Chapter 243: For my eyes only
Unfortunately for Cass, that sounded exactly like something that a dragon would say. Cass was also fairly certain that the man had no idea that what he’d said was something that the dragon from the book that Cass had lent to Edgar had said. Not exactly, but pretty fucking close.
Cass didn’t even know how to look at Lucian, he was having so many emotions flood his system. A lot of dread, if he was honest with himself, and a new one that made his heart itch, his eyelashes flutter, and breathing feel a little funny.
Cass knew that this wasn’t something that he should bring up, and that it didn’t really matter considering everything alarming and romance novel coded that the man had just said, but Cass was a man. He’d always been a man, and there were just some things that he couldn’t leave alone.
"I’m not pretty." Cass told him quietly, but firmly. Lucian inhaled softly.
"Oh? But you are, Cassian. You’ve always been pretty." Lucian said. "You just hid it behind a scowl before. Now, after coming back from your ’vacation’, you scowl a lot less. Others are noticing it as well." Lucian told him and Cass felt more dread fill him.
So that was why Lord Blackburn scowled all the time, looking damn miserable. To hide the genes he’d gotten from his Mom. The ethereal fairy genes that didn’t really want to hide behind anything.
Cass reached up and touched the tip of his ear, feeling the slight point to it and grumbled. He wasn’t pretty. Caspian had never been pretty. He’d been normal. Average. Brown eyes, brown hair, glasses. He’d blend in as long as someone didn’t fuck with him. Cass had been trying really hard to ignore how eye catching Lord Blackburn was, but this really put it into perspective.
He wasn’t really hiding anything. But the less black might be helping slightly? Now was not the time to ask, and he didn’t think he’d get an honest answer from Lucian anyway.
"Maybe I should bring back the scowl." Cass muttered and Lucian huffed air out of nostrils. It was hot, warm, fanning him but it didn’t have a bite to it.
"Sure. You can do that. It means that there will be less people looking at you. At least like you’re a snack." Cass blinked, raising his gaze to Lucian’s, confusion on his face.
"No one looks at me like that besides you." Cass told him and Lucian’s face froze, before a slow, broad smile crossed his face. His eyes warmed as he chuckled.
"Cassian, you can’t say things like that and expect me to not find you cute and adorable." Cass felt his face warm.
"I was just stating a fact! You’ve made it very obvious, and I-I don’t have to defend myself to you." Cass turned his head to the side, embarrassed. The fact that Lucian was just chuckling didn’t help the situation either.
Cass suddenly sprung to his feet, wanting to flee. Lucian grabbed his head, forcing Cass to look back.
"It’s okay. You don’t have to. I think we should leave this place now that you’re feeling okay." Lucian’s soft tone only made Cass look up to his eyes. He felt like he’d been punched in the gut with the soft way that Lucian was looking at him. Cass swallowed, unable to take the full brunt of how that man was looking at him.
"I think we should leave too. I have a lot of things to do today, and you need to go research humans." Cass muttered and Lucian squeezed his hand.
"I do need to do that." Lucian agreed warmly and Cass only grew more flustered. He was being too damn agreeable, and Cass didn’t know why, and as much as he wanted to ask, he also didn’t want to fucking know. He felt like he knew the answer, but...yeah, he didn’t want to know.
"I’m going to kill him." Fiona’s words echoing across the temple main hall had Cass and everyone else looking towards her. Her face was awash with anger, and she looked downright criminal. Cass didn’t doubt for a second that Fiona was capable of that kind of behaviour, and it was Edgar who looked conflicted.
"Could we...not do that?" Edgar was asking carefully. "I’m not defending his actions," he started when she glared at him, "I’m just saying we shouldn’t do that. We don’t need the Ridgewood family at our necks." Edgar said and Fiona huffed. She scanned the room, clearly looking for Cass and when her gaze landed on him, her eyes narrowed.
"You didn’t think to tell me what happened to you after I left?" She demanded, marching towards him. Lucian remained seated, but his grip on Cass’ hand tightened, like he was ready to pull him away from Fiona if she appeared to be too dangerous. Cass thought that was ludicrous. Fiona wouldn’t hurt him physically. Probably just emotionally.
"We had other things to discuss." Cass told her and Fiona huffed. Yeah. This was pretty Lucian-like behaviour, and he knew that she hadn’t learned it from him. Cass could see how the man said that they were similar. Hardy.
