lifted his head and looked at you. His dark eyes were red and shiny.

“He is gone.”

You took a deep breath and tried to push down your own feelings for a moment.

“I know,” you said, your voice cracking ever so slightly. “Please.”

You held out your hand to him. He took it with a deep sigh and let the bottle in his hand fall to the pavement where it shattered. You put your arm around his back to support him as you started walking.

“Where do you live?” you asked.

“I don’t want to be alone,” he mumbled.

You sighed quietly. Caterina was right, you thought, he was utterly pathetic in this state and no wonder that she kept him away from the others. You scolded yourself mentally for thinking in such a way.

“I’ll take you to my place then,” you said. “It’s not far.”

“Thank you.”

You successfully managed to drag Illario to your house. You placed him on the couch, but he still managed to follow you to your bedroom like a drunk, lost puppy. You gave in and let him. You did not want to be alone either, truth be told.

You both fell asleep in each other’s arms. In the morning, Illario was back to being the Illario you knew.  You didn’t protest when he started slowly exploring your body with his hands or press himself up against you. You found that you needed it too.

Beginning a relationship with him became the most natural thing. You were both all alone in the world with a need for comfort, and you found it in each other. He was so different from Lucanis, despite them growing up together, but you found that you did not mind that either.

Unlike Lucanis, Illario had no problems talking about himself and his feelings, though he might not always have cared a whole lot about yours. You did not mind that either. You found that you mostly did not want to talk about it. He spoke about his childhood, his family, about Lucanis and him. He filled in a lot of gaps that you had always wondered about Lucanis.

It worked out between you two. Illario seemed happy and slowed down on the drinking, and you weren’t alone and had someone to care for. It felt like giving back. Like doing what Lucanis would have wanted. He would have wanted the two of you to take care of each other. It did not fill the hole he had left, but it was something real.

Sometime during the evening, Lucanis joined you on the balcony and the two of you were alone for a moment. You were far from okay, but you put on a brave face. Everything was so weird. A whole year had gone by and now it felt like the two of you were strangers. You broke the silence.

“I’m so sorry to hear about Caterina,” you said.

He was leaning on his elbows on the balcony railing, looking out over the city. He nodded and remained quiet. To no surprise, he did not want to talk about it.

“How have you been, River?” he asked instead.

You gave a bitter laugh, and tears pricked at your eyes at the question.

More alone than ever. I’ve tried every kind of magic known to man just to see you again. I was so sad, scared, and angry that you were gone.

“Let’s not,” you said. “I’m glad that you are home though. I’ve missed you.”

He smiled in a soft but tired way.

“You are staying here…right?”

He sighed quietly and looked down at his hands before looking at you.

“I have a contract,” he said. “With the woman who freed me. Rook.”

Your heart sank.

“You can’t be serious,” you said. “You’re leaving again? You have been gone for a year. Caterina is dead and you have a demon in you. You will run yourself into the ground, Lucanis.”

“I will be fine,” he said firmly and brushed away your concern with a hand gesture.

“Not. Fine.” Spite grumbled. “Tell HIM.”

He winced a bit at Spite’s words. You glanced at the demon beside him. You weren’t sure what to make of him, but he was right. Lucanis clearly wasn’t fine.

“Lucanis…”

“River,” he said firmly, but not unkindly. “Let it go. I will be fine. You know me: contracts first. Then I will figure out all of this. And please, don’t tell the others about Spite. I don’t know how to tell them yet.”

You shook your head but remained quiet. There was no way to talk sense into him and you knew it. You had to just trust him.

“So,” Lucanis said in an even tone. “You and Illario…”

A shiver ran through you. You had not been prepared to talk about the elephant in the room yet quite yet.

“Yes,” you said quietly. “Lucanis, I thought—”

He smiled and held up his hand to stop you.

“A lot can happen in a year,” he said. “I’m very happy for both of you.”

The door to the balcony opened and out came the elven woman you now knew as Rook.

“Lucanis—” she began and stopped when she saw him talking to you. “Oh, I’m sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to say we are planning on leaving soon.”

Gods, she was pretty. With her long silky black hair and emerald eyes. It was a struggle to not frown when Lucanis smiled politely at her.

“In a moment,” he said.

She smiled back with those pretty pouty lips of hers before going back inside. You held back a groan. Spite grinned at you from behind Lucanis. You wondered if he could feel the jealousy radiating off of you. You shook your head and tried to think of something else.

“I will try to visit as often as I can,” Lucanis said and turned to you. “Take care of Illario for me. Please.”

You nodded. He squeezed your shoulder in a fond gesture before leaving. You stood in silence for a while. You had gone through every possible emotion this last hour. You were exhausted.

“RIVER!” you heard from inside.

You groaned at Viago’s voice.

“RI-VER,” his voice cut through again, but interrupted by who you could only imagine was Teia. “What do you mean I— ah, FINE. RIVER—”

“Here, Viago,” you called back tiredly from the balcony.

He came out and made a hand gesture you were intimately familiar with: a closed hand to the side of the head. It usually meant something between ‘are you stupid?’ or ‘why did it take you so long?’.

“You are behind schedule on two batches of Soldier’s Bane, do you know?” he stated urgently.

You rolled your eyes slightly and gave him a tired nod. He looked you over. He gave you a look that someone might give a particularly pathetic little animal. It was somewhere between sympathy and disgust.

“You look like shit,” he said. “Teia insists I speak to you, but I do not want to get involved in your little Dellamorte love triangle.”

