At least Cass wasn’t the only one looking ruffled when Byron came back into the room, a smile on his lips and his clothes askew. Whatever had happened to him, he looked too damn pleased that it had. He radiated happiness, so he didn’t even care that he stepped into a complicated mess of a room.
"My Lord, how is that letter going?" Byron asked, scanning the room but his shoulders were relaxed. Happy. Cass swallowed, his face red because Edgar was still in his lap and Lucian was holding his hand still.
"Not done yet, Byron." Cass admitted and Byron chuckled.
"Well, might I suggest you work on that, my Lord? I got permission from Sam." Byron was beaming. It wasn’t a huge smile, it didn’t crack his whole face in half, but it was the most that Byron had smiled since Cass had met the man. That was a big deal for the dragon.
"You got more than just his permission." Lucian deadpanned, a sparkle in his eye as he looked at his fellow dragon. They both rumbled, and it was at that moment that Cass thought that they were doing that together. Like a communication ability that was unique to dragons.
"Do not speak ill of me in front of my Lord." Byron said, but there was no heat to his words. Lucian chuckled.
"We’re going on an outing tomorrow." Lucian bragged and Byron blinked, glancing at Edgar in Cass’ lap and Lucian’s hold on Cass’ hand.
"Just you and the Lord?" He clarified and Lucian nodded. Byron’s expression softened slightly. "Congratulations." Byron meant his words and Cass felt his chest tighten. Why the hell did he sound so sincere? Lucian rumbled.
"Thank you." Cass had no idea what was passing between the two dragons, but Edgar seemed to find it amusing. He chuckled, leaning into Cass, pressing his forehead against Cass’ shoulder as he laughed.
Then, he straightened and slowly stepped out of Cass’ lap, grinning brightly.
"I better let you get to work then, so that our dear little Byron doesn’t get ripped to shreds for taking too long to get home." Edgar said with a smirk. Byron didn’t deny it, and Edgar chuckled more. "Sam’s got you wrapped around his finger, huh?" Edgar teased and Byron let out a soft rumble.
"Wouldn’t you be wrapped around someone’s finger if they were the reason your hearts beat?" Byron responded. Cass was quiet, Edgar was quiet, even Gideon looked stunned. Only Lucian let out an appreciative rumble.
"That’s a fellow dragon right there." He said, proud of the younger dragon. "I am glad you found your bond partner so quickly, but maybe that’s just a family trait." Lucian said and for the first time Byron seemed a little confused, off-centered.
"What?" He asked, glancing at Lucian and Lucian squeezed Cass’ hand tightly.
"Your parents. They found each other rather quickly for dragons, only about 50 years after they matured. They never left each other’s side after that." Lucian spoke warmly, his orange gaze soft and warm in a way that Cass had only seen when he was speaking to Cass.
It was...strange to see it on Lucian at this moment, but Cass had a rather startling realisation. Lucian was looking at Byron who was essentially his nephew. That was the kind of emotion that Cass could feel behind Lucian’s words and actions ever since he’d realised who and what Byron was.
Lucian was looking at Byron in the same way that Cass would have looked at his own nieces or nephews. Cass felt his chest tighten, a pain twisting and making it a little hard to breathe.
"I...had no idea." Byron muttered, looking a little stunned. "You never said anything." Byron sounded like he was accusing Lucian of keeping the information from him but Lucian laughed.
"Well, I had no idea how serious you were with Sam, so I wanted to wait before I put that kind of legacy on your shoulders." Lucian’s voice was warm, his hand in Cass’ slightly rough, tough. Cass swallowed thickly.
"Let me work on that letter so you don’t get in any more trouble, hmm? I want Sam to be in a good mood tomorrow." Cass joked, his mind racing. He wasn’t upset, he just felt...strange. He was glad that one of them got to meet family members.
Everyone let Cass work, the four people chatting around him. Even Gideon remained, getting roped into whatever Byron and Lucian were discussing. Cass ignored them, noticing how Edgar kept moving the work around in the office space, even going to the room next door where the rest of the piles were being kept.
Cass had a feeling he was getting the room ready for when he was doing the work tomorrow. Cass didn’t mind. It would be interesting to review the documents that Edgar prepared when he got home just to see how a fellow Duke’s son handled these kinds of tasks.
Cass did manage to finish the letter, not needing to put a lot into it. He was just asking Sir Forsythe to recall if there had been any servants at the Duke’s manor that felt like Sam. Who had exuded anything similar to a sex demon. He made a detailed note of how adult sex demons felt to those around them, even if they weren’t seducing them. He felt that was important for someone like Sir Forsythe.
