Cass was shaken slightly in the wee hours of the morning, his groan sounding weak to his own ears. Gideon was the one doing it, his expression soft as he met Cass’ sleepy gaze.
"Hey. Sam and Byron just got back." Gideon said softly. The first thing that came to Cass’ mind was the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be on that side of the bed. He had fallen asleep on the other side of Edgar, he shouldn’t be shaking Cass from this side of the bed.
Then, Cass’ mind caught up with the situation.
"Edgar?" Cass asked drowsily and Gideon chuckled.
"Won’t even stir. Byron is waiting for you to get up before he enters." Gideon said. Cass grumbled, but only a few minutes later he was sitting down on the couch in his room, Gideon escorting Cass’ henchmen into his room.
They looked a little...shaken, out of sorts. That concerned Cass immediately. Sam was the one who offered him some comfort. It was just a small smile, but Cass took it as it was. Byron, normally a man who was large but didn’t give off much of a presence due to the nature of his powers, was larger than normal. He felt like he was twice the size then he normally was, and Cass wondered if that was a reaction to what they had gone through or if it was a defense mechanism he had used to get through what they had and it just hadn’t calmed down yet.
Either way, they sat down across from Cass, Gideon joining Cass awkwardly on his couch as well. If Byron wasn’t even standing, Gideon couldn’t do the same.
Edgar slept on in the bed, oblivious to what was going on around him. He truly slept like the dead.
"How did it go?" Cass asked. "Were you two questioned?" That was something he was concerned about. How they had managed to get any answers if they did get them. While Cass would be disappointed if they didn’t get the answer to the question Cass had, it was more important to him that they made it out safely.
Byron and Sam shared a look, something passing between them that had Cass on edge immediately. Any sleepiness that was lingering was gone from that look alone.
Sam looked hesitant, and Byron looked pissed. That could only mean that something had happened, probably to Sam, and Cass found himself scanning Sam. He tried to see if there was anything wrong with him, if someone had touched him or hurt him in some physical way that Cass would be able to pick up on.
Sam noticed, as did Byron, and Byron seemed a little offended.
"As if I would allow them to lay a hand on him, my Lord." Byron muttered, sounding annoyed and Cass gave him a smile.
"Well, sometimes your best intentions can’t be halted when faced with someone stronger. I just want to make sure that you’re okay. Plus, wounds don’t have to just be physical in nature." Cass added and Sam winced. Even Byron looked a little pale.
It was obvious that something had happened, and given the faint, ever so slight glow coming from behind the drawn curtains, they had been gone a long time. A very long time.
"Well, despite how long it took to actually find a place where we could speak to someone in the know, we didn’t get an answer right away." Byron started. Then he said a curse in a language Cass didn’t understand.
Cass was an expert in curse words, that’s how he knew it was a curse. That, and Sam smacked his thigh as soon as the word left his lips.
"Byron!" Sam chastised and Byron shrugged.
"Let’s just say that I am glad you are how you are, my Lord." Byron said. Cass blinked.
"Am I that different from other demons?" Cass asked and Sam gave a nod. It was slow, as if he was worried about offending Cass in some way. Cass didn’t mind. After all, he hadn’t been raised as a demon. He didn’t know the culture.
Same way he hadn’t been raised as a fairy. There was no offense in them pointing it out since Cass knew they wouldn’t bring it up to offend him, but to offend someone else.
"That’s not a terrible thing, outside of the fact that I need the information that other demons have." Cass muttered, annoyed. Both Byron and Sam smiled.
"I’m glad you see it that way." Sam told him softly, before his gaze dropped along with his smile. "Like Byron was saying, it took us a while to find what we were looking for. I did end up having to use our excuse, and several times things got a little...testy because I wouldn’t reveal your identity more than that." Sam said and Cass felt his shoulders tense.
That probably had a lot more depth to it then what he was saying. From the energy coming off of Byron, Sam was telling him a rather dumbed down version. Cass was sure he was doing it to save Cass the worry, not knowing that it was only making him worry more. Silly Sam.
"I see. You were safe though?" Cass asked and watched as Byron gave Sam a victorious look while Sam’s ears turned pink and he avoided looking at his dragon mate. Cass wasn’t sure if he’d started an argument between them or ended one.
"Well, as safe as we could be." Sam said. "Demons aren’t normally a friendly bunch, especially when you’re weak like I am. Having Byron with me helped a lot." Sam said and Byron scoffed. He wrapped his hand around Sam’s, squeezing it tightly.