“There is no ‘triangle’,” you said. “And even if there was, I certainly wouldn’t want you involved in it either.”

“Ech,” he said in a disgusted tone with a frown. “Not like that.”

He leaned his back on the balcony railing beside you.

“There is nothing going on. Lucanis is back, and I am very happy that he is, but I am still with Illario. That is all there is to it. I don’t want you involved in my love life any more than you do.”

“Good,” he said. “So, we agree.”

You nodded. He looked at you and sighed.

“We are all shaken by what happened,” he said. “Are you fine?”

Despite his harsh tone, you knew Viago enough to know that he cared at least a tiny bit.

“I don’t know,” you said honestly.

“Hm,” he huffed. “I will make the batch. You go home and rest, and by the Maker, take Illario with you. He is making holes in the floor with his pacing, and I think he just opened a bottle of wine. You will be back to work in two days. Do you understand?”

“Thank you, Viago.”

He brushed your thanks away with a hand gesture and walked back inside.

Being at home didn’t work to calm you down in any way. You constantly spent time with Illario. He was acting odd. Obviously, he was acting odd because his grandmother was dead, but there was something else. Something you could not quite put your finger on. He was in a weird almost manic-like state constantly and he lashed out more than usual.

It was almost a relief to come back to the laboratory and have a moment of peace. When you entered, you saw that Viago had cleaned up. No doubt he had been cursing your name while doing so. He had also made a lot of poisons in advance, you noticed, so that your workload was lighter. The man did have a heart after all…

You knew that Lucanis was at the Diamond as well. They were planning Caterina’s wake. You did not intrude. It wasn’t your place, and Illario had not asked you to be there either. You kept working to keep your mind busy instead. Sometime during the early afternoon, Illario went to get you anyway.

“Illario, it’s weird,” you protested as you followed him. “I’m neither a Talon nor a Dellamorte. I shouldn’t be there.”

“Neither are the people who Lucanis brought,” Illario answered. “I want you there. Please, love.”

That made you pause. Had Lucanis seriously brought this ‘Rook’ woman with him for this? That flame of jealousy was lit in your belly again. You hated it, but you could not help it. Why did you feel so jealous? If anyone deserved happiness it was him, no matter who that was with.

You tried to get your mind to shut up. When you entered the room, they were all there. Viago gave you a glance, rolled his eyes and looked at Illario. You also suddenly realized that Illario’s intention of bringing you there might have been less than pure. He did not need you to hold his hand, and there was no real reason for you to be there.

Most likely, he only brought you because Lucanis brought someone, or to show him that you were his, like he had done that first night Lucanis came home. That certainly wasn’t above him. If you had learned anything from your relationship with him, it was that he was easily jealous and very possessive.

This was neither the time nor place for the one-sided competition between the two cousins, and you suddenly wished that you had just told him no.

Despite Illario running around like a chicken without its head throughout the whole thing, he still managed to watch you carefully. Every time you even looked in the direction of Lucanis or Rook, he was watching you like a hawk. Especially when you all said your goodbye’s.

Because of the heavy subject matter of the meeting, Lucanis said goodbye to all of them in true Antivan fashion. There was nothing odd about it. A kiss on each cheek. You had learned long ago that is was simply something Antivans did with those they were close to.

Lucanis did the rounds to all of them and only hesitated for a moment when he got to you. You two were close too, and since you were dating Illario now, you were in some minor way family too. It would also have been weird if he had left you out as the only one. Illario’s body became tense beside you when Lucanis leaned forward and kissed your cheeks.

You could practically feel it coming when he followed you back to the laboratory afterwards. It was Illario’s turn to address the elephant in the room. He was staring at you from the doorway. You fiddled with some equipment in the hopes that he would go away.

“Do you still love him?”

You let out a long sigh.

“Illario—”

“No, no,” he stopped you. “Don’t act like that is such an unreasonable thing to ask. Answer me.”

“You are grieving, Illario,” you said, still not looking at him. “Don’t start this. I know this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with losing your grandmother.”

“That’s not an answer,” he said.

You could hear his footsteps behind you. He wrapped his arms around you from behind. One of his hands came up to trace patterns on your neck, before resting his hand there in a loose grip and pushing your head back to rest against his shoulder.

“Do. You. Still. Love. Him?” he asked slowly into your ear.

You took a deep breath. He was being ridiculous.

“I love you,” you answered.

“That’s not an answer either,” he said and pulled you closer to him, so your back was flush up against his front. “Would you marry me, if I asked you?”

“You have lost your mind, Illario.”

You almost laughed at the suggestion. It was such a ridiculous notion. Dellamortes did not marry people like you. You had never spoken about it, but it was an unspoken agreement that your relationship could never get to that point. It just was not even a possibility. Caterina had appreciated you fixing Illario to the best of your abilities, but she had never approved of your relationship.

“I’m serious,” he mumbled into your neck.

“The other families wouldn’t approve,” you pointed out. “It would also go directly against your grandmother’s wishes. You know that. I hate hypotheticals.”

It just wasn’t possible. You also did not want to even if it was. This was such a transparent plan. It had nothing to do with you. Illario had never even spoken about marriage before. This wasn’t about wanting to marry you. This was about having you so no one else could. He was being childish.

The hand around your throat moved down to your chest. He ran his thumb over the top of one of your breasts and squeezed it gently. You breath hitched slightly.

“Illario,” you said. “Not in here.”

