"This is a very serious issue." Fiona said. "If we can’t sense them, or trust other countries, this is going to be a very big deal." Fiona said. Lady Ava, who had been listening in, smiled softly.
"I could tell." She said, and the room froze. "It wasn’t right away because I was too far away, but I could tell." She said and Fiona turned to stare at her girlfriend.
"Why didn’t you say anything about it until now?" Fiona asked, clearly frustrated and Lady Ava glanced around the group before her eyes landed on Cass.
"Because I wanted to make sure. I’ve never been able to sense Cass, so I was worried I was wrong. Maybe something had shifted. I needed confirmation." She said and Cass blinked. He couldn’t...really argue with that.
Cass raised his hand to his chin, thoughtful.
"Maybe I’m a different kind? Not the normal type?" Cass offered and Lady Ava nodded.
"I think so too. All of the other demons I’ve encountered have been like the guy who was trying to marry me." Lady Ava said. Cass nodded, as did Fiona.
"Well, that’s good to know, I guess. Otherwise, Cass wouldn’t have been able to be around you as much as he has. He would have been found out immediately." Fiona said, then frowned. "This is so damn complicated. How the fuck did this even happen? They’re like damn fucking flies!" Fiona cursed, before slapping a hand over her mouth. "N-Not you, Cass!" She said anxiously, and Cass laughed.
"It’s okay. I don’t exactly view myself the same as them, and Lady Ava doesn’t either. When we speak of ’demons’ we can just take myself out of the equation. It’s clear whatever created this," Cass gestured to his whole body, "wasn’t through the same means that all the other demons are gaining access to this world." Cass told the group. Edgar nodded, as did Lord Ridgewood.
"Agreed. It’s honestly a bit of a miracle that you can stand the presence of Lady Ava and I. While I am no Saint, I have been told I emit rather serious amounts of holy power." Lord Ridgewood said, before swallowing. "It was why I was so confused." He admitted and Cass felt another puzzle piece slide into place.
No wonder Lord Blackburn told him to stay away from him. That would explain a lot as to why he never felt great around the man. His body had been attacking him subconsciously.
"That does explain a few things." Cass agreed. "But it’s different now. Since I’ve received the...second blessing from the gods, my body feels better. Lighter." Cass said and Edgar nodded.
"I believe we have the same blessing now, Cass." Edgar told him. "Or, at the very least, something similar. You might even be able to eat blessed food now." Edgar said, but clearly he wasn’t looking for him to do so. His eyebrows were drawn into a concerned expression even as the words left his mouth.
"Let’s not test that. I would rather not see Cass spew blood from his mouth again." Lucian rumbled and Fiona nodded.
"I agree. It was a rather disturbing sight the first time. I do not need a repeat." She voiced. Cass glanced around the room and noticed that everyone was in agreement. Cass felt his lips curl up slightly.
"Understood. I won’t attempt it if I don’t have to." Cass agreed and that seemed to bring relief to the room, particularly Sam. It was like they thought he was reckless or something.
He wasn’t! He was proving a point last time. He avoided blessed food now.
"Alright, so we’re all in agreement that there is something fishy going on outside of the kingdom, right?" Cass said and Fiona sighed. She ran her hand over her face, pushing the few strands of her hair coming out of her braid back.
"Honestly, the whole thing smells really fucking fishy. Those motherfuckers in the top brass are clearly up to no good. I know that the Vespertine’s can’t really be infected with demons, nor can the Ridgewood’s, maybe, but the others? Are we sure the King and the others are okay? Are they even human?" Fiona was asking the real questions.
Cass glanced at Lady Ava, who just shook her head.
"I never got close enough to tell. At least, not them. I can tell you that there were more demons amongst the nobles then the last time I was at a ball." That came as a shock to Fiona and the rest of the group, but not Cass.
"You could always tell?" He asked and she nodded. She did not look happy about it.
"Father always said that there would be a baseline amount of demons in the human world. If I pointed out every demon amongst the ruling class it would only inconvenience the commonfolk." She said nervously, and Cass let out a deep sigh.
That Duke Vespertine was a piece of fucking work. He had tried to get Cass killed for being a demon, while accepting that there were other demons that could live and exist amongst the nobles. It was a fucking joke that they had persecuted his family when other demons could run free.
Because they weren’t a big enough family or a big enough problem to the other Dukes.
Cass’ smile was bitter, matching Edgar’s.
"Ha! Of course he would say that." Edgar muttered and Lady Ava glanced over at Edgar, looking conflicted.
"He...He used you as an example. Said they were a necessary evil." Lady Ava said and Edgar looked even more bitter. It was clear that whatever was going on in the Vespertine family was confusing. Duke Vespertine referred to Edgar as a ’necessary evil’ yet treated the son that was basically a sacrifice terribly. Wasn’t that pretty fucked up?
