Cass felt like he was shattered. Delicate. One wrong move and something could splinter apart.
He didn’t want to be alone anymore.
Whatever Lucian had done to him had shifted something on a level that Cass wasn’t prepared to look at too closely at the moment. So, he didn’t.
Cass sniffed, tears still streaming down his face, mixing with the blood and snot that had to be covering his face. He was a mess. A true, real mess. There was a small part of him that was happy that he’d chosen to wear black today. If he’d worn his usual frilly white fancy shirts he would have looked like a damn bloodbath.
"There we go. Get it out." Cass hadn’t really been paying attention to what Lucian had been saying to him, more listening to the rumble of the man’s voice, soft and sweet whispering in his ears as he cried.
Now that he had a bit of his mind back, he felt his face flush at the words leaving his mouth.
"Have you been saying things like that to me this whole time?" Cass asked, his voice rough, his eyes swollen. Shit, his head was pounding. He must have cried out any and all liquid in his body at this point.
"Of course. You deserve to hear it." Lucian told him and Cass felt embarrassment wash over him. What the fuck was this man saying? Deserved to hear it? Him? Cass?
"You can stop." Cass told him, sniffing. Lucian chuckled.
"I will not. You’re only saying that because you’re embarrassed. You aren’t better yet, Cass." Lucian told him and Cass wanted to argue with him. He wanted to push back, lash out because the man was getting too close to him. He was becoming too big of a piece of his heart. Cass had just clawed back a small shred of independence back for himself and Lucian had pushed right past that, clawing his spot back.
Not only his spot, but the spot everyone else had carved into Cass’ heart as well.
Was Cass kind of regretting how severely he’d reacted? Maybe. It wasn’t like this was something he didn’t expect, but he did think it was well within his rights to react at all to hearing that the man he had trusted for as long as he had was actually a spy. At least with Ser Hune she outed herself right away. The men had been actively hostile.
Sam had been none of those things. He’d kept the secret tight to his chest, and he also apparently wasn’t even able to tell Cass more about what was going on either. Not without putting severe strain on his own body.
Cass didn’t want that. There was a reason that he had only confined Sam last night to his rooms. He still liked the man. He didn’t want to have to get rid of him either, and Sam had told Cass that he would not survive if he was away from his side. Sam was giving Cass the perfect chance to be the villain that everyone made him out to be.
He could not do it.
Yes, his feelings were hurt. His soul felt hurt, actually. He was going to have issues trusting Sam moving forward.
Cass’ eyes watered as he thought about what he was going to do, what he was going to ask of them. It was basically the same thing that Fiona had done to Cass, but there was an option for them to say no. A viable option for them to say no.
"Sam." Cass started, ignoring the conversation that he had been having with Lucian. Lucian didn’t seem to mind, instead shifting their intertwined bodies so that Cass could meet Sam’s gaze without having to turn his head. Sam stared at him, his brown eyes soulless, empty. The man was clearly waiting for his sentence to be read to him.
Cass’ face crumpled for a second, emotion overwhelming him before he composed himself again.
"Sam, I’m going to have a hard time trusting you." Cass started and watched as Sam’s throat worked. He looked ill, the freckles on his cheeks in stark contrast on his pale skin.
"I know." He croaked, his eyes watery but not spilling over.
"I can’t have you remain as my personal aide." Cass started and watched as Sam shuttered. His eyes closed, his body shutting down. Cass felt a part of him shatter, but this was reasonable. This was a fair thing to tell him. His actions had to have consequences. "I won’t fire you. I’m not...I’m not a monster." Cass whispered. "There...there is one way where you can stay as my personal aide, but I don’t want you to feel forced to do it." Sam jerked his head up. His eyes were desperate, his gaze searching.
"What? What can I do? What is it? How can I prove myself to you?" Cass’ heart ached. He didn’t want to force this on them. It also wasn’t up to only Sam.
"I’m not forcing you into this. I want it to be clear that you just have to earn back my trust to become my aide again, Sam. You don’t have to go this route. It also...isn’t just up to me." Cass told him and Sam stood up. His hand thumped against his chest, his body shaking.
"I am nothing if I am not by your side! You’re my Master. I can’t-I can’t live without you! To not be by your side, assisting you in the way that I have? It’s basically sentencing me to die, my Lord." He was being dramatic, but then again, Cass couldn’t remember what he’d read about imps, or if he’d actually read about them at all. Had he just skimmed through the pictures of that Chapter? He couldn’t recall.
Cass slid his gaze to Byron, guilt making him frown and Byron shifted on his feet.