His hand moved under your shirt and found its way under your bra. His thumb started circling your nipple and he kissed your neck.

“I don’t care about them,” he said. “Besides, I couldn’t care less what the other families think once I’m First Talon.”

Your brow furrowed slightly. Your next words flew out of your mouth before you could think:

“Why would you become First Talon when Lucanis is home?”

Wrong thing to say. Oh, very wrong thing to say.

Illario froze completely before removing himself entirely from you. You had unconsciously echoed what he had been told his whole life. Technically, there was a chance. It just seemed so obvious that Lucanis would be the one to inherit the title. It was what Caterina had groomed him for his entire life.

“Shit. I’m sorry,” you quickly said. “I didn’t mean—”

“Oh no, please,” he said bitterly in a cold tone. “I know what you meant. Don’t bother coming by later. I will be busy.”

He shut the door hard when he left.

“Fuck,” you mumbled to yourself under your breath.

[bitethedemon]

Daggers, Poison, and Shiny Things (Lucanis x Reader x Illario): Chapter 1

Next Chapter ->

Link to this fic on AO3

Tags: Slow burn, De Riva Reader, Eventual Smut, Messy Love Triangles

Fic summary: You lost everything in Rivain: your family, your home, and your hopes of ever becoming a seer. Treviso offered you revenge, but you were not prepared for the loneliness you would find amongst the Crows. The busiest assassin in Antiva became your only friend. That is, until he died and left you alone to pick up the pieces of yourself and his devastated cousin.

Imagine then, that your dead old flame shows up after a year, very much alive, with a very loud demon at his side and a hot new boss, while you have to explain that you are now dating his cousin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

(A really messy Lucanis/Named!Reader/Illario love triangle set in Treviso. Lucanis/Rook isn't the main relationship, but reader is jealous as fuck about them)

You had been called River amongst the Crows for so long that you had almost forgotten your real name. It had been a stupid joke from when you were just a fledgling that had stuck. ‘The Rivaini de Riva’ had at some point turned into ‘River de Riva’, and that became who you were. Viago would always say that you were just as unruly as your namesake too.

Viago had found you in a sanctuary for the poor in Treviso five years ago.

…well…

That was the official story you had been ordered to tell the others and especially Teia. The real story was that he found you in a whorehouse. You were barely a human being by the time he found you. You had spent months in captivity by the Antaam.

They had burned down your village, killed everyone, and taken everything from you. They brought you with them to Treviso, but they were unsure what to do with you. It was bad luck to kill a seer, though the same superstition had not bothered them when they killed your grandmother, your mother, and all of your sisters.

However, you were not going to point out the flaws in their logic or tell them that you never got to finish your training. You needed to stay alive so you could get your revenge.

You used your time wisely. The elders of your village had always praised you for being observant, and by the gods you were going to mentally note down every word your captors said, how they said them, were they went, when they came to your cell, when they left, when they took a shit. Everything.

Viago kept an eye on you in the meantime and when they gave you over to the whorehouse, he swept in and presented revenge to you on a silver platter. The information you gave over to the Crows resulted in the downfall of the camp that had taken you. You became a de Riva that same day.

The Antivan Crows had not forgotten that the organization had roots stemming from the Chantry though. It was a tough pill for a lot of the Crows to swallow. They looked at you and saw a savage witch that spoke to demons and let spirits possess her. You did not fit in.

Even worse, you were utter shit with a dagger, much to the dismay of Viago. You were hopeless as a fledgling. Viago even hired mages to teach you more ‘appropriate’ magic, such as the way of the Spellblades, but with no luck.

You were no good at following orders either, having never been used to taking orders from a man because of the matriarchal society in Rivain. It was driving Viago up the wall. The two of you were constantly fighting and it was a wonder that he did not give up on you entirely.

He stopped your training after you had learned the mere basics. Instead, you took to poison-making. That was what you found out that you were good at, so you were left to do just that. You liked that better anyway. You were left to do what you were good at, and Viago did not get grey hair prematurely. Everyone was happy.

Except most of the other Crows, of course. They still kept their distance from you, though it mattered less when you were free to keep mostly to yourself. You had your own little laboratory to study and make poisons for everyone else in.

That was how you met Lucanis.

Lucanis was barely ever around. Being the most expensive assassin the Crows had to offer, he was always busy. You had never even met him until he was one day standing beside you in your laboratory. You had jumped at his presence and almost dropped a vial of wyvern poison on the floor.

“Three vials of Quiet Death, please,” he said politely. “If you’re not busy, of course. I can wait.”

You had blinked at him in confusion. No one ever came into your space except Viago.

“I’m…sorry…who are you?” you asked.

“Oh, forgive me,” he said and bowed his head slightly. “Lucanis Dellamorte. I have a difficult time keeping track of who I have met and not.”

“Oh,” you said quietly and looked him over. “You’re…yeah. I’m River. Sorry. Usually people go through Viago, instead of coming in here…”

“Why?” he asked plainly without a shred of judgment in his voice. “Quiet Death is a simple poison, no?”

Because they all hate me, so Viago hides me away here.

“Because…” you began. You had no answer that didn’t sound pathetic, so you changed the subject. “We are out of Deathroot, unfortunately, but I can make you something else.”

You began looking through the supplies.

“Do you have a weight estimate on your targets?”

He thought for a moment before giving surprisingly specific estimates. It was great to hear someone who knew what they were doing. If you had a gold coin for each time you had heard ‘small’, ‘average’, or ‘big’ as a weight estimate, you would have been a rich woman. Every question you asked was given a detailed answer by him.

