Chapter 120: Speak for me again, I dare you
"Sam, let me do that." Draken’s voice spoke up, just as Sam was about to hand feed Cass since he couldn’t use his own hands. Cass froze, Sam froze, and Draken practically threw himself up and over the back of the loveseat in a great display of physical strength. He had a smile on his face, but his eyes were determined and Cass felt himself tense.
Now that he’d had a bit of time and space between them, he was embarrassed, and weary of the man. Draken, for once, seemed to be aware of his feelings without having to look internally at the forced bond. Draken’s smile was warm when he looked at the tense Cass, and the tense Sam.
"That isn’t necessary. Sam is perfectly capable." Cass countered and Draken put his hands on his hips, snorting as he flipped his long hair to the side.
"When did I say he wasn’t? Did you forget about yesterday, Cassian? I need to learn how to take care of you, and that involves hands-on experience. I’m not good with book learning." His grin as he tilted his head to the side made Cass’ heart stop.
God fucking damn it. There was a reason he had avoided them as much as he could. Cass was susceptible to a fucking pretty face. And Draken? The man was damn fucking pretty. It was another reason that Cass didn’t get mad at Lord Blackburn for having a crush on him. Cass completely understood, even if the man had done some unforgivable things.
Handsome was handsome, and the man was turning up the charm. Cass was in trouble.
He hoped that Lady Fiona showed up soon. Then he could kick him out under the pretense of ’needing some privacy’. Maybe he wouldn’t come back.
"Don’t you have something better to do with your time?" Cass said, the words sounding harsh and Draken narrowed his gaze.
"Not really. I’m not tied to a particular human family, and I don’t really have anyone I need to train. I usually hunt, oh, Sam, there’s a beast down below that you should probably deal with." Cass slid his gaze to Sam, who stared at Draken. Draken had a little smirk on his face, as if he’d won, and Cass couldn’t argue and say that he hadn’t. Byron was already doing something for him, and so was Sir Forsythe. It had to be Sam.
Damn it.
Sam sighed softly, straightening his back before he turned to Cass.
"My Lord, I’ll take Byron with me and walk him through the process so that next time Draken can contact Byron and he can take care of the meat he has so kindly given us." Sam’s voice dripped with contempt, and Draken laughed.
"Awe, your people are so funny, Cass. I really like them. Now, give it up, and I’ll feed him Sam." Draken approached, holding out his hand for the fork in Sam’s hand and Sam hesitated before he handed it over. Cass should have been upset that the two of them were behaving so strangely around him, but he couldn’t muster up the energy.
Parts of his body were pulsing with pain, his nipples were tingling, and the man had hugged some of his aggression out. What the hell was he supposed to say? He was already tired and he hadn’t even been awake for long. Should he just go back to bed? He could use it as an excuse to chase Draken away, and then when Lady Fiona arrived he could have Sam come wake him up?
Draken, sensing that he was thinking as Sam headed for the door, grabbed the chair he had used before and slid it back into place. Cass jerked as the man sat down, pulling the plate of snack foods that Sam had grabbed him towards Draken. He frowned as he looked over the small amount, and the variety.
"What are you thinking, hmm, Lord Blackburn? What is that big brain doing?" Draken mused, glancing up at Cass, his orange gaze teasing. Cass’ eyes were wide, surprised that Draken would even joke with him right now. He was...he was behaving differently. Better, actually. What had changed? Was it just his perception, or had the man actually made some changes to himself?
"I was thinking about going to bed." Draken narrowed his gaze, looking over Cass before he nodded.
"A smart plan." He said, stabbing a grape with the fork in his hand before he turned and raised it to Cass’ lips. Cass hesitantly took it off the fork, Draken’s smile full of pleasure as he watched Cass chew. "Or, after your snack, we could go over to the loveseat and you could use my thighs as a pillow." Cass coughed, nearly choking on the grape. Draken grabbed the tea saucer, and unlike yesterday, raised it quickly to his lips to help him swallow. He held onto the back of his head with his hand, making sure Cass didn’t spill on himself and after a few seconds of swallowing, Cass felt like he had control of his body.
Draken pulled back, staring at him carefully, a frown on his face.
"Thank you." Cass said. He wasn’t a monster. He could thank someone for when they helped him, even if they had practically gotten him into the situation.
"You’re far weaker than I thought." Draken muttered and Cass tensed.
"That’s not something you should say out loud." Cass warned, anger brewing under his skin again. Draken blinked, surprised, and scanned Cass. He realised that Cass was pissed and he let out a soft laugh.
"That’s not a bad thing, Cassian, I’m just not used to it. It’s why I need to learn." Draken said carefully, softly, and Cass hated that he was speaking to him like he was a weary animal and he was a predator.
He wasn’t fucking wrong, and that alone made him even more mad. He was a fucking deer, and Draken was a fucking wolf in this context. It was annoying to realise how easily he fit into the narrative he was creating in his head.
"Just feed me some grapes, Draken." Cass ordered on a sigh and Draken chuckled, releasing the back of Cass’ head.
"Yes sir." He said with a smile, getting to work. Cass ate in silence after that, and Draken was very serious about his duties.
They were almost finished with the plate of snacks when a knock sounded at the door.
