Cass squinted at the fucker, the more he looked at him the more upset he found himself getting. What was even so attractive about this guy that people called him an incubus? What charm did he even have? Cass was sure that if he got close enough he would be able to see the shitty little details on shitty little face. He probably had never used a washcloth in his life.
He probably had giant blackheads on his face. Absolutely massive.
"Cassy? If you keep staring at me I might start to get the wrong idea." The demon king said with a wink. Cass made a disgusted noise, loudly, and scrunched his face up as well for good measure.
"Disgusting." Cass declared and the man’s red eyes sparkled.
"Oh good. I’m glad to hear it." Cass wasn’t sure what the hell that meant, and he didn’t want to think about it either. Cass took a deep steady breath, calming himself. He had a laundry list of questions, from him and from Cassian. He needed to get to it instead of eating into the time he had with him. Who knew if Edgar was already waiting for him?
"What the hell am I?" Cass asked and he sighed.
"What are you? Why, you are Lord Cassian Blackburn, the legal heir of the Blackburn Ducal family." Cass didn’t know why, but something tingled down his spine when he heard that. That didn’t sound true, it felt true. Cass felt confusion fill him. What the fuck was that? Why did he feel that way?
"The legal heir?" Cass repeated and the demon king’s face soured. He shifted in his seat, sitting up.
"Yes. Despite everything I did, you are the legal heir, Cassy." That seemed to put him in a bad mood, but Cass wasn’t sure why. Why was he upset that Cass was the legal heir? Cassian had always been the legal heir.
"Despite what you did? What-no. How the fuck do I even exist? According to the fairies I’ve spoken to, I’m a monster. I shouldn’t exist." Cass said and the demon king’s eyes widened. He actually looked horrified to hear the words coming out of his mouth.
"Monster? Monster?! How could you say that! You are my precious, perfect creation! You exist in defiance of those damn fuckers on the other side. You are a marvel, not a monster! A testament to the fact that every demon king before me has been getting smarter and smarter, and every demon king after me will continue to get more intelligent as time goes on." Cass shivered. That felt like a damn prophecy.
The look in his eyes made Cass feel...icky.
"There is no way I’m a marvel. Spitting in the face of other creators isn’t always a good thing. I’ve almost died several times because of this fucked up body of mine." Cass told him and the demon king paused and then looked mournful.
"Mmm, yes. It was quite dreadful to watch. Your early years were particularly hard to witness. I wanted to strangle all those who deemed you unworthy. How dare they treat you, my precious creation so poorly? It was why I sent that little imp your way. Do you like him? He’s been particularly helpful in keeping you alive. You’ve even grown plumper. Better for you, isn’t it? More of you to grab onto." He sounded like he was teasing Cass, but honestly it felt more like harassment.
He did not like thinking that this demon knew anything about Cass, especially something so intimate. However, Cass realised something horrifying at that moment. Imp. He’d sent an imp.
He was the one who sent Sam. Not only was Sam sent to spy on him for the demon king, he’d been sent by the demon king himself. No wonder Sam nearly died trying to speak about it! If he had signed a contract with not just a powerful demon but the powerful demon there was no way he would be able to speak of it normally.
"Why did you send the imp?" Cass demanded, fear a pulse inside of him. If anything he said contradicted what Sam had said, it would crush him. The demon king gave a disgusted look.
"Why would I send an imp? Because it’s easy. I wave a hand and oh look! 20 imps are at my beck and call. I thought, given how terrible the other servants were doing their job you could do with a few. Only one passed your strict standards, which in turn, made me raise my standards. I have to thank you for that one. I stole it." He grinned and Cass hated that he was even a tiny bit handsome. "It’s been taking care of you well? Its reports are mostly about your favourite foods and your dislikes. You really shouldn’t be as picky as you are."
Cass felt his jaw drop. Was he about to get lectured by the demon king of all people about his eating habits?
"Over half of the food in the mansion was blessed. I would throw up blood eating it. There was no way I was varying my food intake because I don’t like it when my internal organs stop working." Cass told him and the demon king’s nostrils flared. He slammed his hand down on the armrest of the throne. Even from where Cass was, he could feel the power that radiated out from that hit.