He watched you closely as you were working, as if trying to figure out what you were doing.

“What are you making?” he asked in a curious tone.

“It’s uh…a mix of things,” you admitted. “It’s a Rivaini recipe, but I’m improvising a bit since I don’t have all the ingredients. Don’t worry though. It will work.”

“Oh, are you the Rivaini that Viago keeps talking about?”

You gave a tight smile and a small nod.

“That’s me,” you mumbled.

“Your name is River de Riva?” he asked with an amused smile that belied image of the serious master assassin that she had heard so much about. “He is going insane, you know? I have heard him describe you with many colorful phrases.”

“He does that,” you mumbled and carefully dripped the toxin into the vial you were working on.

“He says you can’t fight, but it seems you are good at this,” Lucanis said and watched the careful movements of your hands. “Did he teach you?”

“Well, first of all,” you protested slightly and put a lid on the vial to shake it. “I can fight…just not in any way that he finds acceptable. Secondly, no, poison-making was a part of my training back in my village. Viago just showed me which ones the Crows specifically use, since he doesn’t like me using the Rivaini ones that work perfectly fine. Which is why I never made you this.”

You handed him the first vial.

“Understood,” he said with a smile.

You began shaking the next one and then shook your head.

“Sorry for ranting,” you said. “I rarely get the opportunity.”

“It’s fine,” he said and studied the liquid in the vial. “You promise me that this will work?”

“It will.”

You handed him another vial and shook the last one.

“You said you received training before joining us,” he said. “As what?”

You froze for a second. The conversation was going so well, and this man seemed so nice, and now you were going to ruin it. You were sure of it. You sighed quietly.

“As a seer,” you replied reluctantly. “Though I never finished my training.”

“A seer?” he asked. “Interesting. Why did you stop?”

You look over his face for any trace of judgment. You found none. It took you by surprise.

“I didn’t.”

His brow furrowed ever so slightly at your reply. He didn’t understand. You handed him the last vial.

“My home was destroyed, and my family were killed by the Antaam,” you explained, trying your hardest to not to sound like a sad, pathetic mess. “Seer training can take almost a lifetime, and it’s taught by the women of your family. I am the only one left, so I will never finish my studies…”

His dark eyes softened when he heard, as if the words had hurt him to hear. There was some recognition of pain in his eyes, and you would only understand much later where it came from. He bowed his head slightly.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

He mumbled his thanks for the poisons and promptly left the laboratory. You mentally hit yourself over the head for the entire day for opening up in that way to him.

A couple of days later you found a history book on Rivaini seers on the table in the laboratory when you came in in the morning. It would not help you finish your training, but you appreciated the thought more than anything.

That was the beginning of your relationship with him. You quickly learned that Lucanis was a crow in the literal sense: he left gifts and shiny things. That was his love language. He was not good at talking about his own feelings, though he did not mind talking about yours when the need arose. Lucanis did everything for you to not feel alone.

Half of the things he brought you, you had no idea how he even got his hands on. He would not tell you either. He always brushed away your gratitude. In the beginning it was mostly gifts that he insisted that he had simply stumbled upon. Later, the gifts became more personal. He even learned to cook Rivaini food just for you, which he would bring when he visited.

You adored him. It was hard not to, even though you knew he was simply being nice and that him being a Dellamorte meant that anything beyond friendship was no more than a naïve dream. Family was more important than anything to Lucanis, and he would be damned if you did not feel like you belonged to one, even though he seemed to be the only willing member for a while.

Eventually, more and more of the Crows started accepting you, simply because Lucanis did. You were introduced properly to Illario as well. You had always seen Illario as a rude bastard, but because of his cousin’s interest in you, he began warming up to you too. Illario eventually began flirting despite Lucanis’ interest in you. Or perhaps because of Lucanis’ interest, you realized later.

Either way, Lucanis was not fond of the situation, but he never said anything other than a few friendly warnings to you about how Illario treats women. Lucanis obviously cared and at the end of his life it only became even more obvious.

There had been an event at Villa Dellamorte that someone of your rank would never have attended had it not been because you were friends with Caterina’s grandson. Lucanis, Illario, and you sneaked off to the wine cellar sometime during the evening. At the end of the night, Illario and you were drunk and Lucanis was tipsy too.

You only remembered the night in fragments. You know that Illario flirted relentlessly with you that evening. You didn’t want Illario, but in your drunken stupor, perhaps you reciprocated. You weren’t sure. You only remembered that Lucanis was uncomfortable, torn between not wanting to be there and not trusting Illario enough to leave you alone with him.

You vaguely remembered Illario chuckling into your ear and then feeling his lips on your neck. It was when his hand ran up your thigh that you remembered sobering up and flinching slightly.

“I think I should get you home, River,” Lucanis had said and promptly gotten up from his chair.

You felt Illario huff against your neck before leaving a small bite there. You moved away from his touch.

“Why?” Illario asked and turned his head to look at Lucanis. “We are just having fun.”

“Illario…” Lucanis said firmly.

“She doesn’t want to go home, do you, River?” Illario said and put his arm over your shoulders. “Just a little seer possessed by spirits,” he joked with a smile and looked at Lucanis. “If you are tired, you can go. I will be sure she gets home safe.”

Lucanis looked directly at you.

“Do you want to go home?”

You nodded and got up. You stumbled slightly and Lucanis offered an arm for you to lean on. You did not even have to look back to see the hateful look Illario gave him. You could practically feel the tension in the air.