He was obviously watching all of this. He was clearly just as upset as Sam was, but he was doing his best to control himself. He didn’t want to jump into the fray, but he was there to make sure that Sam was okay. Byron would do that. The man wanted Sam as his mate, bonded for life. Cass had no idea how far their relationship had gone but Cass was the one who was going to play a role in affecting it.
Cass closed his eyes. Fuck.
"I can’t trust you, so I need someone to keep an eye on you. Your thoughts, emotions, feelings. Everything that would be a good way to see if you were going to betray me, harm me." Sam opened his mouth, ready to defend himself when Cass spoke up again. "I don’t know what having a contract with the demon king means, Sam. I don’t know what you’ve sworn, and you can’t speak on it. Can you?" Cass opened his eyes, looking towards the brown eyed man.
Sam looked...troubled. It was clear to Cass that he was right, at least partially.
"So...for me to have my spot by your side you need someone to monitor me? It’s clear you have something in mind. Is it mind control magic?" Sam asked. Cass would admit, he hadn’t even considered that as an option.
"Is that real magic?" Cass asked, turning towards the dragon holding him. He couldn’t recall reading about it. If it did exist it was probably in the same branch of charm magic. Lucian looked grim as he met Cass’ gaze.
"I wouldn’t recommend it. It would cause others to know things about you that should remain in the dark. If a mage caught on to what kind of magic was cast on Sam, like if you’d let him out of the mansion or if, gods forbid, another spy was around? Not a good call." Lucian said and Sam deflated.
He stared at the ground, his shoulders shaking as he waited for Cass to speak. Cass swallowed.
"I would want Byron to mark you. At least for however long the temporary bond lasts. What happens after that is not up to me." Cass said slowly. He closed his eyes and groaned slightly. "I know that this is no better than what Fiona forced upon me, but I just..."
"It’s different." Sam said quickly. "You aren’t threatening Byron to bite me without my consent, or his. You’re just telling me what would make you trust me more at this moment." Lucian stiffened as soon as the words left Cass’ mouth.
It was clear that he hadn’t expected him to go in that direction, and from the shocked expression on Byron’s face, he was at a loss as well. It was only Sam and Cass who were able to speak at the moment.
"But it’s still invasive. I know what it feels like but still I’m suggesting you do something so...against the norm. Would it even work for you?" Cass asked, now worried that because he was a demon it wouldn’t work. Sam let out a light laugh, the first he’d let out this whole time.
"It worked for you, my Lord. Why wouldn’t it work for me?" Sam asked and Cass had to admit, he had a rather good point there. Lucian interrupted the two, needing to clarify what he thought he was hearing.
"Cass. You want Byron to mark Sam?" Lucian’s voice sounded strained, tense. Cass nodded. While he didn’t think it was the best plan, it was the only one he could think up at the moment.
"It can’t be you, unless you can bite more than one person at a time. I also don’t think Byron or Sam would be okay with that." Cass said to Lucian and Lucian pulled back slightly to stare at Cass’ face. The man looked horrified.
"There has never been a chance that a dragon has been able to take on two mates, Cass. Not now, not ever. We’re too possessive of what is ours. I would also never do that to you." Lucian told him and Cass stared at the man. Do it to him? Why would Cass’-
Cass felt his face warm. He tightened his grip on the parts of Lucian that he was holding onto, mainly his sides and shirt. He swallowed thickly.
"You would not be bothering me if you marked someone else." Cass mumbled and Lucian’s gaze shifted. He grew cold, watching Cass as he twitched. Cass felt his face warm more.
"Hmm. Anyway," Lucian turned towards Sam and Byron. "Byron, what do you think? Could you mark Sam?" Lucian asked. Byron flushed a deep red, slamming his hand against his face.
"I don’t want to force him." Byron said and Sam rolled his eyes.
"What is another forced marking by a dragon around us?" Sam suggested and Cass blinked. "Plus, it’s not truly forced since the Lord suggested it and I agreed. You get to bite me, I get to remain by my Lord’s side. It works out for everyone involved." Sam said and Byron’s face went a shade of red that Cass found impressive.
"Sam. It means that we can’t...lay with each other." Byron hissed. "Not without things becoming far more serious than I think you’re prepared to accept." Cass did not expect Byron to be the voice of reason right now. He was still a child in Cass’ mind, but it was clear that he had his head on straight at the moment.
"Byron is right." Lucian said. "Penetrative sex where two genitals are involved is a no go if you don’t want to be bonded forever, Sam. Anything else? Have fun." Lucian said with a chuckle. Cass groaned while Sam sat there, aware.
"I know that. What’s a few months of abstinence?" Sam suggested easily. "We’ve done it before when Byron was underage." Sam said. Cass wasn’t sure if he was allowed to find this situation funny. This was a rather serious topic, but Sam was just...being Sam, Cass guessed.