Cassian arched a brow. “And you? Were you a good little envoy, or did you enjoy the view?”
“Drop it,” Riven said, a little too fast.
They didn’t push. To their credit, neither of them usually did when he truly shut down. But the air shifted as the conversation slipped into something heavier.
He leaned back against the hallway wall, crossing his arms. “Do either of you know anything about the Hollow Hand?”
Cassian blinked. “That’s a sharp pivot.”
“Yeah, well. I’m curious.”
The twins exchanged a look.
“I mean, not much,” Luca admitted. “It was before our time. Long before we were working with the family. Just stories.”
Riven frowned. “Nothing useful?”
Cassian shrugged. “We know what most people know. The Hollow Hand were Houseless, renegade, ruthless. Specialized in Great House hits. For a while, they were terrifyingly effective.”
“They killed a few Matriarchs,” Luca said quietly.
Cassian nodded. “And a few others. Including Thane’s father.”
That made Riven look up. “What?”
“You didn’t know?” Luca asked, brows raised. “It’s kind of how all this started.”
Cassian leaned on the wall next to Riven. “Thane’s father was the Virellien heir. People said Thane used to follow him like a shadow. He was maybe seventeen, eighteen when the Hollow Hand made their move.”
“Targeted the Matriarch,” Luca supplied. “Got him instead.”
The hallway was too quiet. Riven couldn’t breathe.
“Thane lost it after that,” Cassian went on, voice lower now. “Signed up for every mission. Took the ones no one wanted, the ones where no one came back. He made it his whole fucking life.”
“It’s how he earned the name,” Luca said. “The Beast. The Knife.”
Riven’s throat worked around something that didn’t want to go down.
It made sense now. The simmering fury in Thane’s voice when he’d mentioned the Hollow Hand. The careful way he’d chosen his questions. The unreadable stillness that had followed Sorrell’s warning. It wasn’t fear.
It washistory.
Blood in the water.
Riven let out a breath. “Fuck.”
Cassian watched him. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just…” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t be feeling sympathy for the guy who dragged me into all this.”
“You’re not the first to get tangled up in him,” Luca said, “and you won’t be the last.”
Cassian bumped Riven’s shoulder. “You sure you don’t want to stay tangled? We could all use a little company tonight.”
Riven snorted. “You two arerelentless.”
“We’re fun,” Luca corrected.