“You always get what you want, don’t you, Lucanis?” Illario said with disdain. “As if your intentions are any purer than mine.”

Then Illario mumbled something in Antivan that you did not quite catch, but Lucanis certainly did. There came a low growl of anger from him, and he led you to the staircase up and out of the wine cellar before turning to Illario.

“Go upstairs,” he said to you. “I will be with you in a moment.”

You stumbled up the stairs. The second you closed the door you could hear them arguing loudly in what was no doubt very colorful language. You had never heard Lucanis like that before.

When he came up and started to lead you home, he was deadly quiet for the longest time. It made you slightly nervous and you weren’t quite sure what to say.

“Are you..mad?” you asked, slightly slurring the words.

“Yes,” he answered curtly.

Another long pause of silence.

“At…me?”

“No, River,” he said, his tone softening slightly. “Not at you. At Illario. He acts like a child sometimes.”

You nodded and looked at his face as the two of you walked, trying to figure out what he was thinking. You often did without much luck. He noticed you staring and gave you a gentle smile.

“Not far now,” he said.

You kept walking. When you got to your house, you gave him the key. You could barely look straight. He unlocked the door for you to enter. When you saw the staircase up to your room, you gave a deep sigh. Lucanis took the hint and helped you up to your room.

“I didn’t mean to, you know,” you mumbled. “For that to happen, I mean. I don’t—”

Lucanis quickly caught you before you fell backwards down the stairs. He mumbled something in Antivan and held you by your waist from behind like a parent trying to teach a child to walk.

“I don’t even like Illario,” you said, continuing your drunken babbling. “I should have done something…”

“It’s not your fault,” he said and helped you up the final steps.

He opened the door to your room and sat you down on your bed. You looked up at him.

“Thank you for getting me home,” you said. “And even bringing me in the first place. I’m sorry it became such a mess.”

“Don’t even worry about it,” he insisted and pulled the blanket on the bed aside for you to get in. “It’s nothing.”

“You always say that,” you protested. “It means the world to me. Everything you do. I need you to know that.”

He gave you a smile.

“You are drunk, River,” he said and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Can I trust that you won’t throw yourself down the stairs in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t want Illario,” you mumbled.

“You have already said that.”

“I want you.”

His eyes softened at your drunken admission. He looked over your face in almost comical confusion, as if it had not been the most obvious thing in the world that you liked him. His eyes flicked to your lips for a second and you leaned forward.

“No,” he said gently and put his hand on your shoulder to stop you. “No, no. None of that.”

Your heart sank and you must have looked like a beaten puppy to him. His rejection was a knife in your heart. You felt ridiculous for even thinking that might have been where things were going. He gently brushed his hand over your hair.

“Not like this,” he said gently. “Goodnight, River.”

He squeezed your shoulder and left.

You had kept on replaying that night over and over in your head. The mental hangover had been insane. It did not help that you did not hear from him for about a week after. When he finally came, it was early in the morning, and he sneaked up on you in your laboratory. You weren’t sure what to say when you saw him.

You tried to say something, to get any word out of your mouth, but without any luck. You became even more speechless when he walked right up to you.

“I have been thinking,” he said. “Since last time.”

At least five excuses were already at the tip of your tongue, waiting to spill out in a jumbled mess.

“Did you mean it?” he asked gently.

The excuses died on your tongue before they could ever make it out. You couldn’t lie. Not to him. You swallowed hard and nodded, readying yourself for another rejection. It never came.

Instead, he looked at you with those warm eyes of his and placed a gentle kiss on your lips.

You froze completely for a long moment. When he broke the kiss, you finally snapped back into reality and leaned in to kiss him again properly. Your heart hammered in your chest. You felt truly alive for the first time since you arrived in Treviso.

It was only a week later that he died.

You were inconsolable. To have everything taken from you, just to be given a sliver of light in your life and then have it be taken away again. The only other person you could talk to who would understand was Illario, who was trying his hardest to drink himself to death. You and Illario found an odd solace in each other during that time.

Though even when you started dating him, it did not fill the hole in your heart of losing Lucanis.

In the evenings you would sneak off to read all the books Lucanis’ had given you on seer magic. You learned to contact spirits, but you could not find the one spirit that you wanted to talk to. Needed to talk to.

This obsession only made you feel even worse. You were Illario’s now, but even then, you were still obsessed with the man who he had been forced to compete with his entire life. Even in death, Illario lived in Lucanis’ shadow. The guilt kept you up some nights, but you could just not let him go. There was no closure.

It had been over a year now.

You were hunched over a tome on seer family lines in the laboratory, when you really should have been working instead. You kept reading the books he had given you. You weren’t sure why. Perhaps, you simply felt as if it was a way to honor him.

“River,” you heard softly from behind you.

You quickly shut the book closed and stashed it under a shelf. You fiddled with some equipment, so it looked like you had been working.

“What do you need, Illario?” you asked.

“River,” the voice called again.

It sounded odd. As if he was sick or something. The tone was all wrong. He sounded like Lucanis, you realized.

You felt a hand on being laid softly on your shoulder and you turned around. You turned white as a sheet and time seemed to stop.

You clasped your hands over your mouth and your legs gave in. You slid down to the floor and looked up at him. You couldn’t breathe. You frantically reached out to touch his leg to check if he was solid or just a figment of your imagination, and then you sobbed.

He crouched down and you clung to him.

