Chapter 19: Trading blows with a beast
"Commenting on my weight isn't exactly polite." Cass muttered quietly and Draken huffed. Sam was in the lead, and Cass knew that he was having a hard time having Cass behind him. It was in the stiff way he was walking, and the way he was trying not to look behind him.
It had to be because Draken had told him to lead the way. Otherwise, they could have had Sir Forsythe lead the way. Who, by the way, was walking behind them looking rather upset. Once again, he was denied his right to carry Lord Blackburn back to his chambers.
Only this time he couldn't beat up someone to release his anger. So, he was walking behind them, glaring at the grip that Draken had on Cass' arm.
That was fair. Draken was holding him like he was an object that he didn't want to touch, but had to anyway. It was painful, but not as painful as the pounding in his head. Cass would have pushed him away if he wasn't basically carrying him up to his room.
"When did I ever strike you as someone who cared about such things?" He asked and Cass looked away from him.
"I didn't. I was just telling you the truth." Cass muttered quietly. Honestly, he kind of wanted to test how low he could speak and Draken could still hear him clearly. It would be a fun experiment when he didn't want Sam to knock him the fuck out to stop the pain.
"You were speaking the truth?" Draken asked, before he huffed again. "If you were, just be honest. None of that shit that you and Edgar were doing earlier. I hate it, and it confuses me. Just be honest with me. I don't care if it's rude." Draken declared. "It will make me respect you more if you do that." Cass was surprised to hear him say so, and Draken glanced at him. He raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked and Cass looked over his face.
He had a good bone structure, and his facial hair was well maintained. Even if he was an asshole, he at the very least, spoke his mind. If they got along, he would be easy to handle.
If they got along.
"I used to spar with you?" Cass asked instead of the words he wanted to, and Draken chuckled.
"Spar? You would be given free reign to throw whatever the hell you wanted at me and I was told to go easy on you. I would not call that sparring. I could tell you actually wanted to hurt me." Draken said, and that piqued Cass' curiousity. Lord Blackburn wanted him dead? Really?
"Somehow, I can't see that as true." Draken narrowed his eyes at him, and Cass chuckled. "Not that I wouldn't want to harm you, but I just can't see me wanting to kill you." Yeah. For Cass, he was too handsome for Cass to want him dead. He'd be a pretty dead person, but you couldn't stare at dead people for long before you had to put them in the ground.
"There are plenty of reasons that you would want to kill me. I think it's a rather universal one, since we are all married to the same woman." It made sense that he would just spell it out. He just told Cass that he didn't like to beat around the bush. He was a straight shooter.
Cass chuckled at his own joke. Of course he was a straight shooter. He and Cass didn't 'shoot' for the same team.
"Ah. Right." Cass replied dryly and Draken gave him a strange look.
"Is Fiona not a good enough reason to want me dead?" He asked and Cass sighed.
"No, she is, but...it's just so...basic, I guess? I can't see myself being so petty. A woman? I feel like I must have bigger fish to fry." Draken halted, pausing their gait and Sam didn't notice right away. When he did, he came rushing back with worry on his face.
Draken turned Cass to face him, grabbing both of his arms with his own. Cass tried not to be intimidated by how easily his big hands were able to wrap around his forearms. Draken's expression was dark, but his eyes were bright. It was a strange, intimidating look, and Cass had to swallow thickly just to meet his gaze.
Draken did not feel human at this moment, and Cass, outside of the "gods" had never met anything or anyone like him before. He felt...other in a way that Cass could put into words, but it was unsettling at the very least. His hair was standing up, and he was sure everyone else could feel it in the hallway too.
"What did you mean by that?" He demanded, his voice dropping low. It was clear that Cass had offended him somehow, and it only took Cass a second to realise what it was. Fuck.
"I just meant that...Lady Fiona can clearly hold her own and doesn't need four men to fight over her. She'd probably hate it from the little bit I've remembered about her. If I wanted to get on her good side, I wouldn't do something like that." Draken narrowed his gaze.
"Get on her good side? What about showing off for her? Proving to her that you are powerful, strong, and would provide good seed for any children?" Cass was stunned that they were having this kind of conversation in the hallway. He glanced around, nervous and Draken's grip tightened on his arms. He winced. "Do not look to others for help. Answer the question." He demanded.
That wasn't what Cass was doing, but he felt that anything he said besides answering the beast's question would be viewed as an excuse.
Giving a heavy sigh, Cass closed his eyes for a long blink, before opening them again and meeting the beastly orangy-yellow gaze directed at him. Draken's gaze hadn't moved from his face, and Cass knew he had to answer.
