Byron was acting as a security guard as he got the door closed, the people shuffled along, even if they really didn’t want to, and privacy was restored to the room. Cass knew his cheeks had to be a little red given the situation, but he just accepted it.
Edgar slowly stepped into the room, had to since Byron was closing the door behind them. Lady Ava was working away on the injured Lord Ridgewood, while Lucian and Fiona went to deal with Lord Ridgewood’s older brother.
The cause of this whole situation.
Fiona and Lucian looked like a damn storm, and Lord Ridgewood looked...resigned. Cass wondered if he had been attempting to avoid this whole altercation. It seemed that was the case, and while Cass could sympathize, it was beyond his full comprehension.
The man was clearly a fucking idiot, and a bigot. Why the hell would Lord Ridgewood want to be associated with a man like that? Even if they were blood related? Why the fuck were the people of this world aligning themselves with people who were actually awful, inside and out?
Cass tried not to wince when the full power of Lady Ava’s powers washed over the room. He knew that if he made an obvious sign, even with the idiot beaten up, he would clock that. So, Cass moved to where Fiona and Lucian were, attempting to be as far away as he could from the others.
He was surprised when Lucian reached for him, his expression dark, but his touch soft. He wrapped an arm around Cass. Casual, calm. He was putting himself in the way of the holy powers, and Cass could feel how the man practically expanded himself in his physical form.
He was truly just a dragon in a human form.
While Cass really shouldn’t be touching anyone, especially Lucian and Edgar, Cass couldn’t snap at the man. His actions did help him, and did prevent the holy power from hurting him as much. Cass didn’t say thank you, didn’t make it obvious, but when Lucian met his gaze, Cass gave him a slight nod in thanks. Lucian’s lips twitched before he turned his attention back to the man who was being held against the wall by Cass’ powers.
"Can we kill him?" Lucian asked casually. "I think if we don’t, he’s going to open his damn mouth and be a fucking problem." Lucian growled, and Cass could feel the rumble of his chest against his back.
It was intimate, personal, and Cass had to fight his body’s reaction. The simmer was simmering, awakening slowly. The rumble was particularly bad for him right now. He was remembering other times when the man had rumbled, far more intimate moments.
Cass cleared his throat, while Fiona let out a loud, angry sigh. Thankfully, it covered up his sound.
"We can’t. If the others found out that we killed him today, that would cause too many problems." Fiona said, growling as well. It was like looking at the female and male version of the same creature. Both were pissed. Both were angry, and until Cass came over, both had their arms crossed, glaring at the idiot.
Cass tilted his head to the side, watching the other man twist and turn while he was held against the wall. Cass could see the anger in his eyes, the hatred. Cass moved his hand slightly with intention, and watched as he raised up the wall. Cass’ lips twisted up into a smile as he watched fear enter his eyes.
"Mm. We could poison him, and leave his body in another room. Make it obvious that he was doing something unorthodox for his beliefs and make him write a suicide letter saying that he just couldn’t live with himself any longer." Cass suggested mildly and the holy powers stopped permeating the room.
Cass thought it was because Lady Ava was shocked by what he had said. He should have remembered that there was one thing Lady Ava was a professional in.
"I’m done healing Lord Ridgewood." Lady Ava announced to the room and Lucian gave Cass a squeeze before he removed his arm from around his shoulders. Cass felt something fill him when Lucian shifted away.
It made his chest tight, a little harder to breathe. What was it? Disappointment? Upset? Anger? Cass let out a slow exhale, trying to breathe past it and identify it as the last three came to stand with them.
Lady Ava went to stand with Fiona on the far side, while Edgar came to stand between Fiona and Cass, and Lucian made Lord Ridgewood stand next to him, and him alone.
Cass reached up, rubbing the spot that ached. It was...it was his heart. Was he in pain? Why was he-Cass felt his eyes widen. He was...he was upset that Lucian took his arm away? Why?
Cass knew that he shouldn’t be touched that much right now. Why was he upset? Did he find it comforting? Why? It was Lucian. The man was literally talking about killing people right now!
Granted, so was Cass, but that...that was different...
"We can’t do that, Cass. The only thing I can think of that would truly upset the public that he was doing was touching children, and I don’t want to implicate any children, false or not." Edgar said from beside him. Fiona scoffed.
