While Rook hadn't actually prepared herself for the evening, the celebration of life Evka had planned turned out to be perfect. She'd invited everyone who had ever known Davrin, even Uncle Eldrin, and had made sure they all felt welcome in the halls of Kal'Sharok. Stalgard, the stalwart dwarf they'd met some ten years ago, was there to officiate the evening and introduce everyone who wanted to speak on Davrin's behalf. There were so many tales being passed around about the monster hunter elf that Rook wasn't sure the evening would ever end. But one look at her partner and she knew that there was one. He saw it. With every story, he saw his end. They would all remember him as the dedicated hunter who was up for anything, and he would only be able to cling to those memories until they were no more.
Her heart broke for him with every glance they stole.
It was supposed to be different now. All the archdemons were gone. All the Elvhen gods, the old gods, were defeated. There was nothing else left to sing to the darkspawn. And yet, he heard the call all the same. It started as a whisper, he'd said: low and droning... something he could ignore. But it grew with each passing day into a low thrum he could no longer push to the back of his mind. Now he described it like a choral arrangement constantly playing in the background. It enthralled him.
Magic never ceased to be a mystery to Rook. Just when she thought she'd seen it all, something new would come along to challenge everything she thought she knew. Over the years, she'd learned to just roll with it, and now, this was no exception. She'd found Emmrich in the laboratory doing his own investigations into the anomaly that was the Lighthouse and when she explained what had happened in Davrin's guesthouse his face lit up. She barely understood what she was saying but it seemed to make perfect sense to him.
"So a secret? Our secret?" Lucanis asked, raising a brow slightly.
"I mean, Viago and Teia know it as well, but from everyone else? Yes, our secret," she agreed, squeezing him with the arm she had around his waist. A soft smile pulled at the corner of her lips.
Knowing that they were sharing this bit of intimacy, he wondered how much more intimacy they would be sharing. He decided this was as good a time as any to ask. "And are we keeping anything else secret?" he questioned, lowering his voice slightly as he leveled his gaze with hers.
She felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she picked up the undertone of his question...
Rook stirred in the bed, stretching her arms out both ways only to find both sides empty. Lucanis had been sitting in a chair at the table by the door sipping a coffee and got up when he heard the sheet rustling. "Davrin?" Rook said as she sat up slowly and looked around, trying to get her bearings. Her gaze found Lucanis as he sat on the bed next to her. "Lucanis... where's Davrin?" she asked, panic slowly creeping into her voice. She looked around the room wildly, almost expecting him to jump out of the wardrobe.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
thanks to @hyperions-light for the list. I figured I'd do a bit of backstory on Xera de Riva before jumping straight into her fic. These aren't posted on AO3 (yet) so y'all get to enjoy them first!
10. Rook attending a funeral.
For all the death that surrounded Xeraphina de Riva’s life, one would have thought she’d be more comfortable at funerals, but they always managed to make her uneasy. Normally, she didn’t have any affiliation with her targets, so seeing their lifeless bodies never affected her. They were just people. Sure, they likely had families - they probably had stories - but she didn’t know any of them. She didn’t care.
She hadn’t even had the courage to attend Dante’s service after he was murdered by Emil Kortez all those years ago. While she hadn’t exactly been fond of the man, he was the closest thing to a father she had. In some sick, twisted way, she loved him and because of the special, inexplicable place he held in her heart, she couldn’t bear to see him like that.
This funeral was different though. Lucanis Dellamorte was different. They hadn’t been friends long, maybe three years at the most, but she somehow felt closer to him than even Viago or Teia. He got her to a level she’d never shared with anyone before, and she finally felt seen. She’d never felt more alone in the past year he’d been away and now… well now that feeling was likely to never leave.
Because of that, she found herself holding onto a childish hope that everyone had been mistaken and the body the Venatori had sent back to Caterina hadn’t been Lucanis. After all, there was no way it could be him, right? He was the best of the best. Like Xera, he’d been trained his whole life for this. It was part of what brought them close to one another. He was the Demon of Vyrantium, the one who had walked out of Ambrose Forfex’s party, leaving a wake of dead mages behind him. There was no way that man could have been captured so easily.
