Fae Rin🌻

Viago’s coronation was a soirée of all the things she hated. Politics, niceties, formalities, and ceremony. She was halfway through her third glass of wine when she realized she had indulged too heavily in drinks. The room tilted. She staggered to keep herself upright. Fuck, she thought. Viago is going to kill me.

Pulling her hood over her head and her mask over her face, she slunk off, into the shadows of the grand hall in hopes of avoiding him and thereby his ire. Most of the other Talons were here, but Caterina Dellamorte had yet to arrive. The idea of the First Talon not attending set her on edge. Her absence would effectively tell the other houses that she did not support Viago’s rise to power. If such problems began plaguing Viago’s rule so quickly…

She ran into something, which was entirely unlike her. There shouldn’t be a pillar here…

There was not a pillar there. As she turned, her narrowed eyes met a pair of brown ones. Lucanis Dellamorte. She would recognize him anywhere. Even here, in this low light where he was unexpected.

“You—”

He placed a finger over her lips.

Alarm shot through her, immediately sobering her up as she considered every implication of him sneaking around House de Riva.

“I can explain—”

She shoved his hand away, brandished her dagger, and aimed it at his throat in a single, swift motion. “Then you’d better do so quickly,” she warned.

“This is an overreaction I assure you—”

“Explanation. Now.”

Lucanis sighed. He seemed far too comfortable at knife point for her liking. She hated how in-control he seemed, even though she should be the one in power in this situation. “I arrived a few minutes ago. Caterina will be here soon, but she wanted me to tell Viago that she was running late.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you were sneaking around.”

He lifted his shoulders in a casually helpless manner. “I’m not particularly fond of crowds. I thought I might save myself the headache of small talk by remaining… inconspicuous.”

She didn’t believe him. But of course she didn’t believe him. What kind of lame excuse was that? ‘Oh, I’m feeling shy so I had to slink around in darkness at another house’s celebration’? Please.

“The death of the former Fifth Talon must have Viago on edge,” Lucanis observed. “Just how many of House de Riva’s Crows are patrolling from the shadows this evening?”

She realized he had misinterpreted their meeting and mistaken her status. Well, she wasn’t about to correct him on either accounts. “That’s not for you to know,” she said. “Just know that House de Riva is always watching.”

He bowed in an almost mocking manner. “I will keep that in mind.”

Tsking, she withdrew her weapon from his neck. “You’d better, Dellamorte.”

He remained unbothered, the corner of his lips even turning more upwards as he spoke again. “Now, may I continue on my way?”

Irked into spitefulness by his dismissive demeanor, she practically bared her teeth at him when she said, “no. If what you say is true, you should have no problem with me accompanying you to see the Fifth Talon.”

“You’re a suspicious one, aren’t you? I can’t imagine why being in a room full of assassins would put someone on such high alert.”

Her expression remained flat. “Let’s go.”

She resisted the urge to push him forward, into the light of the party. He may have been caught sneaking around House de Riva, but he was still the grandson of the First Talon. She wouldn’t get away with mistreating him too much. Unfortunately.

Fortunately, Lucanis followed her without argument or complaint. She got the vague sense that he was amused by her display, which only served to make her more irritated.

She wove through the assemblage of assassins as she brought herself and the Demon of Vyrantium before Viago.

She removed her hood and mask. He regarded her with a silent question, to which she answered by flicking her head in Lucanis’s direction. Viago was good at politics, unlike her, so he was able to keep his expression polite as he greeted the First Talon’s grandson.

“Lucanis,” he practically sung, making her wince. Nothing made her more uneasy than watching Viago charm someone. So used to the cold, direct way he spoke to her, it simply felt… wrong to see him like this; as though she were staring at some unknown creature parading around in his skin. “Good of you to stop by… I assume on behalf of the First Talon? I hope nothing has happened to her?”

“Not at all,” said Lucanis. “We had a bit of trouble with our carriage, so she sent me ahead to inform you of the situation and assure you that she will be attending your celebration.”

The unpracticed eye would not have caught the flicker of relief flash across Viago’s face. “Ah, I see. Thank you for going out of your way to tell me this. Please, enjoy the festivities our house has to offer. We are all very honored to host the members of House Dellamorte tonight.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucanis flashed her a smug look that seemed to say told you so; which she thought was ridiculous. It wasn’t like she wanted to be right. Clicking her tongue, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the ballroom. If she had to spend one more second in this torturous environment, she would start making everyone else’s problem. Especially Viago’s. It would cost her, but it would serve him right for making her attend this stupid party.

As she left, Lucanis turned back to Viago.

“I don’t recognize her. One of your new Crows?”

Viago shook his head. “She’s still a Fledgling. We’re… close, so I had her attend…” Then, his eyes narrowed as though he suspected he already knew the answer to his question before he asked it. “Why? Did she say something to upset you? She’s never been good at playing nice.”

A ghost of a smile danced over Lucanis’s face. “Not at all. She’s amusing.”

Viago snorted. “That’s one way to put it.”

- + - + - + -

so, when i was 9, my parents gifted me this huge collection of books. among them, was a simplified version of the oddessey. i read it. i LOVED it. my little 9-year-old self put herself through the unnecessary effort of reading the original epic poem. (behind my parent’s backs because i thought i was doing it illegally—found it online lol) (i didn’t understand it at all but with my little simplified version to guide me, i could pretend to lol)

i was OBSESSED and little did i know that odysseus had already impacted me so greatly & would basically become the baseline by which i would judge all other heroes.

basically, if they weren’t crafty, i DID NOT WANT THEM.

additionally, my hatred for poseidon? 📈📈📈

9 year old faerin was all like man FUCK that guy. & the more i learned about greek mythology, the more i hated his ass. ESPECIALLY since i wanted to be like odysseus, i wanted to be favored by athena, and i hated poseidon for competing with her for athens and attacking (my child mind understood it as attacking, thank the gods i didn’t read more deeply into it at the time) one of athena’s priestesses.

so, basically, what it comes down to is even though i tried multiple times to get into the percy jackson series, i simply could not get over the mental barrier that was the idea of reading about a son of POSEIDON. ugh.

i was a 9-year-old poseidon HATER lmaooooo

and now, at 23, i’m still a poseidon hater and i STILL can’t get into the percy jackson series LMAOOOO

still kinda wish i could tho…

it looks like fun…