“I thought—”

“I know,” Lucanis said and squeezed your arm.

As you were crying your eyes out, a grating, hissing voice flowed through your ears all of a sudden.

“Smells like earth. Poison roots and wyvern spit.”

Your eyes darted up and widened. Behind Lucanis stood a copy of him with grey skin and eyes that glowed purple. You knew immediately what that was. It smiled at you.

“Seer!” the demon said with excitement. “She sees. Hears…”

Your mouth fell slightly agape. Lucanis looked at you.

“You can see him?” he asked urgently.

“By the gods, Lucanis…” you mumbled quietly and looked into his eyes. “Who did this to you?”

“Help us. Now,” the demon said.

[bitethedemon]

Daggers, Poison, and Shiny Things (Lucanis x Reader x Illario): Chapter 4

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Link to this fic on AO3

Tags: Slow burn, De Riva Reader, Eventual Smut, Messy Love Triangles

Fic summary: You lost everything in Rivain: your family, your home, and your hopes of ever becoming a seer. Treviso offered you revenge, but you were not prepared for the loneliness you would find amongst the Crows. The busiest assassin in Antiva became your only friend. That is, until he died and left you alone to pick up the pieces of yourself and his devastated cousin.

Imagine then, that your dead old flame shows up after a year, very much alive, with a very loud demon at his side and a hot new boss, while you have to explain that you are now dating his cousin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

The city had been in complete disarray, and the Cantori Diamond had been much the same when the information came in: a dragon had landed in Treviso. It was all hands on deck. Even you were ordered to go out there and fight, which was saying something about the level of fucked you all were.

Lucanis came too to defend his home. Everything was going completely to shit before Rook swooped in and saved the day.

When she arrived, they miraculously managed to make the dragon retreat. Parts of the city were completely destroyed, but it could have been much worse.

It’s not that you weren’t grateful. You were. Your home had been saved.

You just did not need to see the way Lucanis looked at her once it was over. Now you had to hear from everyone about how great Rook was. Apparently, she had let everything go sideways in Minrathous just to save Treviso.

You could not help wondering: Why?

She was a Mourn Watcher from Nevarra. She had no allegiance to Treviso. There was no other possibility in your mind than she had done it for Lucanis, and that thought was gnawing at your mind.

Between worrying about your partner acting weird and your jealousy towards Rook, there was no more space in your head for any other feelings. You could not let it go. Your mind was constantly buzzing with it.

There really was no sense to any of your worrying. Logically, you knew that worrying about Illario was a lost cause, as it had always been. Logically, you knew that Lucanis wasn’t yours anymore and he should do whatever made him happy. Your mind did not listen to logic though.

It was about two weeks after the attack that you heard a knock on your door.

No one ever visited your home, except Illario and he always used the key you hid in the flowerpot on the windowsill. Viago would not be caught dead in your neighborhood, so he never visited unless someone was dead or dying. No one ever knocked.

You opened the door and were surprised to see Lucanis there. The dark circles around his eyes seemed to only have gotten worse. He looked like he had never slept a day in his life. There was something more than just tiredness too.

“Is…” Lucanis began. “Is Illario here? I don’t want to intrude. Viago said you would be here.”

“No, he’s not,” you answered and opened the door more to let him in. “You’re not intruding. Please, come in.”

He gave a small nod. You led him into the living room and gestured for him to sit down before you went to get a cup of coffee for him. When you handed it to him and he didn’t complain about how thin it was, you knew that something was really wrong.

“What’s going on?”

His eyes flickered to you as if he had almost half-forgotten that you were there while he was seemingly lost in his own mind. Spite was looking around your house, examining the paintings on the walls one by one. He was a complete contradiction to his tired host with the energy he exuded.

“Nothing,” Lucanis said and shook his head. “Rook thought it would be a good idea if I came to see you.”

You forced your facial features not to change. Why would she suggest that?

He was going to tell you that the two of them were together now, or that he couldn’t see you anymore, you were sure of it.

Whatever it was it must have been something horrible.

“Why is that?” you asked a bit too quietly for your own liking.

He sighed and opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak before changing his mind and closing it again.

“Forget it,” he said and got up from his seat. “I shouldn’t be here. It is not fair to Illario, and in this state, with Spite—"

You got up too and stood in his way.

“Wait,” you said. “Please. What is going on?”

He was quiet for a long moment, just looking at you. He looked at you with such a broken expression.

He briefly told you about a mission they had been on in Weisshaupt. You only knew the gist of everything that was going on with the whole ‘elven gods’-situation from pieces of information you had stitched together from Viago and Illario.

“I missed,” he said quietly. “I had a perfect shot at ending a god, and I missed, River. I am no use to anyone, and it is driving me insane. I failed. I cannot even do a simple job.”

“Lucanis…” you said softly. “Killing a god isn’t a simple job.”

He groaned tiredly and ran his hand over his face before sitting down again.

“You sound just like Rook,” he said. “It is simple. I had her. And I still failed.”

“Okay fine,” you said. “But what does beating yourself up over it achieve? It happened. It’s over.”

“He’s not here,” Spite said, now looking directly at you. “Help US!”

You looked from Spite to him. You could not help asking, even though you knew it made Lucanis uncomfortable to talk about it.

“What does he mean by that?”

Lucanis glanced at Spite and then shook his head. He gave you a dismissive wave of his hand. To no surprise, he did not want to talk about it.

“Forgive me for bringing all of this to you, River,” Lucanis said. “I shouldn’t have. Rook insisted it would be good for me to talk to someone from home. I should have told her no.”

