My official new hyperfocus... Chapter Three: The Second Talon
Ah!! Okay here is Chapter Three! Again, I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for the positivity so far!
Cheers!
Chapter Three: The Second Talon
The first few days at House Dellamorte passed in silence.
Lucanis was still unconscious, his condition fluctuating between fever and stillness.
Rook had done her best to stay out of the way.
But House Dellamorte didn’t allow for anonymity.
She wasn’t just another Crow anymore—she was living among the most powerful people in the organization.
Men who smiled like invitations and spoke like promises.
And eventually, someone was going to want to know who the hell she was.
That someone turned out to be Illario Dellamorte.
She felt him before she saw him.
Not in the way that crawled up your spine, but in the way some men announce themselves without needing to speak.
A slow, deliberate shift of presence. Measured footsteps. A confidence that said, I am here because I want to be, and you will acknowledge it.
Still, when he finally spoke, his voice was surprisingly warm. Calculated.
“I was beginning to think you didn’t actually exist.”
Rook glanced up from where she sat on a stone bench overlooking the courtyard, idly flipping a knife between her fingers.
Her eyes flicked over him, assessing.
Handsome. Polished. His Crow leathers looked custom-tailored, the silver embroidery catching the dim light of the terrace lanterns.
His presence was deliberate, but his footsteps were casual.
A man who knew exactly how much space he took up in a room.
“Disappointed?” Rook asked flatly.
Illario chuckled, stepping closer.
“No, just curious.” He leaned against the low stone wall, arms folded.
“I like to know the people Caterina trusts. It’s a rare honor.”
Rook resisted the urge to shift under his gaze.
He was reading her. Not in an obvious way, but in the way all Dellamortes did.
Like every word, every movement, was a game piece being moved into place.
She flicked the knife back into her palm.
“And what makes you think she trusts me?”
“She let you live here,” he said simply.
She smirked.
“Maybe she just doesn’t think I’m a threat.”
Illario tilted his head, his eyes flicking over her like he was considering something.
Then, he smiled.
Sharp. Easy. Disarming.
“Funny,” he murmured. “That’s exactly what Lucanis used to say.”
That—made her pause.
Not because it was a clever answer, but because he’d brought up Lucanis first.
Not Caterina. Not Viago.
Lucanis.
Illario exhaled, glancing out at the courtyard. “I won’t pretend to know why she sent you here. But if it was to help him?” His voice softened. “Then I’m glad you’re here.”
He said it without hesitation. Without any hint that he doubted Lucanis’s return, or questioned what had happened to him.
He was good.
Too good.
Rook narrowed her eyes slightly. “You seem awfully sure about all of this.”
Illario smiled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She expected him to stop there—to give her some evasive, easy answer.
But instead, he kept talking.
“I grieved him,” he said quietly. “I hated every moment of it. And now? He’s home.”
He shook his head, a small, private smile tugging at his lips. “This is the happiest I’ve seen Caterina in years.”
Rook studied him.
There was something honest in his voice. Or at least, something that sounded honest.
She leaned back slightly, tilting her head. “And what about you?”
Illario blinked. “What about me?”
“You don’t sound like you’re just happy for Caterina,” she said slowly. “You sound like you missed him.”
A flicker. A crack. Then, gone.
Then—he exhaled, rubbing a hand down his face. When he looked back at her, his smile was lopsided, like he was laughing at himself.
“I spent five years trying to fill the space he left behind,” he admitted. “Not just as Second Talon, but—” He hesitated. “As family.”
Rook swallowed.
That part sounded real.
Too real.
“Lucanis and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but we were raised together.” His fingers curled slightly against the stone. “There were days I thought about what I’d say to him if I ever saw him again. And now?”
He shook his head, exhaling a quiet laugh.
“…I don’t even know where to start.”
He looked at her then, his gaze focused, intent.
“But maybe you do.”
Rook blinked. “What?”
Illario smiled. Slow. Amused.
“Viago trusts you.” His voice was casual, but the weight behind it wasn’t. “Which means Lucanis will trust you.”
Rook exhaled slowly. “And that matters to you because—?”
Illario chuckled.
“Because I want my cousin back.”
(A beat. Then—)
“And I want us all on the same side again.”