Viago had been the one to tell her about Lucanis. He’d been the one to catch her as her vision blurred for half a second and she lost her balance. He’d been the one to tell her about the viewings, even invite her to the Talon’s only evening saying he’d deal with Caterina’s wrath. She’d thanked him but ultimately passed, saying she didn’t even know if she could go to any of the viewings. She knew she would though. - she had to see for herself – she just didn’t want Viago there to see her if she broke down.
It had been a week since the news broke of Lucanis’ death. The Talon’s only viewing had been the previous day and tonight was the night anyone was welcome to come pay their respects to the grandson of Caterina Dellamorte. She wore a knee length black dress with a sweetheart neckline. Black lace covered her shoulders, chest, and neck, extending down her slender arms to her wrists. She’d swept her curly black locks into a bun that hung low at the back of her head and positioned a black headband just at her ears. She pinned a black lace veil to the band and flipped it forward to hide her face. It wasn’t just Viago she didn’t want seeing her reaction.
Solemnly, she made her way through the Chantry doors, laughing softly to herself at how much Lucanis would have detested knowing he was being honored here. While he may have claimed to be an Andrastian to Caterina’s face, they both knew he wasn’t the most devout and would rather have been honored literally anywhere else. Her black heels clicked softly in the murmured silence of the Chantry Hall as she made her way to the front, passing groups of various Crows talking quietly amongst themselves. No one paid her any attention.
The closer she got to the open casket sitting at the end of the main aisle, the slower she found herself moving. What are you doing? She asked internally, finding herself having second thoughts over whether she really wanted to do this to herself. She had to, she knew she did. There was no way she could avoid it.
Weaving her fingers together, she held her hands at her front, both as a sign of respect and to stop them from shaking as she drew closer. She kept her eyes locked on the closed half of the casket until she reached its side and then slowly let her gaze travel to the open half, her breath catching in her throat as she looked down at the man lying there.
It was him.
She felt a knot coil in the pit of her stomach as grief crashed down on her like a wave in a storm. Lifting a hand, she pressed her fingertips to her lips to quell the small sob that rose in her throat. She stood there in silence for a moment, just staring at his face. It broke her heart to know she’d never see his smile again. That her final memory of him would forever be this peaceful, tranquil look. It wasn’t normal.
Slowly, she removed her hand from her lips and moved to place it softly on his cheek, rubbing her thumb lightly over his skin. “Oh, Lucanis,” she breathed quietly, as the wave of emotion she’d been fighting back finally won and a single tear slipped down her cheek. With her other hand she lifted her veil slightly, enough to expose the lower part of her face and leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead before standing back up and letting the veil fall again. She studied his serene face for a moment more before turning to leave, her hands balling into tight fists the further from the casket she got.
By the time she got to the door to the Chantry, all the grief she’d felt had been replaced by anger. Now that she’d confirmed for herself that he was really gone, there was only one thing left she felt she could do. She’d make those responsible for his death pay. She didn’t know who she’d be hunting or how she’d find them, she just knew that she couldn’t let them get away with it. She’d have to be careful of course. If Viago found out what she was planning, he’d never let her leave the Diamond alone. But she couldn’t just do nothing.
She stopped at the doorway, placing a hand lightly on the frame as she turned back around for one more glance at the scene before her. “Maker forgive me for what I must do,” she whispered before dipping her head and making her way back to the Diamond.
I was tagged by @theelderdemon and will be sharing the last line of both chapters I just finished from two different fics cause I can!
Blood & Trust (PGCoD)
Rook didn’t answer, but the way she burrowed closer to him was all he needed. And for the first time since the ball, Lucanis allowed himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, the two of them would make it through this together.
Tread Lightly - TTC
Rook blinked once as she brought herself back into the moment, then laughed softly as she nodded. “Yeah. I’d like that. Thank you,” she held up her mug as her companion topped her off with the rich, dark liquid. Though the two events were a decade apart, the looming dread of what was to come felt the same. This time, however, she truly believed they’d make it through.
~~~~~~~~~
I know a lot of my mutuals have already done this so if you have and I tag you feel free to ignore it or drop a new line but I'm tagging @vorchagirl @silurisanguine @antivan-sprig @bubblecat-co and anyone else who would like to do this!
