Cass couldn’t eat another bite. He felt like he was going to burst at the seams, but Lucian kept trying to force food on him. At one point, he got so frustrated he slapped his hand away.
"I’m done." Cass growled, worried he was going to throw up he’d eaten so much. Lucian had stared at the hand that Cass had smacked away before smiling slowly and nodding.
"Alright. I understand. I know what your max is. Let’s push that over the next week, hmm?" Lucian said with a glimmer in his eyes. Cass had felt horror fill him. He wanted him to eat like this for a week? Cass wouldn’t be able to walk because he’d feel too damn full. He’d never eaten like this in his life, this one or the other.
"You’re not serious, are you?" Cass asked and Lucian nodded.
"I wouldn’t lie about something so serious." He said and Cass sighed. He leaned back in his actually quite comfortable chair and groaned.
"I can’t even move, Lucian. I just want to go back upstairs and pass out."
"You should do that." Edgar interjected. "You’ve earned that right." He insisted and Cass glanced towards him. He was being oddly insistent but when he caught Edgar’s look, there wasn’t anything strange to it. It didn’t appear he was plotting anything or there wasn’t another meaning behind his words. He was being...genuine.
"I have too many things I need to do. Rest is not one of them." Cass told them. That was when a knock sounded on the door. Another one. He had expected the first knock to be Byron, but it had turned out to be Lord Ridgewood. He had no idea who else would be able to knock on the door this way given that Sam was in his room.
"Come in." Lucian called and Byron stepped inside. He was carrying the little tin with him and Cass blinked, before his expression darkened. Right. He needed to take that.
"I apologise, my Lord. It took me a while to find it." Byron apologised and Cass waved a hand dismissively. Dread was slowly filling his stomach. It had been such a long time since he’d taken that stuff, he could feel how his body wanted to reject it already.
Edgar was tensing next to him, and even Lord Ridgewood was glancing at him with great worry. Lucian was the only one who hadn’t changed.
"Right. You need to take your medicine. Alright. Byron, can you grab him a glass of water from the kitchen and a spoon? It’s just a spoon you need to scoop it, right?" Lucian asked, glancing at Cass and Byron. Byron nodded, answering for the both of them.
"Just a regular size glass of water and two spoonfuls. I made sure to confirm with Sam." Byron said and Lucian looked displeased, but nodded. Byron rushed off while Cass sat and realised his fate. He was the one who needed to do this. This was important. He needed it to get back to 100%, but he still fucking hated that he now knew what caused it, if he trusted Sam, and Cassian had thrown away the one time it didn’t hurt him.
Cass cursed Cassian out and felt the man shift uncomfortably inside of him.
Byron came back and Cass realised that both dragons were going to help him consume this. Lucian gently pushed Cass’ chair back, moving in closer, ready to force him to finish this. Cass was grateful, and annoyed that he was so ready to do something like this. His gaze was serious as Byron mixed the drink and it looked so damn ominous.
"Are you ready?" Lucian asked, picking up the glass. Cass nodded, resigned. He took a deep breath before the cup was pressed to his lips and Lucian tilted it. Cass began to twitch from the first sip, his hands reaching out like claws as he gripped onto Lucian’s arms holding him in place.
Fuck, it was just as awful as every time before this. Cass wanted to throw up, but Lucian kept him in place, forcing this sewage down his throat. He let Cass breathe when half of the glass was gone, his gaze hard, before he forced Cass to finish the thing.
He was covered in it, the liquid having dribbled down the sides of his face. It was disgusting, he was sure he looked insane, but no one said a word. Byron just came in and gently wiped at his face.
When the glass was empty, Lucian stepped back, putting the glass down and staring at Cass as he sat there, panting, feeling actually exhausted again. Hell, maybe he did need a nap after that hellish experience.
"You did great, Cass." Edgar’s words were soft and Cass let out a chuckle.
"Did I? Or did you just watch Lucian force something down my throat?" Cass said mockingly and Edgar’s expression darkened.
"Don’t speak of yourself like that. You did a lot of damage to yourself, and honestly, most of the time, healing shouldn’t be easy. We are just also blessed by the gods so that we can have less hardships." That felt a bit like a sermon, if Cass was honest. He didn’t want to get into it with Edgar, so he just nodded and closed his eyes. He let Byron continue to clean him up before he eventually batted away his hands.
