Chapter 114: A chat about intentions
Finally, Lord Blackburn’s lips turned up slightly, and Cass understood why Sam had been so weirded out when Cass had done it.
Lord Blackburn looked extra villainous when he smiled. He was a hot villain, but still a villain nonetheless. Cass wondered if he still looked like that when he smiled. It made sense now why Sam told him what he had when he’d done it.
"You go by Cass, yes?" Lord Blackburn said and Cass nodded.
"My full name is Caspian, but Cass is what my sister called me." Lord Blackburn’s expression tightened.
"You had a sister?" He asked carefully and Cass nodded.
"Yeah. She’s about to pop out a niece or nephew any day now." Cass puffed his chest out slightly, proud of her. She’d put in the work, gotten a good job, a person who cared about her, and she was moving on with her life. She was making him proud, as a younger sibling. Lord Blackburn examined Cass, looking at his expressions and movements.
"I see." He paused for a moment. "So you have people who are waiting for your return." Cass’ heart squeezed and he gave a bitter smile, looking down at the white table between them. Raising his hand, he began to press his finger against one of the patterns he saw in the tabletop.
"No. I’ve died, Lord Blackburn. As much as they are gods, they can’t revive the dead." The words hurt coming out of his mouth. "I just wanted to pass on, but they..." He sighed. "It’s not important. This is your decision." Cass glanced up at him, and Lord Blackburn was frowning as he stared at him.
"I’m sorry to hear that." Lord Blackburn told him and Cass chuckled, giving him a weak grin.
"It’s okay. It was out of my control, and apparently, 20 or 30 years early. A disease was supposed to get me, not a falling piece of a building." That only made Lord Blackburn frown more and he sighed.
"Well, as much as you say this is my choice, I don’t think it is. This is your only option to keep on living, Caspian. While you are in control of me, you are also keeping me alive and...out of trouble." Lord Blackburn’s smirk was dark, devious, and as Cass knew, probably not meant that way.
"I’m doing my best." Cass replied. "But I keep butting heads with the other members of the hero party. Honestly, I’m planning to move away and into town, but because of the bite, I-" His face darkened.
"Yes. Lord Draken bit you." Lord Blackburn sighed again, raising his hand to press it against his eyes before he looked up at Cass again and Cass sat up straight. It was unintentional, but the look he was giving him was very serious, and Cass felt like he couldn’t slouch when speaking with him. "If I am honest with you, Caspian, it is quite...frustrating watching you accomplish what I couldn’t." Cass was confused.
"What am I doing that you weren’t able to?" Cass asked, meaning it. Lord Blackburn was a powerful, strong mage. What wasn’t he-oh. Cass caught on, and Lord Blackburn smirked.
"You’re quick to catch on. I’ve been with them for about...8 months? Probably more. You’ve made better connections with them in the month you’ve been here than I have the whole time I had. Admittedly, I didn’t think that they would be drawn to you as they are, but..." He exhaled. "Everyone likes surprises." Cass felt a shiver run down his spine and he felt a swell of anger take him.
"Oh, yeah, speaking of surprises." Cass started, smiling tightly. "What the hell is that? No, where does it come from? Do you have more answers, Lord Blackburn, because that? That’s not fucking normal." Cass started and Lord Blackburn blinked before he chuckled.
"You are quite quick to anger, aren’t you?" He teased, and Cass felt his face heat. He was, he knew it, and Lord Blackburn shouldn’t be saying shit.
"So are you." Cass countered and that only made Lord Blackburn laugh a little longer.
"Yes, I am. It’s good to see that we have some similar traits." Lord Blackburn was laughing, his eyes, which had been sharp, jagged rubies had softened to a liquid. "Caspian, I think that the gods were right to find you to take over for me. You are...a little softer compared to me, which is probably why so many people have been drawn to you, even as you occupy me. I have not seen any behaviour that I have disliked, well, mostly, but I wasn’t supposed to even remain while you took over." Lord Blackburn’s face twisted, a warped, twisted smile touching his lips as a sigh escaped. "For some reason I am unaware of, something far more nefarious is going on, and I have a few guesses as to what it stems from, but my best guess..." He trailed off.
"What’s your best guess, Lord Blackburn? It’s probably better than mine." Cass asked, leaning forward and Lord Blackburn stared at him. He remained silent for a few moments, and Cass held his breath. He wondered what Lord Blackburn thought when he looked over him. Was he disappointed? He probably looked more like Sam than any of the others, more basic compared to the...well, overwhelming attractiveness that everyone else had.
"My guess, Caspian, is that what we go through for a full week is probably related to why I am stuck behind while you try to save the world." Cass blinked at Lord Blackburn’s response. What? He bent forward, looking at the other man intensely.
"That tells me that you know a lot more than you are letting on. Why aren’t you telling me everything? Do you not trust me?" Cass asked desperately, and Lord Blackburn shook his head, a regretful expression on his face.
"No, it’s not that, Caspian. I just...it’s..." He looked like he was in pain as he covered his face with his hand. It was a measured, slow movement, and Cass watched the other man. Either this was practised, or Lord Blackburn just...felt things a little differently then Cass. He didn’t know which one he wanted to be true.
"Lord Blackburn." Cass started. "I already am missing so much of the story. I don’t know if you know this, but I read this world’s story in my own. The story I have access to is told from Lady Fiona’s perspective. There are many, many things I don’t know because of that. I know you have a hard time trusting people. I’ve experienced how they treat you, so I really get it. I do, but I need more information. I need to know what you were doing, what things you were up to while they were unaware. What things you had put into place. I don’t know if you...if what you had planned was the right thing to do, I just know that for some reason, those fuckers what me to stop it and...rehabilitate your image? They weren’t quite clear on what they wanted me to do beyond making sure that the ending of the story didn’t happen."