"What? We could accuse him of touching other men. That seems to be something that he likes to accuse of others. That’s usually a pot calling the kettle black kind of situation." Cass glanced towards Fiona, realising that she knew exactly what she was saying. She shifted on her feet, trying to hide her reaction. The man was too busy choking to realise what she said.
Cass loosened his grip slightly, just so that the man didn’t pass out. He was coughing, spitting, making a lot of noise almost immediately and Cass let out a heavy sigh.
"If you’re going to be such a fucking baby about this, why in the world would you do this to your own brother? Even if you don’t like him, if you can’t take it, don’t dish it out." Cass told the man and Edgar snorted softly.
"Are you telling me you can handle being held against a wall? Pinned?" Edgar asked, and when Cass looked at him he was surprised that the man was being serious. There wasn’t a secret meaning to it.
Fiona, however, was not as innocent in her thought process, and Cass looked at her after scanning Edgar’s serious face to find her glancing between Cass, Lucian and Edgar. She turned her head and coughed, but Cass could see the laughter in her gaze.
"Edgar, I-"
"That’s a rude question to ask Cass. He’s weak, physically. We couldn’t pin him even if we wanted to. Not until he’s got more meat on his bones. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize himself that way until he’s stronger. He would just have one of us take his place." Lucian said, before looking at Cass for approval.
Like he’d said the right thing.
Edgar scoffed.
"Are you saying that you would let another man hold you against the wall in Cass’ place?" Edgar asked and Lucian rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Edgar, my dear little fool, I said I would take Cass’ place. Do you think Cass, of all people, would let anyone hold him against a wall if he didn’t implicitly want it?" Cass was regretting letting the brother stay awake as the idiots had this conversation.
"Gideon." Cass started, loudly, not letting the other two continue this conversation. Fiona snorted, clearly trying not to laugh. Cass swore he heard a little soft sound from Lady Ava too, and Cass’ face burned. "This technically happened to you. What are your thoughts on this?" He asked, looking around Lucian to get a good look at the man.
Absently, Cass waved another hand and Lord Ridgewood’s clothes were repaired within a few seconds. The man looked shocked, as did his brother. Cass didn’t realize that was another magic that wasn’t something a normal human would have until the man began slamming his heels against the wall.
Cass glanced at him, noticed the pure hatred that resided in his eyes, before Cass rolled his eyes and scoffed, waving a dismissive hand at the fucker.
"There are things far beyond what your small little brain can comprehend. Heir or not, there are things you are not told, by your father, and by your gods." Cass told him ominously, and Lady Ava made a noise of agreement. She took a step forward, Fiona putting her hand on her shoulder as if she was going to pull her back. Lady Ava straightened her shoulders as she stared up at the man.
"Do you want to know what the gods say about you?" She started, her voice trembling slightly as she stood up to a man who was probably also a holy knight. "They say that you’re a disappointment. That you had so much potential, but those with impure intentions twisted you into a creature about as bad as a demon." Her voice grew more confident as she spoke. "I would know." She declared hotly, before she did something unlike her. She spat the wall under the man, near his feet.
That was an insult in any world, any timeline. The man twitched, his eyes wide as Lady Ava stared up at him. Cass couldn’t make out what kind of expression she had on her face because of who she had angled herself, but it was probably intense.
"No matter what Lord Ridgewood says he would like to do with you, know that if the gods had the power to do so, they would take away your rights as a holy knight. You have disgraced them by letting ignorance and hatred cloud your heart, by allowing space for demons to take hold and twist. You’ve chosen the wrong side, and from this moment on, you will notice that every time you use your holy powers they will get weaker and weaker until you will lose them entirely." It was a prophecy, from the woman who spoke for the gods.
A sense of finality filled the air, a heaviness that Cass hadn’t felt before. It was in that moment that it was obvious that Lady Ava was the Saintess. She spoke for the gods, and she was making a hard line statement.
It was honestly...pretty fucking cool.
She stepped back, and Cass watched as her shoulders dropped and the confidence faded. The gods had given her a backbone, and Fiona gave her shoulder a squeeze, clearly proud of her. Cass was going to have to praise her later for her actions as well. That was pretty badass for a woman who had taken a turn for the worst only a short while ago.
Lord Ridgewood cleared his throat, taking a tentative step towards his brother, his gaze on him, and only him. There was something in his eyes that made Cass pause, almost tapping Lucian’s shoulder to alert him, but it was Edgar grabbing Cass’ wrist that had him halting.
Cass was going to have to let this play out.