Chapter 206: A very uneventful day
Cass expected that something terrible and awful was going to happen today in the dungeon. So imagine his surprise when nothing happened.
Not a damn thing.
They didn’t run into any undead, they didn’t find another chest, nothing. Just...hours of walking through hallways while Lucian lead the way, Vespertine and Lady Ava hovered around Cass like he was an injured baby deer, and Fiona glared at Lord Ridgewood like he was the spawn of Satan,
Cass tried not to laugh about it, but it was quite funny.
The man who was known for being logical and calm in most situations had reacted poorly to finding out Cass had demonic blood in his body, and instead of everyone being understanding, they had ripped him a new one. He was being reasonable. He should be questioning if Cass was attempting to take advantage of everyone’s kindness.
That was what demons did, after all. Historically, they took advantage of others. You know who else did that?
Gods. They were just viewed as giving more in return whereas demons were a little more true to their natures. At least, that was what the book said, and what Cass had experienced.
His personal experience with those fuckwads had to mean something, right?
Either way, since everything was so calm, Cass had taken the time to go over more training with Lady Ava. They were still talking theory, nothing that involved actual use of powers while they were walking through the dungeon.
It was the perfect learning opportunity, and whenever Lucian had a moment he would also jump in and add something. He explained that he saw the holy powers and the magic that they used as separate, but only by a thin margin. Everything that was involved with holy powers, and probably demonic powers were loosely based off of magic, or vice versa.
Cass could feel how everyone had looked at him when demonic powers were brought up, but he just smiled.
He couldn’t exactly use them if he didn’t even know what kind of demon he was, and honestly, they should have been looking at Vespertine if they were going to look at anyone. His physical appearance was part of the ploy, part of being a vampire.
There was a reason he was so attractive. It was to be able to bring in all kinds of humans to suck their blood. He was a walking, talking thirst trap.
That didn’t bother Cass, however. He was doing his best to let nothing bother him, especially the way that Vespertine and Lucian were acting like Cass was their damn property since yesterday. He should have not let them get that close. He really shouldn’t have.
Cass had nearly fallen, and instead of pulling on his arm like a normal person, Vespertine had caught him by his waist, pulling him against him tightly with his hand on his lower back like he was some damn heroine in a romance novel.
Cass wouldn’t admit how much his heart had raced. No one needed to know that. What they did need to know was that Cass had given him a look, a disapproving one, but he was sure it had only spurred the man on.
Every time he had the chance, he would touch Cass’ lower back. All day, at any moment. When he was teaching Lady Ava, he would lean on Cass’ shoulder, his hand on his lower back or wrapped around his waist. Giving it a squeeze.
It was damn sexual harassment, but Cass couldn’t exactly call him out on it. He didn’t want to make a scene. Only because he wanted today to be calm for his own peace of mind.
Everything came to a head when it was time to go to bed.
~
"You’re not sleeping with him alone again." Vespertine declared shortly after he had finished eating dinner. Cass was still mid chew of his jerky, along with Lady Ava and Fiona. Lord Ridgewood was sitting as far away from everyone as he could manage. Lucian was sitting with his thigh pressed against Cass’, and until just a moment ago, Vespertine had been on his other side.
Now he was standing in front of the small group, his arms crossed as he stared at Lucian.
"What?" Lucian said, blinking a few times. Vespertine’s jaw clenched.
"You heard me. You aren’t sleeping with him again. Certainly not alone. I don’t trust you not to lay your hands on Cass." Cass felt his eyes widen. He was right not to trust Lucian, but that didn’t make Cass feel any better.
The two of them couldn’t be trusted. It wasn’t just a one person thing. Lucian’s expression darkened at the accusation.
"Are you kidding me? I can’t trust you near Cassian." Lucian fired back, anger in his tone. Fiona blinked, glancing between the three men a few times while Lady Ava was completely slack jawed.
"What is Lucy doing to Cass?" She asked and Cass nearly choked. His whole face went red at her quietly innocent question.