If it had been up to Cass, and someone in the family had to be ’sacrificed’ in the same way that Edgar was, Cass would have treated that person with more reverence, similar to how the Saintess was treated. If it was so necessary, the person should be treated like a damn hero.
Well, he was part of the hero party now. Maybe the man thought that was enough for his son? Cass wanted to spit on the ground in disgust, but out of respect for the house, he didn’t.
"Sometimes, people don’t need to make deals with demons to be considered evil." Cass muttered quietly, more to himself than for the others to hear him. That didn’t mean that they didn’t. Lord Ridgewood nodded, as did Lucian.
"Agreed. I’ve seen quite a few terrible fucking humans in my time." Lucian said, his orange gaze narrowed. "So? What are we going to do? This could impact our mission." Lucian said, and Cass kind of agreed. He knew that they were going to have a huge event approaching soon, if the events of the ball didn’t impact that.
Another dungeon was supposed to form soon in another country. The kingdom it happened in was supposed to contact them to clear it, but it would have to go through the king. Cass sighed.
"I might have to request an audience with the king." Cass muttered. "Speak to him, man to man, to make sure he doesn’t cut off funding to the hero party. Or, we need to make sure the public knows that we stopped a demon from infiltrating the kingdom through marriage to the Saintess." Cass muttered and Fiona’s eyes lit up.
"Oh! If you’re worried about that, I’ve already done several interviews. Mr. Collins was by, said his friend was curious about what happened at the ball. Byron helped." Fiona said and Cass felt...a little surprised by that. He slid his gaze to Sam and noticed how the man stiffened at the mention of Mr. Collins and Byron.
Interesting. He would need to prod that hornets nest once this meeting was over. He didn’t recall giving Byron or Mr. Collins that kind of directive. Was it bad that they were acting on their own? No, but he needed to make sure they were moving in the right direction.
"Has my grandfather done anything in the meantime?" Cass asked and Fiona sighed.
"No. It’s worrying, honestly. Well, he did send over some baby stuff, but nothing too crazy." Fiona said and Lady Ava looked displeased.
"I had the staff dispose of it." Lady Ava said darkly, and Cass watched as Fiona turned slightly away from her to hide her smile.
"Oh did he? That creepy old snake." Cass said, mildly amused. "Alright, so Byron and Mr. Collins are already working on making sure the public knows about that. We can’t let them sweep that part under the rug. We’re the heroes, that’s what we’re supposed to do. Prevent demons from infiltrating our world. If we do that, we can make a case that the King has no right to cut us off from resources. Not that it matters, but it’s symbolic." Cass said with a shrug. He picked up his teacup and took another sip.
"I agree. As much as I hate that man, the public needs to think we’re in good standing with him." Fiona agreed and Lucian let out a long, low groan.
"Can’t I just eat the royal family and we can restart?" Lucian asked and Cass gave him a pointed look.
"You got a tummy ache from eating one demon. How in the world are you going to manage a whole royal family?" Cass pointed out and Lucian scrunched up his face. Fiona laughed.
"That’s because you two never let me eat people anymore! You’re...you’re cruel! I’m a dragon! I eat people!" Lucian cried and Fiona laughed harder.
"Oh boo hoo. You decided you wanted to hang out with us, that’s the price you pay. You have to wear clothes, behave semi human-like, and you can’t eat people. If you want to go off on your own again, you can go back to eating people. Just know that Cass and I will be incredibly disappointed in you and probably won’t speak to you again." Fiona told the dragon.
Lucian swung his gaze to Cass to confirm that was true. Cass gave a serious nod.
"Never. Again. You’ll be cut off." Cass confirmed and Lucian harrumphed. He threw himself back against the couch. The couch groaned and thankfully, Edgar didn’t have a teacup in his hand. He had to grab onto the edge of the couch so that he didn’t go flying.
Edgar glared at him.
"You’re such a child." He told the dragon and Lucian glared at him.
"Says fucking you. Don’t get me started." Lucian rumbled and Edgar’s gaze narrowed.
"I don’t think you are capable of handling me in an argument, Lucy, so watch your tongue." Edgar warned and both men shimmered with anger. Cass sighed.
"Gentleman, focus please." He said mildly and the room simmered down. They went back to work, discussing their next steps.
All the while, Cass could tell something wasn’t quite right with Fiona and Lady Ava. While Fiona participated in the conversation, she let Cass lead it. She had never done that before.
Normally, she was the one leading these discussions, and that action alone worried Cass. Was he overstepping? Did something really happen while he was occupied with his heat?
He was going to have to speak to her once this meeting was over.