Chapter 238: I don’t want to be here when you two find out
Cass stared at Lucian as he came to a stop before him, and then Lucian’s expression brightened. He scanned Cass, taking in how he was standing, the look in his eyes and rudely, leaned in and sniffed him.
Then he pulled back, his grin growing.
"You look so much better than before. What happened?" He asked, glancing at Edgar and Edgar’s face darkened. Edgar shifted slightly on his feet, his gaze going from Cass, to Lucian and then to Sir Forsythe.
"We need to knock some sense into Gideon like Fiona did to us." Edgar told him grimly. Lucian paused, glancing between Cass and Edgar. Cass was looking at Sir Forsythe, who seemed weirdly excited about hearing those words.
"Oh? What did Lord Ridgewood do to my Lord?" Sir Forsythe asked calmly, but Lucian turned to him, his eyes wide. It was a slightly comical look on Lucian’s face, and Cass wondered what the man was going to say.
"I would...be careful there, Sir Forsythe. Lord Ridgewood is a good fighter." Lucian told him and Sir Forsythe’s hands clenched. He looked mildly insulted, but Cass knew from the way his eye was twitched that there was nothing mild about it.
"Are you saying that I am a bad one?" He asked, raising his gaze to meet Lucian’s and Lucian shook his head.
"No, I’m not. You are quite good for a human. I’m saying make sure you have the other two with you." Lucian said and Sir Forsythe nodded, his shoulders relaxing slightly. Cass was kind of glad that Lucian said that. It had put a halt to Sir Forsythe’s plan, because when you heard that from a dragon, whether you liked them or not, it did make you pause. It meant that whatever Sir Forsythe was plotting, he was going to wait until he had backup. Cass was still worried though.
"Or you could take Byron with you." Cass suggested. "He’s probably not as skilled, but still Lucian strong." Lucian nodded at Cass’s words encouragingly.
"Or that." Lucian said, backing Cass up. Edgar groaned.
"You’re going to let him come back to the mansion?" Edgar asked incredulously. Cass was a little surprised, but at the same time, wasn’t. Cass thought the man was going to try to defend his best friend more, but it was clear that Edgar cared more about Cass either as a person, or as a hero, than Cass had considered. When Cass looked at the other man he had a rather serious expression, his handsome face drawn gravely.
Cass felt his lips twitch.
"Look, whatever the case, I don’t get to decide who is in the hero party. It’s Fiona’s hero party, not mine. That’s fine by me, and we shouldn’t kick him out. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, you know?" Cass said with a shrug and Lucian’s expression darkened more.
"What the hell happened while those priests kept us separated?" Lucian asked, getting worked up and Edgar sighed. He looked like he was about to launch into the topic, but Cass just didn’t want to be here while he explained. It felt like too much work, and he could already tell that Sir Forsythe was going to fuss over him as soon as he heard it.
He was really taking over for Sam not being here.
"Where is Fiona, Lucian? Shouldn’t I rush to her before Edgar tells you what’s going on?" Lucian and Sir Forsythe jerked as they realised that Cass wasn’t calling him by his last name. Cass had subconsciously decided that he needed to separate Edgar from his fucking family, especially after Edgar had drawn a line.
He wasn’t like his Father, and Cass respected that aspect of himself enough to call him by his name.
"Ah, she’s at the end of this hall. There’s a doorway that leads out to the gardens. I’ll...We’ll lead you there. I’m assuming we’re going to remain nearby since you don’t know your way around here." Lucian said, before snorting. "I don’t know my way around here either." Lucian commented and Edgar chuckled.
"It’s supposed to be confusing for anyone who enters. So yes, we’ll wait for you. I’m assuming Ava isn’t with her?" Edgar said, glancing at Lucian and Lucian shook his head grimly.
"Nah. She really isn’t." Lucian said, looking not too happy about the words leaving his mouth and Edgar sighed.
"For all that she’s married to us, she’s really striking out with one woman, isn’t she?" Edgar muttered and Cass had to turn his head to the side to hide his shock. Holy shit. Had Edgar, of all people, just said that? About his wife?
It was fucking hilarious, but still!