"What am I not doing to Cass?" Lucian replied, a devious smile on his face. Cass reached over and dug his nails into Lucian’s thigh in punishment.
"He’s doing nothing, Lady Ava." Cass told her, his face warm and his eyes wide with shock. Lucian’s chuckle next to Cass had his hair standing on end as he leaned in, his breath fanning against his ear.
"Oh? Is that what you call nothing?" He whispered and Cass swatted at him. The man laughed, pulling away fast enough to avoid Cass’ anger. Vespertine’s gaze darkened.
"This is what I mean. You keep harassing him. While I understand that you have magic powers that can comfort some parts of Cass’ bloodline, I don’t agree with the other parts." Cass was at a loss. He did agree with Vespertine on some level he just....
Every part of him that had read a damn romance novel was screaming that he needed to fight having both of them in his tent. It was a bright red flashing light in the back of his mind, screaming. Whirling, twirling, it was a loud siren in his ear.
"Uh, well, I appreciate your concern but...the tents are a little too small for three people." Cass told him and Vespertine shook his head at Cass’ attempt.
"Cass, we both have bags that can tuck away any excess things in the tent. We can make room so that we can all sleep in one tent." Cass blinked. Shit. That was a good point. Lucian wasn’t making it any easier. The damn dragon opened his mouth, so casual, like he wasn’t about to drop a bomb that was only going to incite Vespertine more.
"It’s fine. Cass and I sleep curled around each other anyways, so there is enough room for another person." Cass felt his jaw drop at the casual way Lucian spoke. He wasn’t bragging. He wasn’t saying it to rub it in. He was saying it like he was stating a fact.
Fiona’s jaw was on the floor, Lady Ava’s jaw was on the floor. Cass’ jaw was on the floor. Vespertine looked ready to clock the other man in the jaw with his fist.
"Are you serious?" Vespertine asked and Lucian looked up at him, his brows furrowed.
"Why would I lie? It helps him the most. He gets cold, and you’ve heard what happens when he gets cold." That was Lucian bragging then. His lips curling into a smug smile that had Cass slamming his mouth closed and covering his whole damn face. This was the worst. Nothing happened today his ass.
"Look, if you want to share a tent with Lucian, that’s fine. I’ll just share a tent with Fiona." Cass suggested and Lady Ava, Lucian, and Vespertine protested.
"No!" They all said at the same time, and Cass and Fiona were sat there, blinking as the dust settled. Lady Ava flushed, not realising how loudly she had shouted that. Lucian didn’t look embarrassed at all, but Vespertine did. He coughed.
"It’s not right for you two to share a tent." He said quietly and Cass stared at him, stunned. Not right? Honestly, Cass felt like he was probably the safest option. When he glanced at Fiona, he could tell she was just as confused.
"And what would happen when you had a reaction to this dungeon, Cass? Would you try to get help from Fiona? Absolutely not. She can’t help you the way I can, and it would only inconvenience you." Lucian said, a growl in his tone. Lucian being possessive wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Cass could understand that, but Lady Ava?
She was covering her face, clearly embarrassed and Cass realised...it was because he was married to her. Even if Lady Ava knew that he had no interest in her as a woman, she had a knee jerk reaction. She clearly knew how silly she had been, since she wasn’t even defending herself.
"I’m a big boy, everyone. I’m not incompetent." Cass said and Lucian’s expression softened.
"I’m not saying that you are. I’m just saying it’s more efficient if we keep up the arrangement that we started when coming into this dungeon." He said and Lady Ava jerked, raising her head as she turned a puzzled look to Cass.
"Wait. If you’re a demon, or have demonic blood...why are you having such strong reactions to this dungeon?" Cass froze. Damn. That was a good question. It distracted Cass long enough that the two men had made up their minds, making a plan for the tent itself while Cass was lost in thought.
When he came back to the land of the living, he found that Vespertine and Lucian had their pinkies locked, making some kind of pact that excluded Cass. Cass felt his stomach drop. That did not spell anything good for him.
Should he...should he get something to protect himself?