Chapter 131: Don’t fuck this up
Cass felt bitter. He felt lied to. He felt pissed off.
He had wanted to come into this lesson after realising that his body was relaxing, his heartbeat was calming down, and he could breathe easily that Draken was awful at this. He wanted to be able to sit on the boulder and listen to him speak, nodding his head along with what he was saying all the while making fun of him in his head. Instead, he was staring at the man, nodding, without scowling, taking in the words he was saying.
Draken was a good teacher.
A really good one, and that was the cause of his bitterness. Cass was good at taking in information, and terrible at passing it on in any way that made sense. He was like a sponge, but it felt like he was speaking a foreign language when he tried to explain how he knew what he did.
So the fact that Draken, of all people, was good at that? Made him pissed off.
Draken didn’t seem to notice Cass’ internal conflict, or he was ignoring the feelings directed towards him in favour of continuing his lesson on magic. That only made Cass more frustrated at his apparent inadequacies when compared with Draken, even if it was only done by himself.
Damn the man. Damn the dragon.
Why was he sitting in a damn sunbeam? Who was allowed to be a good teacher and handsome? Cass wished a cloud would come by and take away his little moment of warmth, but the sky wouldn’t listen to him, and Draken looked like he was freaking sparkling in the sunlight. His long, black hair blew gently in the wind, his orange eyes bright as he spoke, his facial hair perfectly trimmed, and the ties that were never tied at the top of his shirt gently moving in the wind, causing Cass’ eyes to wander.
Fuck everything. He was trying to focus, but every little movement from Draken was making him dart his gaze down and forget about whatever words he was speaking.
"Cassian? Are you listening to me?" Cass froze. He had not been. He had been so absorbed in his own thoughts, feelings, and the damn tease of a string on Draken’s shirt that he’d been unable to focus. He had no idea what Draken had just said, and he was sure his face told him that.
Draken’s lips thinned, at first looking severe, before his orange eyes dancing gave him away and he threw his head back and laughed.
"Cassian, you need to behave, or I am not going to." Draken warned and Cass swallowed. He felt his heart race in his chest, and he shifted uncomfortably on the boulder he was sitting on.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Cass declared hotly, denying it, and Draken’s laughter was in his eyes as he stared at him, glazing over Cass’ body in a similar way to what Cass had done to Draken. Cass felt his face heat at the intense gaze. It felt like his eyes were stroking over him.
Draken bent, leaning forward on his knees, clasping his hands together as he smirked, staring at Cass. Cass swallowed as more of his chest was revealed, and damn it, he couldn’t exactly not look when the man was putting it on full display!
"Do you like my body, Cass?" Draken asked and Cass felt like his heart stopped when the man used his nickname. Cass’ eyes went wide, his mouth opening in shock as his face heated and he felt like he started shaking.
That was wholly unfair. He wasn’t supposed to know that! It was already a lot that he was calling him Cassian, but to change it to Cass? That was too much!
"N-No!" Cass knew his response was loud, and both Draken and Cass froze. He knew what that sounded like, and a few seconds later Byron entered the clearing, his gaze tight, his hands clenched. He came from the opposite side that they had entered from, which meant he was at an angle, unable to see their expressions.
"I heard Lord Blackburn shout. Is everything alright?" Byron asked, louder for Cass’ benefit but he really didn’t need to. Cass noticed that Lord Blackburn had quite good hearing in general. Draken smirked, glancing at Cass before he moved, showing his face to Byron.
"Your dear Lord Blackburn was just getting embarrassed, Byron." Draken told him. Byron remained silent for a moment.
"I want to hear that from my Lord." His voice shook slightly, and Cass, who had his back to the man, wondered what his expression looked like. It was quite admirable that he was standing up to Draken, and Draken’s face said the same thing. He wasn’t displeased that Byron was standing up to him though, and Cass wondered why that was.
Checking his people’s abilities was one thing, but this was like he was testing their loyalty to Cass, and it felt constant. At some point they were going to grow to hate Draken if he kept this up.
"Draken was teasing me, Byron. We are fine." Cass finally said and Draken chuckled.
"Took you long enough. Byron looks like he’s going to swallow me up and put me in time out." Cass blinked, unsure what that meant. Draken, noticing the slightly blank look on his face blinked himself, before a smile split his face. "Byron, have you not shown your master your powers? Come over here, and show off all the work I put into you." Draken waved his hand, calling him over and Cass did shift then, turning with interest to look in the direction that Draken was looking.