Lord Blackburn nodded, his shoulder’s moving as he sighed heavily. Cass waited. He had a feeling that Lord Blackburn was the kind of guy who needed time to think things through. All of the other outcomes racing through his mind as he sat in silence across from him.
"Caspian," He began, his hands still covering his face, "I’m not like you. I know you have seen what the others have treated me like before now, and have gotten angry on my behalf. I appreciate that, I do, but I still can’t fully trust you. I...I know you are in my body, treating my body well, but I...there are some things that I just can’t give up easily." Cass realised that he was asking a lot of the other man. He had wanted to just leave everything behind and let Cass deal with it, he probably didn’t want to have to give permission for parts of himself to be viewed.
It was one thing to hand everything over and let someone rifle through it, it was another thing entirely to have to watch them witness and experience everything you had from a third person perspective.
"I understand, Lord Blackburn. In my rush to try and get all the information I need, I’ve forgotten that you are also a person, and this must be hard for you. I doubt this is what you had in mind when the ’gods’ came to you, is it?" Cass said and Lord Blackburn uncovered his face, meeting Cass’ soft expression with one of confusion.
"Why are you showing me so much compassion? If you know how this story ends, you know what I had planned." Lord Blackburn stared at Cass, not blinking and Cass shrugged.
"I never got to know the reason for why you did it, just that in the end, it didn’t work." Cass said. "And I liked you, and Lord Ridgewood the most. You two were level-headed in most situations that the others were panicking in. I liked that about you two, and from a reading perspective, it was obvious that something else was going on with you. I was hoping that they weren’t going to go the villain route, but I was disappointed when they did. Now knowing a bit more of your background, it kind of feels like you had no other choice. If they hadn’t profiled you from the beginning, Lord Blackburn, I have a feeling that you would have told them why you needed the item." Lord Blackburn’s eyes widened, before he dropped his gaze.
"Lord Ridgewood and I, hmm?" He murmured, before he shook his head, chuckling. "I doubt that that man would be happy to hear that we were together in the same sentence." He chuckled. "Stay away from him, Caspian. I don’t know all of the interactions you’ve had with him, but he’s...dangerous to us. Along with Lord Vespertine. I doubt you have much of a choice when it comes to Lord Draken, and if I’m honest with you, I have a small part of me that is quite partial to him. It’s the fact that he is just...honest with himself, and his desires." Lord Blackburn’s cheeks were slightly flushed as he admitted that, and Cass smirked.
Yeah, partial. Man was in denial, but it wasn’t Cass’ place to tell him otherwise.
"Why? I’ve only had a few interactions with Lord Ridgewood so far, and he didn’t seem...terrible." Lord Blackburn stared at him before he sighed.
"Caspian, we all come from Duke families. You know what mine is like, so I can only imagine what theirs are like. Do you truly believe that they think Lady Fiona is just a normal hero? The Ridgewood family has served the royal family for generations. I am sure they are aware of the...peculiarities in Lady Fiona, and her eyes." Cass shouldn’t have been surprised that he was being so open with him about what he knew, but he was.
"I can’t imagine that all of the Duke families are as toxic as the Blackburn family, Lord Blackburn." Cass countered and he laughed.
"They created, no, allowed Edgar Vespertine to exist in a bloodline that hates demons, Caspian. The Vespertine family also controls most of the red light districts in the country as well. Do you honestly think that makes sense for a family that also runs the temple?" He asked and Cass frowned. He’d always just brushed it off as corruption, especially as he was reading, but now?
Yeah, he could see what Lord Blackburn was getting at. They might not be to the same level as the Blackburn family, but there was something going on in all of the families. Cass would need to be more careful going forward.
"But you have no problems with Draken getting closer?" Cass asked and Lord Blackburn’s cheeks flushed again. He coughed.
"Lord Draken is-"
"An asshole, Lord Blackburn. He never respects boundaries, and he’s a fucking dragon. He considers us his husband, and practically as property, especially since we are injured and ’weak’ in his mind." Cass told him and watched as Lord Blackburn blushed more.
"I am aware of what he has done." He replied and Cass realised that the man was more far gone then he thought. Cass smirked.
"Oh, you like like him." He teased and Lord Blackburn sputtered.
"I have no such feelings for-"
"It’s okay, Lord Blackburn. I’m gay. I’m not going to rat you out for liking the same gender." Cass told him with a smile. "Where I come from, it’s very normal. Some people still have issues with it, but they can go fuck themselves for all I care." Cass said with a grin, before the world around them began to distort.
Both men seemed confused by this, and then a light went off behind Lord Blackburn’s eyes.
"It must be time for you to wake up. I don’t know when we will be able to speak like this again, Caspian, but it was good to hear your thoughts from your mouth. Don’t...don’t worry about me as much as you do. I am fine. I don’t have to eat, and I can...rest. I get to rest now." Cass stared at the other man’s expression, and nodded. Anxiously, he reached out across the table, taking the other man’s hand in his own hand and gave it a squeeze, much to Lord Blackburn’s surprise.
"I’ll make sure that the body you get back is healthy, and that everyone likes you, Lord Blackburn. No more of this loner shit, alright? Fuck your grandfather, and the others." Cass told him, taking in the shock on his face before the area was too bright to look at.
The next time he opened his eyes, the sunlight was streaming in through the window and Sam’s gentle footsteps were moving around the space.
Wow.