He also let him know that Ser Hune and Sir Sanders were planning to stay behind at the city mansion because they had been granted the right to have a child. The nursery tree was helping, and he was soon going to be a god father. Cass had no doubt that was the case.
Who else would they choose? Cass? Cass would be offended for Sir Forsythe if that happened.
After that he asked about Lady Ava’s family and let Sir Forsythe know the news that the two idiot lesbians had run away together, Gideon had become another saint so now there were two saints and two heroes running amok in this world. Cass had no idea what the implications of that would be, but they were doing their best.
He told the other man not to worry, Cass was doing fine. They’d found out more about his origins and knew that he was going to be upset when he found out the truth. He said that it was too sensitive to even write down, so he’d have to ask Byron about it personally.
He hoped that Sir Forsythe was faring well, asked if he’d checked up on the kids at the orphanage, and if he was eating well. He hoped that they would be home soon, but he wasn’t sure. He wanted to be home soon.
The letter that Cass had thought was going to be short ended up being quite lengthy as Cass realised that Sir Forsythe had missed out on a lot while being away. It made Cass’ chest ache thinking about it, but he knew that this wouldn’t be for much longer. Things would get better soon.
After this next dungeon, Cass was going to go back to his home. Back to the place that he’d built. He was going to put his head down after this and figure out how to stop the bad ending. Now that Fiona was gone...the book was completely off script. He needed to figure this out for his own sanity.
~
Cass saw Byron off personally. He didn’t want to let him disappear into the night on his own when he was doing something for Cass. Lucian came with him, all smiles as he walked beside Cass in the hallway, Byron ahead of them for once.
Gideon and Edgar remained behind, both men saying that they had something to discuss. Edgar seemed surprised that Gideon had something he wanted to discuss with him, while Lucian was giving Gideon a hard look.
Cass had a sneaking suspicion that the dragon had to be behind the reason why they needed to talk.
"Is Sam actually alright, Byron? You’re taking good care of him?" Lucian asked and Byron let out a scoff. He looked behind him at Lucian and Cass felt a strange jolt in his chest as he realised that the way he was looking at Lucian was completely different compared to how the young dragon looked at Cass.
"Do you think I’m an idiot? I would never push him too far without the mark." Byron told him and Lucian let out an approving rumble.
"Good. Without the mark no one is able to handle our full love easily." Lucian said and Byron grumbled.
"I know that. You told me that, after all." Cass listened to the two talk, intrigued. Lucian snorted.
"I had to tell you because you thought you could go after the man at full throttle when we all thought he was still a human!" Lucian scolded and Cass swore he watched Byron’s white skin turn pink. He coughed.
"I was an adolescent. That was just hormones speaking. I’d never been granted permission to even touch Sam before then. He didn’t even show interest in me when I was a teen anyways." Byron muttered. Cass swore he was pouting. Lucian reached over and smacked the back of his head.
"As he shouldn’t! Most know better than to touch a child, Byron, even if you felt like you weren’t a child anymore on the inside. The fact you weren’t able to shift was sign enough that you weren’t quite an adult yet." Lucian reminded him. Byron looked upset, but didn’t argue further. Lucian huffed.
"He’s fine. Just sore. I knew to control myself." Byron admitted. "He told me he liked it." Okay, his face was definitely red now and Cass was happy that he was able to witness this moment. They weren’t even on the stairs!
"Good. That’s important. Liking the act is half of the battle." Lucian was speaking like a seasoned veteran but Byron looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Didn’t you bite your bond partner against their will?" He reminded him and Lucian’s cockiness faded. He rumbled, moving close to swat at Byron’s head. Cass watched as Byron grinned, his eyes dark but reptilian and Lucian wasn’t much better. He wasn’t semi-shifted, but he was as close as he could get before he did.
It was...strange to see this side of Lucian and Byron. To see them so...well, human wasn’t quite the right word, but real felt close. Alive. They weren’t just characters on a page, but far more than that. With complex histories that Cass wouldn’t know unless he asked.
It was strange to watch them play, laughing and teasing each other like an uncle and his adult nephew. It was a hard pill to swallow since Cass knew he’d never get to do that with his own family. Then again, from what he remembered of Lucian’s story, he’d never thought he’d get to experience these moments either.
They bid Byron goodbye, watching as the trees parted slightly to allow Byron a better lift-off platform. Byron, when he turned into a dragon, was smaller than Lucian. Fresh. All black like the night without stars, his eyes glittering in the night.
"Stay safe, Byron. Send a message with magic when you arrive." Cass told him and Byron nodded, his precious letter in his giant claw, and took off. Lucian sighed.
"They grow up so fast." Cass turned to him, ready to tease him but when he looked at Lucian there was actual longing in his gaze. Cass remained quiet until Lucian was the one who turned back towards the mansion.