He may be putting on a good show of being relatively harmless, but if Cass had been under that fist? He would be a fucking pancake.
"That damn snooty fucking bitch. I tried to deal with her, but you put a stop to it. I was so fucking close that I could just snap her thin neck and toss her into a ravine. Why did you stop me?" The demon king asked and Cass stared at him.
Why was he calling himself smart while also revealing what he’d done? How was that...intelligent? A dawning horror filled Cass.
No, he could be weighing the odds. Maybe it was more beneficial for him to reveal this information to Cass. The problem was, Cass didn’t know what the man was getting out of this conversation that was worth enough for him to reveal these things. What was so important about this conversation?
"Because Fiona would be sad if she died. I’d rather not deal with that." Cass told him. It was a truth, but there was also the fact that he really didn’t like killing people. Well, he’d feel guilty killing Lady Ava. He knew her too much. Knew her too well.
The demon king snarled.
"You don’t even sleep with the hero. It would do you well to not limit your selection, but I guess you do take after your Mother in that regard. You prefer handsome men compared to my desire for pretty women. Ah. What a waste. It would have been delightful if you had taken over the throne through blood as well." He sounded...sad. Upset.
Cass felt ill.
"You think I’m going to take over the throne?" Cass asked and the demon king stared at him.
"Aren’t you? You have the red dragon seduced, what’s stopping you from ordering him to eat a few more humans and becoming the ruler of a human nation? It would make me very proud if you did so." Make him proud? Him?
Why the fuck would Cass care about what made him proud? He wasn’t his fucking Da-
The world tilted as soon as the thought hit him. Cass stopped breathing as something terrible, sickening and horrifying filled him. Horror wasn’t even a good enough word to describe the slithery, insidious thoughts that were filling him.
He said that Cass was the legal heir to the Blackburn family. He said he was disappointed, despite what he’d tried. He kept calling him his ’creation’. Cass began to feel light-headed from lack of oxygen as something so horrifying and terrible washed over him.
"Cassy? Breathe, honey. We can’t have you passing out. It wouldn’t do you any good." The demon king said and Cass gasped, but not because he asked him to. He needed to. Cass gripped onto his chest, his head aching and his heart pounding.
"What am I to you?" Cass asked, his voice strained as he looked towards the demon king. "What are you to me?" Cass asked and watched as the demon king let the little mask he’d been putting on slip.
Through it Cass could see the calculating, plotting demon king underneath. The one that ended this world so many times that the gods had asked for Cass’ help to stop him.
The demon king adjusted how he was sitting, pulling his shoulders back, sitting up until he was upright in the throne, his head held high as he stared down at Cass. It didn’t matter that they were eye-height right now, Cass could feel it. The man smirked.
"What are you to me? Sweet Cassy Cass, have I not given you enough clues?" His voice was soft, sweet, and Cass wanted to throw up. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
"How? You can’t-you can’t come into this world!" Cass protested and the demon king’s smirk grew into a true, terrifying smile.
"I love how smart you are. So smart and sweet. But I think you are forgetting something very important, Cassy. It takes two to make a baby." Cass’ breath caught as he held out his hand.
Cass almost didn’t want to watch as someone else entered the frame.
Lithe, slender, Cass could only watch as they moved across the frame with their back to Cass at first. They had a pair of wings, just as detailed as the wings of the demon king. They broke out of her back, along her shoulder blades. She wore a slithery, shimmery fabric that framed her body and didn’t touch the wings at all.
The fabric shifted from black to purple. It would have been pretty if shock wasn’t causing Cass’ body to shake and tremble. She had a mane of white hair going down her back. Thick, curly and it shone in a light Cass couldn’t see. Her skin was delicate, white, like Cass’.
When she turned, sitting down in the demon king’s lap, Cass thought his heart was going to stop beating. No wonder people had clocked him as a fairy. It was etched all over her face. He was an exact copy of her, except for her pretty, purple gaze.
She smiled widely as she met Cass’ gaze, a woman who he’d only heard of. Who had terrible rumours whispered about her. A woman who had been known for being pretty, with a voice like a songbird.
Cass shivered as soon as she spoke.
"Hello, son."