His eyes found Byron, who was standing on the other side of the clearing looking rather embarrassed and nervous. The bluster from before was gone, and now stood the young man, practically a child, in it’s place.
"Well, I just...it’s embarrassing." Byron admitted and Cass felt his lips twitch.
"Is it? Do you have to undress to show me? Or does it look inappropriate when you do it? It’s okay if you don’t want to. I won’t force you." Cass said and Byron frowned.
"You are basically calling me a baby if I don’t show you, my Lord. I didn’t think you and Draken shared that in common." Cass jerked, his gaze darting to Draken who was grinning, already looking at Cass as if he expected it.
"Awe. Are we linked more than I thought? If we completed the bond you would become an elder to Byron. You could henpeck Byron with twice the authority then." He chuckled. "Of course, your authority now is nothing to sniff at. You have a shadow dragon who calls you Master, and me as your husband." Draken grinned. "And also, all of your accomplishments, and your hoard. As a dragon, the tales of your chosen hoard are quite impressive." Cass felt his face heat, and his body tensed.
Damn it, it was that fucking dragon ranking all over again. The damn bond, his relationship with Draken, and he hadn’t even considered what having Byron in his employ would mean to those who could understand it.
"I-I must agree with Draken, my Lord. I-it was one of the reasons I wanted to do this job. I wanted to figure out how you achieved what you had, and then got distracted along the way." Byron admitted, his voice lower and quieter as he got closer.
"Distracted, is it?" Draken mused, before he turned to Cass. "Why is it that this new, younger generation so prone to lying? First Fiona, and now you, Byron. Sleepovers, distractions, why can’t you just be honest about your affections?" Draken scoffed. "You think anyone with eyes wouldn’t be able to see how you look at your fellow servant?" Draken teased and Cass turned his head, Byron now close enough that he could catch the look of horror on his face.
"Draken, remember how we discussed how the times now are different from what you know? Fiona and Byron have grown up with a world that shames same sex relationships, same with me." Draken frowned, before he started grumbling. He clearly did not like what Cass had said.
"He’s a damn dragon! He shouldn’t be influenced by what those who he will outlive have to say! If things work out with Sam, they’ll bond and stay together long past the bigotry and foolishness of this age." Draken pointed out. Cass’ lips twitched as Byron’s breath caught, the idea so enticing that Byron’s cheeks flushed.
"But he needs to fight Sam’s bias as someone who grew up in this era. If he isn’t able to break through that, well...Byron doesn’t strike me as the kind of dragon who would bond with someone against their will." Draken flinched, sliding his gaze towards Byron so that he didn’t meet Cass’ gaze. Cass smirked.
"I-I would never do that." Bryon muttered, his dark eyes, big, wide, and full of horror. Cass smirked.
"Of course you wouldn’t, so you’re just going to have to win him over the old fashioned way." Byron swallowed.
"What is that?" He asked, curious and Cass chuckled.
"You need to romance him, Byron. I didn’t think I needed to spell that out to you. You need to be there for him, support him, care for him, and show him that you would be a great partner for him to have. Sexual intimacy can happen after, but once you’ve ensnared the heart, that part comes easily." Cass spoke as if he was an expert, knowing damn well that he wasn’t.
Draken stared at Cass like he had two heads, while Byron’s dark eyes sparkled.
"I can do that! I can manage that. What should I do after?" He asked, eager, and Cass chuckled.
"Don’t rush into it. You’re both young, you have time to do this. Just...watch Sam and learn his habits and all the little things that make him, him. You’ll learn a lot that way, but don’t be a creep. No stalking, or watching him through a window." Cass warned and Byron nodded. Draken tsked.
"He’s a shadow dragon. Let him use that to his advantage." Draken protested and Cass gave him a look.
"If I was Sam, and I found out even after we had entered into a relationship that Byron had found out about my personal habits by watching me through the window I would flip my lid, and might even end the relationship. Observing someone without being invited into someone’s personal space is a far greater violation then you are understanding." It was a warning, to both of them, and Draken swallowed, nodding.
"Understood, teacher Cassian. Our romancer extraordinaire." Cass couldn’t tell if Draken was joking or not, but he narrowed his eyes, just the same.
"S-Should I show you what I can do?" Byron asked, interrupting Draken and Cass from staring at each other. Like a child trying to prevent his parents from fighting. Cass cleared his throat, his face feeling warm and he turned his gaze away. Fine. Let him stop them. Whatever.