"Enough. I have to check in a bunch of things, one of which I need to speak to you, Byron. Fiona is out, but when she comes back I feel we will call for you, Lord Ridgewood. You have a choice to make, even though it isn’t much of a choice." Cass told him with a little smirk and Lord Ridgewood, who had been on his best behaviour thus far, swallowed. He nodded.
"Of course, Cassian. I will...come when called." Lucian, the eldest of them all, snorted into his hand and Cass gave him a glare. He had a feeling he knew where his brain had gone. The fucking gutter.
"Wow. I had no idea that there were two of you like that." Lucian deadpanned and Lord Ridgewood didn’t get it. Edgar, however, glared at Lucian, his cheeks warming. Cass had to admit, that was a good one.
"Lucian." He still scolded and the man shrugged.
"Was I supposed to ignore that? I apologise, but there was no way I could resist. How are you feeling? Better?" Lucian asked and Cass was bitter about admitting that yes, he did feel better. His muscles were less tense and even though he’d poured that sludge into him, his stomach even felt better. Fuck.
He should be drinking that shit more.
Cass pushed the chair back, getting to his feet and wiping at his mouth again.
"I need to get to work. Whatever the rest of you do is up to you. Byron, with me." Cass said, and they headed out without waiting for the men to respond. Edgar was watching him like a hawk, clearly making sure that he was actually okay. Lord Ridgewood was as stiff as a board. Cass had no idea why he was so rigid.
Lucian? He was watching him with warmth in his gaze. Cass would even dare to say that it was affection. Cass avoided looking at him the most.
~
"So, when did you start operating a spy network without telling me?" Cass demanded. They were in his office here, Cass waiting for the door to close and for them to walk further into the room before he began his questioning. Byron at least looked apologetic and sheepish for his actions. His shoulders rounded, his back hunched.
He looked ridiculous given how tall he’d grown but he’d seen him do the same thing when he was practically half the height. It was a stark reminder that Byron was basically just out of his ’teenage’ years for a dragon.
"My...apologises, my Lord. I didn’t mean to keep it from you, but I...learned a lot at the ball and then I ran into Mr. Collins in a place he shouldn’t be and we got to talking. He doesn’t know that I work for you." Byron told him and Cass found that surprising.
"He will find out shortly, considering how upset Sam is. Did you account for that?" Cass asked. He wasn’t upset that he was working with Mr. Collins. Again, Mr. Collins was fueled by anger at the Blackburn family as a whole, and what they were doing to people who were not straight. He was going to do some stuff that Cass didn’t need to know about as long as it didn’t hurt him or his plans.
Byron, however, was attached to Cass. Especially after he had taken him to the ball where Lucian had transformed into a fucking dragon and ate someone. At Cass’ orders. If the man hadn’t turned out to be a demon? Well, things would have turned out significantly differently.
"I...did. I also warned him he might be surprised by who I work for." Cass groaned. That did not sound like he worked for Cass, that sounded like he worked for an absolute asshole. Whatever. He could just call Mr. Collins over and get this miscommunication out of the way. It was annoying that he did something without his consent, but it wasn’t as if he had acted without thinking about him.
"There will be no forgiveness if this happens a next time, Byron." Cass warned and Byron straightened up, swallowing thickly.
"Yes, my Lord. Thank you for being so generous." Cass grunted.
"You tell me, even if it’s in a minor way like, ’I’m working on something’ moving forward, understood? I just want to know about the moving pieces around me." Cass told him and Byron nodded. He looked terrified and that almost made Cass smile. He had no idea who Byron feared more. Cass? Or losing all access to Sam?
He knew the answer, given how the man hadn’t even hesitated to follow his lead when Sam was waved above his head.
Cass leaned back against his desk, crossing his arms and smirking. He had time. He could put that to use.
"So? You and Sam, hmm? Did that happen while I was gone?" Cass asked and watched as the man who had been acting as an informant turned bright red and flustered.
"Ah, well, uh." Cass laughed as he stuttered over his words. God, it was nice to see someone else struggle right now. Was Cass projecting? Maybe, but he was going to tease Byron until he felt better.