Chapter 159: Not above using my new name
Where it had been tense before, the atmosphere after Lady Ava had spoken her mind was much worse.
Cass had to listen to Vespertine and Lord Ridgewood fight, while both women were awkward and quiet. Cass had just tilted his head back and forced himself to go to sleep.
It was the only way he was going to get through all of this.
~
Cass woke up several times due to the jostling of the carriage. His ass was sore, his body ached, and he knew that he needed to wrap his hands. And take his medication. Still, he didn’t let anyone know he was actually awake until they got to their destination.
"Cassian. We’re here." It was a gentle voice that accompanied the gentle shaking of his shoulder. Too bad he knew damn well who it was. He tried not to frown or groan as he opened his eyes. Everyone else was out of the carriage but him and...Draken.
Cass blinked slowly as he took in his surroundings. He could hear several voices chatting just outside of the carriage. Draken was blocking his vision of the door but he could tell from the lack of light coming through the window that it was either late afternoon or evening proper.
Cass sat up, realising he had been slouching and winced when he put too much pressure on his hands. The angle was off, and it hurt like a sonofabitch. Draken flinched, reacting to Cass’ injury as if it was his own.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Draken asked, sitting down next to him, taking Cass’ hands in his own. Cass wanted to tear them away, but the genuine look of concern on his face, in his eyes, had him pausing.
"It’s nothing. I just put my weight on them in the wrong way." Cass told him, but Draken wouldn’t listen to him. He took his time, checking out each hand before he nodded, relieved.
"It doesn’t look like anything is broken." Draken told him, his orange gaze rising to his face and he let out a sigh. He squeezed the hands he held. "You really like to test the strength of my hearts, don’t you? You nearly gave yourself a concussion a few times as you were asleep. Thank goodness Fiona was also keeping an eye on you. I nearly pulled you into my lap for safety, but Fiona advised me against that. Said that I would regret it."
Cass was sure that he would have seen red if he had woken up in Draken’s lap. Lady Fiona had helped Draken dodge a bullet, and from the way that the man was looking at him, he didn’t even know it.
"She saved your life." Cass muttered, tugging his hands free from Draken’s grasp to cover his mouth as he yawned. Draken watched him, his orange eyes unblinking. Very not human of him. Very eerie. Cass hated that he kind of liked it.
Sighing, Cass glanced around, actually waking up now and Draken shifted on the bench next to him. His ass was screaming at him, and so were his muscles. He made a face as he slowly got up, his legs shaking slightly as he put weight on them. Draken was there, his hands offering support as he tried to move towards the door.
"I can get out of the carriage on my own." Cass complained and Draken gave a tight smile.
"Forgive me for being cautious. You look...you’ve been unwell recently, even if you are healing. I think I have every right to be a little worried about you." Draken said. Cass frowned, but took the hit. He was right. Even if he didn’t like it. "Can I get off the carriage first? Just in case." Draken asked and Cass paused.
It wasn’t...unreasonable, and so, Cass nodded and Draken scrambled, moving quickly to get out of the carriage. Cass was actually surprised that such a big guy could move as quickly as he did. It felt like it took him no time at all to take up the space on the other side of the carriage door, offering his hand.
Cass was hesitant to take him up on it. It was...he wasn’t sure. Stubbornly, Cass clenched his hands and moved towards the carriage door on his own. Draken’s face seemed to reflect that he knew that Cass wasn’t going to do this the easy way. He was smiling as Cass pulled himself out of the carriage, his legs shaking as he finally was able to see the area that was so greatly affected by the dungeon break.
At first, it looked like nothing crazy. It was nightfall, after all. It looked like the sun had just fully set and with the lanterns that were lit with magic all around, it looked like just a base camp, or a tent forest that someone would have set up in his old world. Maybe a lot nicer, but it gave the same vibe.
It was the scent that indicated that something wasn’t quite right. The smell of decay lingered in the air. That earthy, not quite right smell that was too sweet and too sour all at the same time. Cass had never been around a dead body before, just natural decay of the earth, so he wasn’t sure if that was the right smell.
