Chapter 230: Every family is complex
Cass had barely taken a step into the room when he had come face to face with a man who looked so much like Vespertine it kind of shocked him. Unlike Vespertine, he wasn’t wearing a wide brimmed hat, instead wearing a white hat that kind of domed up, giving his head a little bit more height. On the front of the hat was the symbol of the temple and he wore rather lofty, priestly robes in such a pure white Cass felt like his eyes were going to burn.
His eyes weren’t blue like Vespertines, but a soft grey. They would have looked kind if Cass couldn’t feel how sharply they were scanning him. His smile would have also looked kind if Cass hadn’t seen the same kind of smile on bad men’s face before.
Cass didn’t know why every alarm in his body was going off, besides the obvious reason that he had found out that he had demon blood and he was the exact opposite of everything Cass was. It was dangerous just being in a room with him, and Cass could tell that Vespertine, who he could see out of the corner of his eye, hadn’t expected his Father to join them for breakfast.
The man looked ill. Probably because every window was open, and he wasn’t wearing a hat. He wasn’t sitting in sunlight, but he looked extremely uncomfortable. Cass found himself frowning before he turned back to the other man, offering a hand that the Head Priest stared at for a moment before he took.
Cass felt a strange shiver run down his spine. Like a recognition that something wasn’t quite right, but he didn’t feel ill. He could tell, however, that the same couldn’t be said for the Head Priest.
He looked instantly not good. Like Cass had sucked the life out of him. Horror filled Cass’ body as Lord Ridgewood pushed back his chair immediately and came over to catch the Head Priest.
"What did-" the words coming out of Lord Ridgewood’s mouth were instantly full of accusations, but Cass cut him off before he could even finish.
"Oh my gods! Are you alright? I’m so sorry, I didn’t think touching me would cause so many issues. This is why I don’t normally shake hands with others." Cass was immediately on the defensive, playing the poor, sad Lord Blackburn hard enough that Lord Ridgewood stared at him in shock. The Head Priest coughed, and Cass turned his gaze to Lady Ava. "Ava, please, I don’t know if I’ve hurt your Father. Could you check?" He asked and Lady Ava nodded, rushing over.
She had been quiet, subdued until Cass called to her. She rushed to the Head Priests side, who was being supported by Lord Ridgewood as she immediately used her powers right next to Cass to check on her adoptive Father.
Cass asked her to do this for two reasons. One, showing that he wasn’t affected by her powers while he stood next to her, and two, to show that his relationship with her had greatly improved.
The Head Priest gently brushed off everyone’s concern in a way that told Cass that the man was no stranger to PR. He was so careful, so kind, that it almost made Cass’ skin crawl. It was a behaviour that Lady Ava sometimes showed, and so did Vespertine. At least now he knew where the source of it all was.
Lady Ava came to stand beside Cass, her expression a little anxious as she looked at the older man and he waved them off. Lord Ridgewood let him go as the older man levelled Cass with a look.
"Not many have made me so dizzy by shaking my hand." He joked and Cass let out a rather nervous laugh.
"Ah, I apologise for that. It wasn’t my intention, but it does happen sometimes. I think it might be my fairy blood." Cass joked, and he laughed lightly, but he was clearly sizing Cass up. As if he didn’t believe it, and honestly, he shouldn’t. Cass was putting on a show, making it obvious that he didn’t know he had demonic blood.
Everyone except him in the room knew that Cass hadn’t known for sure until Lady Ava revealed the truth by accident. So why would he change the story now? There was a reason that the ever capable Lord Blackburn hadn’t gotten it confirmed before now. It only spelled bad things for him if it was confirmed.
"Of course. Come! Forget about this old man and come join us for breakfast. Come!" The Head Priest waves towards the table and Lucian had to sit in the seat next to Lord Ridgewood and Cass had to sit next to Lady Ava. The table was a strange layout, with Vespertine sitting near the end of the table, furthest away from his Father, with Fiona next to him then Lady Ava and then Cass. Sitting closest to the Head Priest. Lord Ridgewood was sitting next to the Head Priest and then next to Lucian. It wasn’t very balanced, and felt intentional?
Like, why was a father trying to keep his son as far away from his son as possible? Vespertine had no issues when Lady Ava used her powers, not like Cass, so that should be perfectly fine.
The Head Priest paid it no mind, raising a glass and offering a toast and a blessing as soon as he could and Cass felt the holy power coating him like a coat.
It was suffocating, and Cass was so fucking glad that he had worn the ring.
Cass could feel how Lady Ava stiffened next to him, and the way that Lucian was looking at him as if he was expecting Cass to start coughing. Cass held it together quite well actually, so well that Cass felt like...
