"Fiona, you know I was tasked with a different task." Cass said softly, and Fiona exhaled and nodded.
"Yeah." She agreed. The silence hung between them for a moment as Cass thought of a way to save this conversation without revealing anything or putting his whole foot in his mouth. He also didn’t want the nosy assholes around them to get too much info.
"Well, part of that was to make sure certain things didn’t happen. Your death was never in the cards. Can I say with certainty that it won’t happen? No, because a freak accident can happen at any point." Cass said and felt Fiona jerk. She turned to look at him, her eyes wide and watery.
"Cass..." She started and Cass shook his head, even as his chest ached. He hadn’t meant to graze it, his own death, but it was hard to miss it when they were talking about such a heavy topic like this. He let out a shaky breath.
"Either way, in the original plan, you had nothing to worry about, and I have no intention to change that part." Cass said, staring ahead. Fiona remained silent for a moment before she spoke.
"Okay. Thank you, Cass." She said softly and Cass nodded. He clenched his hand tightly into a fist, pulsing it for a moment to get some of the extra energy he had in his body out. Fuck.
"You’re welcome." Cass said.
"What do you want to do once this is all over?" Fiona asked and Cass gave her a look.
"You never answered my question." Cass told her. "And I asked you first." Fiona’s cheeks flushed.
"Right. I thought that I had, but I hadn’t. Hmm." She grew thoughtful. "I think...I’d like to get a nice little house, with a big garden that I could have nice lunches in. Learn how to garden and cook, and just...live with the people I love away from all this hero stuff. I’m not built for it long term." Fiona told him, turning towards him with a smile.
Cass didn’t really agree with the last part, but he understood her fantasy. A small, easy to manage home, a space that she could call her own without others pestering her. Cass got it. He really did.
"I think I agree with your sentiment. There is a part of me that wants to do that too." Cass told her, and Fiona looked mildly shocked that he would say something like that, before her expression smoothed out.
"Well, as someone with so much pressure on your shoulders, I can understand why you would want to run away. You’re the next Duke, Cass, and you have a lot of people’s lives on your shoulders, including mine." She said, her smile slightly teasing when she spoke. "I carry all of the other lives on mine." She teased, and Cass felt his lips curl up in a smile.
"A joint load. Probably why we’re married." He said dryly. "So they can keep it all in one place." She let out a hearty laugh at that.
"Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past them to plan things that way. A nice, easy box, with a few exceptions." She said, giving Cass a wink. Cass chuckled. Yeah, like the fact that Fiona loved a woman, not a man, and Cass had zero interest in women in general. They looked perfect on the outside, her in her pretty purple dress, and Cass in his black and white suit. Arm in arm, chatting peacefully, smiling at each other.
On the outside, they looked good together. Brown hair, white hair, with a secret heritage hinted for both of them. On paper, a spectacular pairing. Too bad very few people knew the truth.
"Well, we have to keep the gods on their toes. Otherwise, it’s probably rather boring for them, don’t you think?" Cass told her dryly, and Fiona’s eyes lit up.
"Oh, I’m sure. In between the demon king being a threat, what else are they going to do?" She snorted, and Cass chuckled as well. He was glad that she was at least somewhat of the same mind when it came to the gods.
"But Fiona, you could run away if you wanted." Cass said. "No one would blame you." Fiona laughed, but it wasn’t a kind sound.
"I can’t leave." She told him, her eyes sliding to him. "They know my weakness." She said softly and Cass sighed.
"We’re already working on fixing that issue, Fiona." Cass told her. "And beyond that, they can’t do anything about it if you and your weakness aren’t anywhere near their clutches." Cass shrugged. "Plus, I plan to deal with the bigger issue once this part is over. There are too many people living in hiding and fear in this Kingdom, and I think it’s about time that changed." They turned, heading back down the other side of the room now that they had gotten to one end.