"Uh, I don’t think you two have anything you can say in this situation." Cass told them, and both men looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean? You haven’t run away in tears saying this is the end yet. I think I’m doing quite well." Lucian said, his eyebrows knit together. Cass stared at him.
"So I need to be crying?" Cass said in a monotone and Lucian winced. He looked away, sucking air in between his teeth.
"Understood." He said, his voice quiet as they made their way down the hallway. They remained silent until they got to the end of the hall and Cass stared at the door.
He was always the one who was speaking to her, reaching out to her. He wasn’t really complaining about that fact, it just felt weird that he was the one doing it. He had the least amount of romantic experience between everyone here, yet it felt like she was relying on him the most.
Was it because they were heroes? Was it because she felt like his sister and he had sort of been treating her as such? Or was it because she felt something else that Cass couldn’t wrap his head around for him? Like affection of some kind? Cass didn’t know, and he found himself exhaling sharply as they came to a stop.
He brushed past Lucian and Sir Forsythe, who had remained at the front of the group as they had moved down the hallway and put his hand on the doorknob. It looked slightly different from the interior doors, and Cass nodded.
"Alright. I’ll go see what I can do." Cass told the group behind him without looking back at them. "Edgar, you can tell Lucian and Sir Forsythe what happened." Cass said before he swung open the door and headed outside.
Cass should have known that the gardens would be a work of art. They really wore. Each flowerbed was manicured to perfection, each tree trimmed beautifully. There was clear intention with how the garden was maintained. Each stalk and branch meant something.
But Cass couldn’t hear any birds, or see any insect life here.
While it looked alive, Cass couldn’t really feel the plants like he could of the planters at the inn. This felt fake, but Cass knew it wasn’t. The plant life here was just so full of holy power that they didn’t feel like what Cass knew.
Cass moved through the garden, scanning for Fiona. He ended up finding her in the shade of a giant tree, a perfectly placed bench below the tree. She had her head down in her hands, her legs spread and her hair slowly uncurling from the complicated design it had been made into. One or two curls falling out of place.
It only made it clear that her state of mind wasn’t good, and Cass felt a tinge of guilt. They had probably started arguing because of him. That didn’t feel too great. Their happiness was important to Cass. He wanted them to be happy together, if Lady Ava got her shit together. He just wanted them to be good together...away from him.
He didn’t like that he had to be as hands on as he was being.
"Fiona?" Cass called as he got closer, not wanting to startle her too bad. When she jerked her head back, Cass realised that she was crying. Her eyes were spilling over and Cass felt his heart jerk in his chest.
Ah fuck.
He was in for it now.
"C-Cass? W-What are you doing here? Why are you here alone? Y-You should be with-" She cut off, trying to wipe her tears away. Hide that she was crumbling.
Cass could practically see her train of thought out loud. She needed to be kind, and strong, and firm. No one could see the cracks in her armor. She needed to have it all together.
Fuck.
Cass let out a deep, heavy sigh as he stopped for a second, staring at her before he moved and joined her on the bench.
"You don’t need to pretend around me." Cass told her. "Really. You’ve seen me at my fucking worst, I don’t care if I return the favour." Cass said and Fiona hiccupped.
"I-I care." She muttered, sounding miserable and weak. Cass chuckled.
"You shouldn’t. Really. Keep crying. I’ll be here when you’re done getting it out." Cass said and Fiona made a weird keening sound.
"You aren’t even going to offer me a hug?" She asked and Cass gave her a look.
"Do I look like someone who would offer that?" Cass asked and Fiona dropped her gaze. Staring at her from this angle, Cass could see how ugly she looked as she cried. Damn it. She looked just like his sister. He’d only caught her a few times, but this...
Cass let out a heavy sigh, feeling it in his bones as he grumbled.
"Come here." He muttered and Fiona turned and latched onto him, her grip tight as she sobbed out her worries and concerns. It wasn’t lost on him that she hadn’t asked him to leave in any of her words prior to this.
Quietly, Cass patted her back. He was terrible at this kind of comfort, but he could at least attempt to do so. He was doing his best, given the situation. He had no idea how he was supposed to ’fix’ her. He’d have to wait until she was able to tell him what had happened.