You sighed. It was frustrating how he always shut down like that.

“You can talk to me,” you said. “I hope you know that. I might be with Illario, but you and I knew each other first. We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

He looked at you for a moment and gave you a tired smile.

“How are you?” he asked.

You gave a bitter scoff.

“Let’s not.”

“You said the same last time,” he pointed out, his tone slightly lighter now that you were not talking about him. “You always said to me that I should talk more. Now I come here and talk, and you are quiet. You know I am a creature of habit. Don’t do this to me.”

You smiled at his attempt to get you to open up. The world really had gone upside down, because that was usually your job. You couldn’t lie to him. You had never been able to.

“Illario is being impossible,” you admitted. “He is driving me up the wall.”

“I know,” Lucanis said. “He is hard to talk to these days. I’ve tried. How is he?”

“He is losing his mind.”

There was a hint of worry in Lucanis’ eyes.

“How so?”

You couldn’t tell him about the First Talon thing. You had promised Viago. You could tell him about something else, but you really didn’t want to. You shouldn’t have said anything, but now you had to say something.  

“He uh…” you said. “He proposed to me.”

His eyebrows raised at your words. He looked at the floor in front of him for a moment before finding your eyes again and giving you a small smile.

“Congratulations,” he said.

Your eyes narrowed slightly at his reaction.

“I didn’t say yes,” you explained. “Because of the obvious political reasons and given who I am. It can’t happen.”

It took him a second to understand what you were saying. He shrugged slightly.

“That shouldn’t hold you back if you love him,” he said, not quite keeping eye contact with you. “My great aunt married a simple tailor, and eventually got the family’s approval too.”

“There is some distance between tailor and ‘Rivaini witch’,” you said. “Besides, you two are the only Dellarmortes left. That changes things too.”

“The other families would oppose it, yes,” he said. “And Viago would kill both of you in your sleep, but you would have my blessing at least. You should do it if you want to do it.”

You couldn’t believe he was actually trying to talk you into this. You found it frustrating for some reason. Your next words flew right out of your mouth:

“He also almost cheated on me after I told him no.”

His eyes narrowed at that. You heard a low growl of irritation from him.

“Illario, you idiot,” he mumbled and shook his head. “I am so sorry. He doesn’t think with his head.”

“Don’t tell him I’ve told you that though,” you quickly added. “I forgave him, and we’re fine now. He has been through a lot. He was drinking, so…”

“I won’t,” he said with a hint of anger still in his tone. “I should not get involved in you and his relationship like this.”

“No, I know,” you said with a sigh. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything either. It’s not fair to him that we talk about this.”

Lucanis shook his head and made a dismissive hand gesture at your apology.

“It’s my fault. I asked,” he said and got up from his seat. “I should get back.”

Spite suddenly jumped up as if someone had set fire to him.

“NO!” Spite hissed loudly. “No leaving. TALK TO RIVER!”

You jumped at the sound.

“What is his problem?” you asked.

“Everything,” Lucanis answered tiredly. “I cannot get a moments peace from him these days. Ignore him.”

Lucanis suddenly groaned in discomfort and put a hand to his head as if in pain.

“Lucanis?” you said and put a hand on his shoulder.

He pushed you away and the discomfort of whatever he was going through seemed to get worse. He was fighting against Spite for control, you realized. You weren’t sure what to do. Suddenly he stopped struggling.

“…Lucanis?”

He opened his eyes, and they were glowing purple. Spite in Lucanis’ body smiled at you.

“Now. We talk,” Spite said, his voice a mix between his own and Lucanis’.

“Get out,” you warned. “Now, Spite.”

“No,” he said. “Help Lucanis. Make him talk. Make him free us.”

“Free you from where?”

“He is not HERE,” Spite said firmly. “Never left. The prison...”

You didn’t understand. Lucanis was here. You vaguely remembered something from your training back in Rivain: spirits are beings of emotions. Mental and emotional states can be interpreted as very literal by them.

“Help US!”

“I…” you said. “I don’t know how.”

Spite let out a growl of frustration. You saw his body twitch and his eyes turned brown again. He looked at you with so much concern. He looked you over as if he might have hurt you in some way.

“I’m so sorry, River,” he said. “I should never have come here.”

He rushed out the door before you could even react.

Viago came and got you from your laboratory. He explained briefly that someone wanted to talk to you, but he was unsure about what. He led you into a room with Rook and two strangers. You froze a bit. One of the strangers was a Qunari. You frowned slightly when you saw them.

“You’re River, right?” Rook asked in that sugary sweet voice of hers.

“I am,” you answered coldly, still looking at the Qunari.

The Qunari were all over Rivain to the point that some of the societies there took to the Qun as well. Your village had not been one of them. Your village had stuck to the old pantheistic beliefs and shunned the Qunari and their faith. Needless to say, Antaam or not, you were not a fan.

The Qunari smiled at you.

“You’re a seer, right?” the Qunari spoke with genuine excitement. “I’m Rivaini too. Not a seer though, but I like the whole talking-with-spirits-thing. Are you the only Rivaini Crow or are there others? Do you think—"

“Taash…” Rook interrupted.

“Sorry,” they answered.

You blinked at them in slight confusion. It was difficult to maintain your frown with just how eager and interested they seemed.

“It’s…complicated, and yes, currently…” you answered them briefly and then looked at Rook. “What is this about? Is Lucanis alright?”

