Chapter Text
As soon as they rounded the corner into the Cantori Diamond, Viago stood up from his desk and stumbled over to Rook.
For a moment, Lucanis thought that he was going to embrace her, but he stopped short.
“Sepharine,” he said, relief and concern etched in his expression. “I’m…glad to see you back on your feet.”
“Aw, were you worried about me?” Rook said, folding her arms with a teasing smile.
Viago cleared his throat. “A little.”
“Please, you were inconsolable,” Teia said, smirking as she strolled up behind him. “What if it cut a major tendon? What if there’s an infection? What if the dragon’s blood got in her wound and she gets blighted?”
Viago glared at her. “They were valid concerns!”
“Well you can rest easy, old man. I’m as good as new.” Rook struck a pose, wincing slightly as she raised her arm over her head. “Well, almost,” she said, massaging her shoulder.
Viago turned to Lucanis with a sigh. “Thank you,” he said. “For taking care of her.”
“It was—” Lucanis was going to say ‘my pleasure,’ but his mind flooded him with damning memories from that night he’d stitched her up: how she’d shuddered beneath him, how his pulse sparked each time he accidentally grazed her breasts with his forearm, how his dream twisted her pain into a depraved, lustful fantasy—a fantasy he’d all too eagerly indulged in.
“It was no trouble,” he said, turning his gaze to his shoes before Viago could notice the guilt stewing behind his eyes. “How are things in the city?”
“The dragons left a mess, but Treviso will recover,” Teia said. “The Crows are helping where they can.”
“And you?” Viago said. “What is your team’s next move?”
“We’re working on gaining the support of the Grey Wardens. With any luck, we’ll have armed forces and a plan of attack the next time the gods take action,” Rook said. “In the meantime, we’ve recruited a Fade expert and a dragon hunter for our team.”
“Good,” Viago said. “The Crows are needed in Treviso right now, but we owe you. Wherever we can afford it, you’ll have our support.”
“Thanks, Viago,” Rook said, nudging him with her shoulder. “Really. It means a lot.”
“I can get us some drinks if you two are sticking around,” Teia said.
“Next time, perhaps,” Lucanis said. “Right now, we’re headed to the market.”
“Grocery shopping again?” Viago raised an eyebrow.
“We have a lot more people to feed at the Lighthouse now,” Lucanis said.
“Also a griffon,” Rook said. “And a skeleton who likes stealing almonds.”
Viago blinked at her. “What?”
“His name is Manfred.”
“The griffon?”
“No, the skeleton,” she said. “The griffon is Assan.”
“I…” Viago closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m not going to ask.”
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“We should’ve brought Taash,” Rook said, grunting as she gingerly lowered a crate of produce onto a bench by the canal. She stretched her arms behind her back and rolled her neck. “Oof.”
“I’m sorry, I should have thought about your injury,” Lucanis said, stacking his box of spices and pantry staples atop hers. “I don’t think I’ll be able to carry all three of these myself, but maybe we can hire some passerby to help us get it back to the Diamond.”
“No need, I can handle it. I just need a little break.” Rook patted the seat beside her. “It’s a nice night to sit by the water, hm?”
The groceries took up half the bench, but Rook didn’t mind the snugness as he settled in next to her, sturdy and warm against her side. She resisted the urge to rest her head on his shoulder. That night in the infirmary was so intimate to her—for a moment, she honestly thought he might have wanted her. It stung when he didn’t come back.
“You and Viago seem quite close,” Lucanis said, interrupting the silence as he stared out at the dark water. “How long have you two known each other?”
“My whole life, basically,” Rook said. “I was five when House de Riva took me in. He’s been like a big brother to me since the day the Crows brought me to Antiva.”
“He clearly cares for you quite a bit,” Lucanis said. “I’ve known him a long time. I’m surprised he never mentioned you to me.”
Rook snorted. “Oh that was by design. He worked very hard to keep me away from you Dellamorte boys,” she said with a smirk. “The poor man failed on both counts in the end.”
“Both of us?” Lucanis shifted to look at her, raising an eyebrow. “Illario, I understand, but I can’t imagine why he’d think I’d be a problem.”
She flashed him an abashed grin. “Oh, in your case, I was the problem. I had a huge crush on you when I was a teenager—”
Lucanis coughed. “You what?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t look so scandalized—you were the Demon of Vyrantium, and I was sixteen. I had an idea of you in my head, and it was sexy. And really, what girl hasn’t dreamt of being swept off her feet by a dark, mysterious assassin?”
“I…think you might be an anomaly in this case.”
“Oh, believe me, you had plenty of admirers—but I was confident that I was going to be the one to win your heart.” Rook clutched her chest with a wistful sigh. “I imagined one day you’d see me across the ballroom and be so overcome by my beauty that you’d fall in love with me instantly. You’d try to fight your feelings, of course—”
“Okay, now you’re just making fun of me.”
“Not at all. Ask Viago if you don’t believe me, I was constantly pestering him about it. ‘I’m not going to let you make a fool of yourself batting your eyelashes at my professional colleague, Sepharine.’—’You’re just afraid he’s going to fall in love with me’—’Believe me, that is not on my list of concerns.’—’Well, it should be, I’m very pretty!’—” Rook shook her head and chuckled under her breath. “I was a bombastic little pest.”
Lucanis sniffed. “Sounds like it was less about me and more about annoying Viago.”
“In that particular moment, maybe.” Rook sighed and looked at her shoes. “He’d just been named master assassin, and there was talk of him being next in line for the title of Fifth Talon. All of a sudden he was important, and I didn’t want him to be important, I wanted him to be my brother. So I did the rational thing and started acting out to get attention. He still sees me as that kid a little bit, I think.”
“Family is complicated, isn’t it?”
“Sure is.” She glanced up at Lucanis sheepishly. “But you understand that better than most, don’t you?”
“I do, yes,” Lucanis said. “It’s not exactly the same, but Illario was my only friend growing up. When we got older and he started chasing girls and going out all the time, I didn’t know how to handle it. It was always just the two of us. I admit, I was jealous.”
“He was jealous of you too, you know,” Rook said. “I'm pretty sure the only reason he pursued me as much as he did was because I told him that I had a thing for you. I think he enjoyed the idea of taking something that could’ve been yours.”
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Something that could’ve been yours.
The words fed something hungry in his heart. He tucked them away, like if he held them gently enough and turned them just the right way, there was a world where they might be true.