"As if there was any future where you went alone." Byron muttered. "If there was, I was never born." It was a sweet thing to hear, and Cass could tell Sam was very embarrassed by it.
"A-Anyway, I wasn’t able to get the direct kind of answer we were looking for. Because neither Byron nor I had anything to trade for the information, and we were already bound to one master, most of the demons we spoke to weren’t willing to give us much." Cass felt his heart drop. He knew that wasn’t quite a non-answer, but it was a bit disappointing.
"Well, that’s okay." Cass said, knowing he didn’t want to put more pressure on Sam and Byron. Sam’s jaw tightened.
"Don’t sound so disappointed yet, my Lord." Sam said, raising his eyes for a second to meet Cass’ red gaze. Sam’s brown one was firm, a hint of victory in their depths. "I may be weak, but that’s also to my advantage. We were gone so long because I was weaseling my way into some demon’s good graces. I didn’t get a direct answer, but I got one good enough." Sam told him.
Cass was impressed, but then again, he shouldn’t be. It was his Sam, after all. Cass felt his body soften at Sam’s words.
"Alright. What’s the answer?" Cass asked and Sam swallowed.
"It seems that demons can’t make the same deal twice. Not at the same time, at least." Cass heard Sam’s words, but he could feel how that was tilting his world slightly.
"So they can make more than one deal?" He asked and that was where Sam hesitated.
"That’s where I didn’t get a clear answer. I couldn’t figure out if it was a power related issue or if it was applied to all demons. My guess would be it’s related to power. As in, the more powerful you are, the more deals you can have active at once. But I can say with confidence that if you make a deal with a demon, the person after you can’t make the same deal you made with the same demon." Sam said. He looked delighted that he’d gotten that information.
Cass knew that he was also looking for praise, for acknowledgement, but Cass felt his head spinning.
The deal his Mom made was...complex. It probably covered a lot of things, power, heirs, all kinds of things. After all, like Ailia had said, Cass had ancestors on his fairy side that had wanted to make deals with demons to get revenge on the humans and others who hurt them.
She probably knew about the limitations or how specific she had to be to get what she wanted from any demon she made a contract with. That meant that the contract she had forced Cass to sign was probably broad and very limiting on the demon. Cass knew that Cassian’s tenacity didn’t come from nowhere. It could have come from his Father, but given how easily he had been chased out from his own father, Cass didn’t think he got it from him.
Cass let out a low breath, his brows furrowed, and he was lost in thought.
Demons, at least the powerful ones, could make multiple contracts. They were limited to what kind of contract they could take if they had multiple going on at once. That meant someone like the Demon King could have multiple contracts as long as they didn’t overlap.
"Fuck, I really wish we had my Mom’s contract." Cass muttered and Sam’s expression darkened. He sighed.
"That would be ideal, but only a fool would leave something so important lying around." Sam said. Cass nodded in agreement.
"She is a lady with many traits, but fool isn’t a label I would give her." Cass said quietly. The air in the room grew tense as the others waited for Cass to speak. Cass eventually sighed. "Well, at the very least, we know that whatever bullshit she put in the contract, it was good enough that the Demon King thought it was worth it to sign for what he would get on the other side. It also hinges on my death." Cass muttered.
Sam’s eyes widened, Byron shifted on his seat and Gideon looked a little pale.
"What?" Sam asked, sounding upset. Cass nodded.
"Yeah. If I die, whatever this contract was is probably null and void since her conditions weren’t met. I’m supposed to have kids, right? The Demon King said as much because my body is changing to give me the option to do both. Father a child or give birth to one myself. I inherited my Mom’s contract, meaning that I have to fulfil her conditions. The Demon King probably didn’t protest the transfer for one of two reasons. He found it fun, so he didn’t say anything, or it didn’t matter as long as someone did it." Cass said.
No one appeared happy with Cass’ words, and that included Cass. Sam was the one who bent, sighing.
"I...I think it was a mixture of both. Demons who are long-lived like the older races get bored. I don’t know how long he’s been alive but...he’s obviously powerful enough to become the Demon King. He probably thought being the first one to make a deal with a fairy was interesting enough." Sam muttered. Cass thought so too.
"Then you aren’t allowed to die." Gideon spoke up, his voice firm. Loud. It surprised everyone.
Cass turned to him and found his gaze serious. When he slid his gaze to Cass, Cass was surprised by the passion in them.
"You aren’t allowed to die, Cass." He repeated. Cass almost wanted to laugh. He was saying that to him? Cute.