Either way, a slight shiver ran down his spine as he surveyed the area around them. Lady Fiona and the others were talking to a small group of men and women in white priest clothes. They weren’t too far away, but their expressions were grim. Serious. Cass had a feeling that he was supposed to be there, but for some reason, he couldn’t find it in himself to actually care.
Plus, his chest was aching, and it was becoming a little hard to breathe.
That was when Cass began to notice the thick, almost imperceivable fog that was lingering in the air. It was a thick feeling, oppressive. Half of his nature was repulsed by the fog, while the other half...didn’t seem as upset by it. It was odd, since he had never truly had to come to terms with the fact that he had two natures. It had never come up before. But Cass, or more accurately, Lord Blackburn’s fairy blood actively hated the fog. Cass didn’t know how he knew it was the fairy blood, he just knew.
Cass scowled, unable to hide his displeasure as he raised his hand to cover his nose. He noticed with his scan that Sir Forsythe, along with Sir Sanders were nearby. They were comforting Ser Hune, who seemed to be quite ill. It made sense. She was a full fairy. She had to be suffering quite a bit.
"Smells terrible, doesn’t it?" Draken said, a small smile on his face.
"It also looks terrible. Can you see the fog?" Cass asked and Draken nodded grimly.
"Yup. Not unheard of from dungeons like this. Or so I’ve been told." He winked, as if he was hiding that he wasn’t human well. Cass almost wanted to smile. Did he really think anyone believed that he was fully human? Anyone who did was a fool, or a child. Even then, they would have to be a pretty dense child.
"Understood." Cass muttered, reaching out to hold onto the side of the carriage as he stepped out. He foot got caught on the edge of the carriage and Cass found himself falling forward, towards Draken.
Cass felt surprise fill him, as Sir Forsythe gave a shout, turning to race towards his Lord. Draken held out his arms, catching Cass by squishing his face against Draken’s chest. His arms clamped around him tightly as footfalls approached.
"My Lord! Are you alright?" It was Sir Forsythe. Thankfully, Cass was fine, if not a little shaken up. He hadn’t expected that he would take a tumble so soon, but it appeared that from how everyone else was reacting, they had. "You haven’t eaten for a while, and you haven’t taken your medicine either. I know you were doing so because you didn’t want to bother the others, but my Lord, the Doctor is not going to be happy." Cass didn’t like that he was using the threat of a random person against him.
"So?" Cass shot back, his voice muffled against Draken’s chest. Fuck. He hated how he liked this. Him falling out of the carriage into the arms? Of Draken was also very romance fantasy coded. Cass felt a small shiver run down his spine and pushed away from Draken’s chest. Draken grumbled, but put Cass down, placing Cass’ feet onto the ground and a rolling sense of disgust filled him.
Oh yuck. Was this what Ser Hune was also dealing with? Awful.
Sir Forsythe sighed. He looked wary, his eyes tired now that Cass could see him face to face. He leveled Cass with a look that had Cass bracing for impact.
"Well, are you going to want to have to explain to Sam why you didn’t take care of yourself, or am I going to have to do it? Are you really going to throw me to the wolves this way, my Lord? I had hoped you had one shred of affection for me after all of the years I have faithfully served you." Cass flushed, gulping at the dry way Sir Forsythe delivered those words.
Ah hell, he was right. There was still a Sam who was going to check up on him, whichever way he could manage. That of course meant checking in with Sir Forsythe. Sam had probably sorted something out with some of the other servants, since he was a sociable man compared to the rest of his employees.
Cass sighed.
"Really? You’re pulling the Sam card so soon? Shouldn’t you have waited a bit longer?" Cass admonished and Sir Forsythe sighed.
"I would have done so if you hadn’t neglected eating or taking your medicine for a full day of travel. Even the other Lords and Ladies ate, my Lord. You wouldn’t stir." Sir Forsythe seemed quite upset, now that he was allowed to speak. Cass had a feeling he would have given him quite the stern lecture if he allowed him to continue.
Thankfully, he was Lord Blackburn, and there were other things to attend to.