No one had approached them, even if others had been looking at them like they wanted to speak to them, then caught Cass’ eye and paled and turned away. See? Cass was plenty scary without Lucian trying to chase the others away.
"You make it sound so easy." Fiona muttered. "But he’s been chipping away at this for years, Cass. I mean, there was a killing just two nights ago." Fiona said quietly. Cass hadn’t been aware of that, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t upset as soon as he heard of it.
"All the more reason for me to handle it, Fiona. It also isn’t like there aren’t other places that are better than this Kingdom. Obviously, excluding one other Kingdom, but there are plenty of places that are safe. The only reason I’m tied here is because I’m a Blackburn." Cass told her. "Have you ever left the Kingdom before?" Cass asked. She nodded.
"Yeah. A few times as a mercenary, and a few times as a hero as well. But..." She trailed off and Cass chuckled.
"You didn’t really get to explore, did you? Why don’t you seriously consider it? We’re partners until we decide to end this." Cass told her and heard Fiona inhale sharply beside him. She didn’t say anything for a minute, and Cass let her process what he’d said. He could tell it had a great impact since he could feel her trembling slightly.
"Do you...have any you can recommend?" She asked after a long moment and Cass chuckled.
"The library at home has a few books about other Kingdoms and countries. I’m sure I did that intentionally." Cass told her, glancing at Fiona. She had a rather...contemplative look on her face. Serious. Thoughtful.
"Is that home...the one in the city or the one you built?" She asked. Cass gave her a look, his eyes curling up with his smile.
"The one I built." Cass confirmed and Fiona nodded. They remained quiet for a moment.
"Are you...sure about this?" She asked quietly and Cass wondered what she was asking about. Him dealing with the King? Declaring that he wasn’t going to sit back anymore? He wasn’t exactly sure. Was he doing the right thing?
He didn’t know. Lord Blackburn wasn’t really stirring inside of him either. It was silent, too silent, but he’d been like this when he’d had his last hell week. At least, he was pretty sure. That, or he had limited energy he could expend. He had spoken up and given Cass his memories already, so maybe that was why he was quiet now that Cass was awake now?
Was she speaking about his plan to challenge his grandfather? Beat down his homophobic bill and make a safe space for LGBTQ+ people in this Kingdom? He wasn’t going to regret that part. Not ever.
Everyone deserved a safe home, and he hated that he was tied to a name that lived and breathed hatred and bigotry.
"I have no regrets, Fiona. I don’t think I ever will. I’m tired of just letting all of this go. Of letting them get away with this kind of behaviour. It’s time we fixed this inflated ego that they have while resting on your laurels." Fiona seemed a little confused by his tone, before her expression softened and she let out a chuckle.
"So that’s why you planned to confront them tonight?" She asked and Cass grumbled.
"I would have done this in a less public environment if they had given us the chance. They are the ones who set up this stage. I’m just being a good sport and going along with their plan, with my own twist." Cass said. He felt his body stiffen, and he pushed his chest out, straightening his back. Fiona chuckled.
"Well, I can’t argue that they made this bed themselves, and there is no love lost on my side. The moment that I watched all of the parental figures I cared about die was the moment I stopped caring about my lineage." Fiona stated calmly. Cass swallowed at hearing the casual way she said it.
There was no fear, no hint of hesitation in her eyes. Cass sighed.
"I’ll let Sir Sanders know to stand near you, in case you need his weapon." Cass said to her softly and Fiona let out a snort.
"I had no idea you were going to endorse this kind of attack." Fiona said, and Cass wondered where she got that idea until he met her gaze. She was teasing him, poking fun at him. Of course Lord Blackburn would condone that kind of violence.
His Mom was dead, and his Father was exiled. Of course he wouldn’t care about this kind of treatment, especially since he had the plan to do the exact same thing Fiona might do to his grandfather. The old fucker.
Cass was about to respond when three loud knocks rang out in the room.
It was time.
The King was about to enter with his shitty Queen and her son.
Cass braced himself. Things were about to get interesting.