“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Rook said. “Lucanis has briefly mentioned that you are able to communicate with Spite. Is that true?

You looked at the others and then back to Rook.

“Yes,” you answered curtly.

“Lucanis is…struggling right now,” she began explaining. “I’m not sure what to make of the whole thing and it’s not as if he is eager to share the burden with anyone. If you—”

You put a hand up to stop her.

“I won’t abuse Lucanis’ trust,” you said. “If he wants you to know something, he’ll tell you. I won’t go behind his back.”

Rook sighed softly.

“And I understand that,” Rook continued. “But I’m getting worried. We all are. We can’t help him unless we know what is going on.”

“Then talk to him,” you said a bit more harshly. “Look, I worry about him too and it is hard to get him to talk, but if he learns you went behind his back like this, it’ll only make him shut off more.”

Another sigh from Rook.

“I can’t talk to Spite, except for when he takes over Lucanis,” she said and then pointed to the other stranger behind her: an older man. “Emmrich can hear Spite, but he doesn’t know Lucanis as well as you do, so it’s difficult to make head and tails about what is going on.”

The older man stepped forward. He was a Mourn Watcher too, you guessed from his outfit.

“Spite says that he wants ‘out’,” Emmrich explained in a gentle tone. “He speaks about being trapped, but he claims that Lucanis is trapped too. This makes me believe that it is not actually a splitting of spirit and host that is Spite’s wish. We thought that perhaps you might have a theory to what is then?”

You looked from Emmrich to Rook’s pleading face. You hated this. Of course you wanted to help Lucanis, but you hated that it had to be this way.

“He trusts you,” Rook said. “Please help us help him...”

You groaned.

“Fine…” you said quietly.

You turned to look at Emmrich.

“Spite uses ‘we’ when he speaks about getting out,” you began explaining. “He has mentioned a prison. He says that Lucanis never left, and that they are stuck there, but I don’t think it’s a literal prison. That’s just how Spite sees it because he’s a spirit. He has asked me to help but…I’m not sure how.”

“Never left…” Rook mused. “He’s still stuck in the Ossuary but in his…mind?”

“Something like that,” you said and shrugged.

“Ah,” Emmrich said with a thoughtful expression. “So, Lucanis is stuck in the past, and Spite perceives the past as a literal prison that they need to be freed from. Without solving whatever unfinished business Lucanis has in the past, he will not be able to free both of them.”

Rook looked between you and Emmrich.

“So…killing Zara?” Rook said. “Would that do it?”

“Revenge could certainly be a start, I would imagine,” Emmrich said.

You nodded.

“Then that’s what’s first on the agenda from now on,” Rook said and made a gesture for them to leave.

The others went out of the room. Rook stayed behind for a moment to talk to you in private.

“And thank you for this,” she said. “I care about him.”

You sighed and nodded. You had figured as much…

“Me too,” you said quietly.

Rook gave you a small smile and started heading towards the door. You grabbed her wrist before she could leave. She looked from your grip on her to your face with a puzzled expression.

You weren’t even sure what you wanted to say to her, but something made you do it. Your breath hitched and you felt tears prick at your eyes before you looked up at her.

“I can’t lose him again, Rook,” you said. “Please take care of him for me.”

Rook’s expression softened. She turned around to face you fully and put her hand over yours. She gave you a gentle smile.

“I will. I promise,” she said and squeezed your hand. “Can I ask…? What were you to him? Before the Ossuary and all of that, I mean…”

You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to stop the tears, but one rolled down your cheek anyway. You looked at the floor in front of you. No answer came out, but Rook knew anyway. She smiled.

“I thought so,” she said quietly. “With the way he speaks about you.”

Another tear rolled down before you could stop it. Gods, you hated crying in front of strangers. Especially her. You looked up at her.

“Things change,” you simply said.

She gave you a lighter smile.

“Things do change, yes. People and their feelings? Less so,” she said and squeezed your hand one last time before letting you go. “Thank you for this, River.”

It did not take long before Rook’s plans were set in action. You were in the laboratory when Illario came in. He came over and kissed your cheek.

“I’m leaving,” he said. “I will see you tonight after we are done.”

Your brow furrowed in confusion before setting down the equipment in your hands.

“It’s early,” you noted. “After you’re done with what? I thought you were finishing things up here like you said you would.”

He leaned in with a smile and placed a kiss on your lips.

“Rook and Lucanis are going after Zara Renata,” he explained and looked you in the eyes. “I want to be there.”

You pulled your head back from his close proximity a bit. You did not like the sound of that. Especially if this was Lucanis’ only chance at making peace with whatever was going on with him.

“Why? Why do you want to be there for that?”

Illario pulled his head back in turn, looking as if offended at the ridiculousness of your question.

“Venatori killed my grandmother and imprisoned my cousin,” he said. “Of course, I want to be there.”

You let out a small breath. It took everything to not roll your eyes. It took everything to not say ‘Illario, this isn’t about you.’.  In fact, he was the only Dellamorte that the Venatori hadn’t touched. If the revenge of what happened belonged to anyone, it was Lucanis who had been imprisoned and tortured for a year.

You shook your head slightly. There was no talking him out of it, you knew that much. You hoped that Lucanis would ask him to stay behind. You were worried that Illario might make a bigger mess of things than necessary.

“Just…” you began. “Be careful, yeah?”

“I always am.”

Joke of the century, you thought. He kissed you goodbye and left. The feeling that Illario would fuck something up haunted you after he left the room.