Uh oh. This was a bad thought but he couldn’t stop himself. What if the Head Priest had weaker powers than Lady Ava? Was that the reason she was recruited? Because she was so strong? Was that way he had collapsed as soon as he touched Cass? Because Lady Ava had touched him before and had never collapsed. His age could also play a role in this.
Cass’ mind was full of these kinds of thoughts while the food was brought out and when a servant tried to put some on Cass’ plate, he waved them away. The Head Priest was the first to notice. He frowned and scanned Cass up and down rather seriously.
"What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating?" Cass blinked. It was the first servant with the first wave of food, he didn’t need to be so dramatic. Yes, he wasn’t going to accept any of the food, but that was neither here nor there.
Cass gave him a professional smile, or as close to one as he could muster this early in the morning without his tea or food in his belly.
"I have some rather serious food allergies. I tend to not eat food I haven’t prepared or trusted sources haven’t prepared. I hope you don’t take it personally. They’re all aware of it." Cass gestured broadly to the rest of the table and Lady Ava nodded, along with Fiona.
"Yes. We don’t take it personally." Fiona added with a fond smile towards Cass. The Head Priest stared at Cass before he sighed.
"Well, all we can hope is that any child born between our great Hero Fiona and Lord Blackburn doesn’t have the same allergies, hmm?" Cass felt his face warm, and when he glanced at Fiona, her face was flushed as well. All she did was stand up for him, she didn’t need this kind of response in return.
Lady Ava looked ill at the mention of Cass and Fiona having a child. So did Lucian. The man looked like he’d seen a ghost and Cass couldn’t get a glimpse of Vespertine’s face since he was too far away. Lord Ridgewood looked...unaffected. Cass let out a little laugh.
"Well, we’ll have to see. Nothing is set in stone. Genetics aren’t always obvious." Cass said, not really meaning for it to be a dig but he watched as Vespertine’s father flinched. Cass heard Vespertine inhale sharply, and Cass knew that he must have fucked up in some way.
Cass pointed to himself, chuckling lightly. "I mean, I don’t really look like my family, do I?" Cass said. "I have more of my Mother in me." Cass said and Vespertine’s Father relaxed slightly.
"Ah. Yes. It is rather unfortunate, that. The Blackburn’s were always handsome men, but you’ve come out on the more...pretty side of handsome." It was an insult. Cass knew it. He hadn’t been called a homo in his other life for no fucking reason, and his fists tightened in his gloves.
You are not about to fight an old man. At the very least, not on home turf.
Get him in an alley, Cass. Jump his ass.
Cass let out another laugh, but he was sure his eyes weren’t laughing.
"There is a reason nursery rhymes tell humans to stay away from fairies, right?" Cass didn’t know where those words came from, since he hadn’t really read any nursery rhymes, but hell yeah Lord Blackburn. Thanks for having our back. The Head Priest’s smile also grew to have a fake nature and the two men kept trading barbs all throughout the meal.
Cass was sure that everyone else was praying that this would be over soon, but the sharp pain he was getting from his hero mark on his back was making this event even more painful. Cass excused himself at one point to go to the bathroom, and was escorted by the very same butler that had greeted him.
Cass took that time to eat a few pieces of beef jerky, compose himself, and talk himself down from fighting an old man who nearly fainted at the touch of his hand. He needed to not make the temple an enemy of him, personally. Even if the Blackburn family didn’t traditionally get along with the Vespertine family, or the temple, that didn’t mean he needed to continue that beef.
Vespertine didn’t want to, nor did Lady Ava. So, Cass needed to keep his head on his shoulders.
He wasn’t expecting that Fiona was going to check up on him.
When he swung open the door to the bathroom, Fiona was there and she pushed him back, locking the door behind them and then grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Are you alright? Okay?" She asked quietly, as if she was aware others would be listening in. Cass blinked several times before he nodded.
"I’m fine." He confirmed. He noticed how Fiona was twitching, before she sighed.
"Are you...getting sharp pains from your mark?" She asked even quieter and Cass was stunned. She was getting it too? From Cass’ look she was able to infer that the same thing was happening to him and she gulped. "Okay. Okay. That usually means that they really want to talk to us. Just...be careful. I don’t trust the head priest. I saw him and Lord Ridgewood talking before I arrived." Well, that did spell disaster.
Cass knew that Lord Ridgewood had beef with him because of his blood.
"What a rat." Cass found the words leaving his mouth not as quietly as they should have. Fiona’s eyes bulged in her face before she dropped her head and her shoulders started shaking.
"Say that to his face, please. I’d love to see his reaction. Sorry. We can head back now. I just needed to warn you." She whispered and gave Cass’ shoulders a squeeze before releasing him. "You head on first." She gestured, waving Cass out and Cass left, heading back to the dining hall. He hoped they were all done now so he didn’t have to sit there awkwardly anymore.