"My Lord, Lady Fiona is here. Shall I let her in?" Sir Forsythe called and Cass felt his body stiffen. How the hell was she going to react when she found out that Draken was in his study with him? What was he even supposed to say? He knew out of everyone in the castle, she wasn’t going to report him cause he could easily turn around and point a finger at her.
Even if they were still together. After the argument he had overheard, he had no idea if that was the case anymore. He wanted to ask, but also knew it wasn’t his place to do so. They weren’t close.
Draken’s chuckle had him nearly jumping, not expecting him to make a noise. Sam rarely did.
"Ah, our wife has arrived. I’d like to brag a little, if that is alright with you, Cassian?" Brag? About what? Cass gave him a confused, horrified look and Draken laughed harder. "Why are you so surprised? I’m a dragon, after all. I like to rub my fortune in other’s faces." Cass didn’t think that was part of the lore that he knew, but who was he to tell Draken about being a dragon? He’d never be one.
"I don’t know how those two are related, but it isn’t as if I can hide the fact that you are here in any capacity from her." Cass muttered, and watched as Draken’s eyes glittered with happiness. Fuck. "Let her in!’ Cass called to Sir Forsythe and the door opened.
Lady Fiona was looking down at the ground first, before she raised her gaze and halted in her steps. It was clear she hadn’t even considered the scene before her, and Cass couldn’t blame her.
He’d never thought he’d be in a situation like this either.
Lady Fiona was wearing a pair of pants that flared out so that they didn’t show off her form as much as regular pants would, coming in tight around her ankles so that she could slip into her boots easier. She wore a corset top, with a fluffy, poofy shirt underneath that also hid her figure. It was a hard thing to do, since she had quite the bust, but she was attempting it. She also wore a little jacket, and the outfit was all in complementary colours. A sheath hung from her waist with a leather belt, and Cass was pleased to see that it was empty.
She could probably kill him with the sheath alone, but the lack of a sword was a statement that she meant no harm. Cass appreciated obvious signs like that, since what the hell could he do? He’d had no time to figure out how he used magic right now, and he was too exhausted from healing and all of the damage done to his body to even attempt it.
He just wanted to read in bed, but he couldn’t even do that.
Maybe he should learn how to turn pages with his power. It sounded difficult, but that would be a fucking skill. Flipping pages so he didn’t have to move a muscle? He’d have it fucking made.
"I was...actually looking for you all morning, Lucy. Were you here?" Lady Fiona asked carefully and Draken chuckled.
"I was hunting a beast for Cassian to eat. He needs more muscle on his bones. Doctor’s orders." Lady Fiona looked a little...hurt, but she quickly wiped it away. She nodded briskly.
"Good. Is he allowed to eat that?" She asked and Draken scoffed.
"Do you think that I would just get him food that I knew he couldn’t eat? I confirmed with Sam first." Draken had no idea what he’d just walked into. Or he might have full knowledge. Lady Fiona had done just that, and she was fighting her own bodily reactions to not make it obvious that she had.
"That...makes sense. Uh, I was hoping that Lord Cassian and I could have a moment alone?" Lady Fiona prompted and Draken snorted.
"I am afraid I cannot do that. Cassian is in a rather delicate state, and can’t defend himself if he needed to. I am dumb, but I’m not completely clueless. I know you two aren’t exactly on good terms." Lady Fiona looked ill at the implication that she would hurt Cass, before she dropped her gaze. She played with her hands for a moment before she let out a deep, heavy sigh.
"Lucian, I wouldn’t hurt Cass. I’m not-I’ve calmed down. I promise." Lady Fiona said, raising her gaze to meet the dragon’s protective one. They shared a look, before Draken nodded.
It was then that Cass let out a soft, dangerous chuckle.
"Oh, so my opinion doesn’t matter? In my own study?" Both people tensed, realising that they were in very dangerous trouble. Cass had let them go on, talking as if he wasn’t here, and his opinion didn’t matter, but he was putting his foot down now.
Unacceptable. Did his opinion not matter? He was weak, but he wasn’t an idiot and he was sure Sir Forsythe was nearby, ready to spring into action if he needed. Draken began to fumble, flustered.
"I-I didn’t mean-I was just looking out for you!" Draken said, desperate as Cass glared at him.
"If you were, you could have also asked my opinion. If I wanted to be alone with Lady Fiona. Instead you behaved as if you had authority over me." Cass said coolly, and Draken groaned.
"I didn’t mean to offend you, Cassian. I mean it. I wasn’t thinking with my head." Draken said and even Lady Fiona stepped in. She had her hand over her chest, her eyes wide and full of concern.
"I’m sorry I just spoke to Lucy about it, Lord Cassian. It wasn’t my intention. I too, should have confirmed it with you. I apologise." The two were falling over themselves, apologising to him and Cass felt a small tingle of humour deep in his gut. It was the furthest thing he could imagine in this situation, and it was enough to surprise him and shake him from the anger brewing to a boiling point inside of him.
It was deep enough inside of him that Cass knew it wasn’t from him. It had to be from Lord Blackburn. All anger halted, and he realised, like Lord Blackburn had, that this was a funny and strange situation. Two of the three strongest people in the party were practically begging Cass to not kick them out of his rooms. That was funny.
The couple should be falling over themselves thanking Lord Blackburn for his generosity since Cass wasn’t as forgiving.