Fiona could probably bench Cass plus Lady Ava, together.
"Other things? Cassian Blackburn! That’s a pretty big thing to discuss!" Fiona wasn’t lowering her voice and Cass could feel how nervous the other Priests were getting. Even Lady Ava had stopped spinning to glance around, her own moment of happiness fading as she realised that something wasn’t quite right.
Cass shrugged.
"Everything worked out, didn’t it?" Cass said and Fiona’s eyes flared.
"Worked out? Worked out?! You could have-if Eddie hadn’t been there, Cass, I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened! What could have happened!" Fiona was pissed and Cass stared at her blankly.
"I would have injured an elderly man, Fiona, that’s what would have happened." Cass said it so calmly, so casually that it took the others a second to realise it. Cass sighed. "I think I would have hurt Lord Ridgewood. He may have his big sword, but he doesn’t have magic, does he? They, traditionally, don’t go together." Cass said rather cockily. He was right.
Close combat? Try me, bitch. Cass would have just thrown them against a wall or something and pinned them there. He would have been forgiven by the gods. They really didn’t have a choice.
Fiona stared at him, slack-jawed, as did Lady Ava and Edgar. Edgar started laughing first.
"Oh man, I kind of wished I could have seen that. I’m almost sorry I intervened the way that I did. Seeing my father get hit would be..." Edgar trailed off, a spark behind his eyes before he shook his head, smiling. He covered his mouth. "I really shouldn’t say that right now." He muttered quietly, but both Cass and Lucian overheard him.
Lucian let out a deep sigh.
"Well, you just have to let me know. I have no problems eating people. Some people," he gave a pointed look to Cass and Fiona, "don’t seem to approve of it. What else am I supposed to eat? Monsters? As far as I’m concerned, I am." Lucian was completely unapologetic as he said it, shrugging from where he was still sitting on the pew. Cass stared at him, before glancing over at Fiona who he was sure had the same, ’are you fucking kidding me?’ look that Cass had on his own face.
Yup. He was right.
Lady Ava gave a little chuckle and everyone looked over at her. "I...don’t think the gods would be too happy with that. As far as I know, he hasn’t handed over his responsibilities to anyone yet, not just me." She closed her eyes, seeming thoughtful for a second before she spoke again. "They would like to refrain from training someone like that again." She said with a smile, as if she wasn’t directly communicating with the gods about whether or not Lucian was going to eat the Head Priest.
This world was fucking ridiculous.
Cass turned his back to everyone, staring down the long hall towards the doors.
"Let’s just get out of here. I know Lord Ridgewood is going to come groveling any second now, and I need to do a lot of things today. Are we all going to Edgar’s house, or should we go somewhere else?" Cass asked and Edgar flinched.
"It’s probably best if we go to Fiona’s estate. As we are not going to yours, that seems to be the best bet." Edgar said and Cass nodded. He agreed. It was probably best to go to Fiona’s. They could avoid any awkward interactions with the others if they did that.
"Fine. As long as we’ve come up with a solution. Can we go now? I need to at least see some grass." Cass muttered, feeling a little antsy. Lucian jerked to his feet, forcing Fiona to step back a few steps. She glared at him, before looking around Lucian at Cass.
"Are you sure you’re okay? I should have asked this forever ago." She said, sounding seriously apologetic. "I was too focused on my own issues. I’m sorry, Cass." Honestly? It was a little exhausting how much she was trying to make it up to him. She’d already beaten up Lucian and Edgar for him. At this point, she had very little to apologise for.
"It’s fine. Sir Forsythe and Lucian are going to play a prank on them, probably tonight, with or without my permission, and I think this will only make my grandfather squirm more. Oh! We should have made it obvious to them that they shouldn’t tell anyone else. I didn’t think about that until now." Cass said and Edgar’s expression darkened.
"Then I will meet you at Fiona’s house. Ava, go with them, not with me. I don’t want Father to try and hold you back from leaving the house." Edgar sounded rather serious about that, and Lady Ava nodded. She rushed over and grabbed Fiona’s hand, giving it a squeeze with a smile.
"I can do that!" She exclaimed happily. Cass watched as Fiona’s face turned pink. The girl was down bad for the other. Even forgiving her for her villain arc.