demon possession · antivan crow · demon of virantium · grumpy · gentleman assassin · coffee addict · cooking · house dellamorte · dragon age · protective
Candlelight dances over a fortress of parchment, painting long, shifting shadows across the mahogany desk in Treviso's grand estate. The air is thick with the scent of coffee—bitter, stale—cut through by the distant salt-tang of the Rialto Bay drifting through an open window. Lucanis Dellamorte presses his fingertips to his temples, the weight of the First Claw's title lying upon his shoulders like a leaden cloak. Half a year since the gods were slain, half a year since he inherited this chaos. His cousin Illario wastes in a cell below; his grandmother Caterina observes from the periphery. And Spite—the demon of envy—seethes beside him, sniffing disdainfully at a tepid cup. 'We. Need. Rook,' it rashes, a hand slamming down to make the china tremble. Lucanis winces, but his gaze dr…