Well, I guess that would work, but I'm not really a show horse, now am I? Objectively, I'm weaker than all of the other men, I'm only good at magic, I have a strict diet, I'm pretty sure I have a family scandal of some kind so even if I have a powerful name, it's probably tarnished in some way, and as everyone has said, I am too thin. I do not think Lady Fiona finds that attractive. So, from your standpoint, what do I have that I could even use to appeal to her? I think it would be much better for me to be in her good graces then it would be to strut around like some kind of fancy bird trying to show off that I'm the best of the best, because objectively, I'm not." Cass stated.
Even Sam seemed shocked by his words, but Draken's eyes were huge. It only took him a few seconds before he started laughing.
"Well, when you put it like that, I guess you and Lady Ava are more in the same boat." He couldn't stop laughing, and Cass felt uncomfortable. The way he was laughing was cute, but it was the way he was shaking him that was the problem. Cass' head felt like it was going to explode. Not only from the loud noises, but also from the way he was shaking him.
"Lady Ava and I are in the same boat?" Cass repeated and that only made Draken laugh harder.
"Fuck! Give me a minute." He let go of Cass and turned, holding onto the wall as he continued to laugh. Cass stood there, arms crossed, unamused as the beast continued to laugh. "Fuck. That was good. I didn't realise you were so funny. I should have poked at you more." Draken threw him a lopsided grin and Cass' frown deepened. Fiona had certainly selected a handsome bunch as her husbands. He hoped she treated all of them well.
"Would you just answer my question?" Cass snapped, his pain and frustration reaching a peak and Draken whistled.
"Holy. You snapped at me? That's adorable. What are you, a snapping turtle? Are you going to bite my finger?" He teased and Cass tightened his jaw. He was clearly in a good mood, and Cass didn't want to ruin it. Who knew what it would mean if he was practically alone with him and his mood soured? Cass didn't know how to use magic right now. He'd be fucked.
"Lucian." Cass warned, and Draken turned, his eyes bright.
"Without honourifics? I'm hurt, or touched, Lord Blackburn." Cass wanted to growl.
"You're the one who demanded I answer honestly, yet you're the one being difficult. I'm doing my best not to get angry at you, but I'm in pain, testy on a good day, and it's clear you're just poking fun at me while I am down. So, answer the damn question. How are Lady Ava and I in the same boat?" Cass demanded and there was a shift in the air.
Draken moved, and within one heartbeat and the next, Draken went from the wall, to practically pressed against the smaller man. Cass inhaled sharply, surprised, and Draken chuckled.
"Well, you're both so thin and small, you should appeal to Fiona's desire to protect. She's a hero, right? She's gotta be like me. I like small, pretty things." Draken reached out, pinching a few strands of Cass' silver hair between his fingers. "I think you've got potential. You're light, skinny, and if we feed you a few more meals, you could be plump and pretty. Like Lady Ava." It was clearly an insult, and Cass definitely took it that way.
That being said, he couldn't tell if he was blushing because Draken was so close he could feel his breath fan his face, or if he was flushed because of his insulting words.
Either way, Cass was not pleased.
Pushing against Draken's chest, other man laughed as his hands didn't move him an inch.
"Awe, that's cute. Are you giving it your all, Lord Blackburn?" Draken's tone was so condescending that Cass forgot his pain for just a moment.
"Do not forget that just because I have lost my previous memories does not mean I can't create new ones." Cass hissed angrily, and Draken laughed.
"What a cute threat! What are you going to do? Kick my shins and run away? You seem to be of the mind that you would do something like that." He was taking him for a joke. Cass felt his blood boil.
"Or, I could have someone move things around in your room just enough to unsettle you, make you think something is missing, but you'll never be able to find out what for months. It would torture you, keep you on edge. Every once in a while, after you had finally calmed down enough, I would have someone do it again. This would happen over and over until you're ready to snap. Then, and only then would I tell you the truth." Cass told him, and watched as Draken's face fell.
Anyone messing with his room, his lair, was a big no no. Everyone knew it, but it was clear that it was a fear he had.
"W-What would you tell me?" He asked, and Cass narrowed his eyes before he turned away from him in a huff.
"If I told you now, I can't use that threat, now can I?" Cass said it as if Draken was an idiot, and Draken growled. A small stream of smoke left his nostrils and Cass smirked. "Oh, no you're upset? Bite me." Cass declared before moving out from under his arms and towards Sam. "Thank you for escorting me this far, but I have my guard and my servant with me. You can head back now." Cass told him, walking towards Sam with, admittedly, a little too much bounce in his step.
He deserved it though. How dare he imply what he had? And attempt to pin him to a wall? Very rude, and Cass was worried his heart wouldn't recover.