When Cass awoke the next morning, staring up at the ceiling that he had first called his home, that he expected he wouldn’t still be calling his home at this point in the story, he couldn’t say that the feeling in his chest was relief.
It wasn’t anger, or fear, but it was something strange to realise that he was sharing this bed with someone else, two other people, he was back in a place that a big part of himself considered his home, and...
He felt okay.
Not perfect, not fully healed, but he had come to terms with a lot that was going on and he was okay. It was a surprising revelation, and a good one, but one he hadn’t considered he’d come to either.
Cass was on his back, Edgar on one side, Gideon on the other. That wasn’t how they had been sleeping before, but Cass had been a little emotional the night before and Edgar had insisted on offering him comfort from all sides. Cass’ face warmed slightly at the reminder, but he wasn’t upset.
He took inventory of himself, truly examining himself from head to toe and realised that he was...he was okay. He could feel a gentle stirring inside, knew that the damn demon blood as asserting its claim on him, but that didn’t make him scared. Not this time. He’d gone through one already with Gideon and Edgar so he knew what to expect from them.
There was also a giddiness that settled in his gut. After this, Lucian would be coming home. He might even be on his way, Cass didn’t know. But he’d be back soon. That thought made his chest tighten and his heart ache. Not with sadness, but with a fondness that has Cass trying to regulate his breathing as his body twitched. His fingertips tapped the bed, the sheets rustling around him.
He didn’t want to wake the others, so he tried to control his movements. He calmed his breathing, staring up at the mural that Gideon had given him a fresh perspective on last night. It was interesting to consider something completely different from what he had always considered.
Kind of like how merging with Cassian properly had changed who he was as a person too. Same outer shell, but not the same also.
There was a gentle knock at the door, Gideon stirred, and Cass knew that the day had officially begun. He could ponder about these things later. For now, he had a lot to do. That included finding out the aftermath of the revelation he had given Ava’s Mom yesterday, and Sir Forsythe, along with seeing the Doctor Sir Forsythe had summoned.
Another busy day, but now he could breathe easy, there was birdsong outside his window, and his gardeners hadn’t betrayed him since the grounds were well maintained. He also didn’t live next door to his piece of shit grandfather.
Things were much better than being in the city.
~
Cass, despite the stressful situation, was in a very good mood. Yes, he’d felt his body start to warm and heat, an uncomfortable dampness forming between his legs from a place he was still rather uncomfortable with, but there was just something in the air here. It was probably why he was so calm as the Glendale’s had an epic fight in front of him in the dining room.
Truly, they were proving, over and over, where Ava got it from. Edgar looked embarrassed, Gideon looked shocked, and Cass? Well, he was eating, like he was supposed to. He was going to only be eating one type of food soon, so he needed to make sure he was keeping up with the other half.
He almost didn’t feel winded going up stairs now without pausing, so that was progress. That was a lie, he hadn’t felt that way for a while, but he could actually turn sideways and not disappear now.
The one thing that did come from this interaction was the fact that Cass was growing to like Ava’s mom more and more. She had clearly trusted the two men that she had married and given birth to, but it was clear that she had more brains than the two of them put together. She was righteously angry, and if she had decided to beat the men within an inch of their life, she would have been right to do so. Especially on Cass’ property.
She didn’t do that. She instead lectured them to within an inch of their life. Cass could tell because even as they argued, there was no soul behind the eyes of the men. It had been sucked out of them and was being used to fuel Ava’s Mom. She was winning points left right and center with Cass.
Maybe that was why, when she asked for an audience after breakfast but before Cass’ day really began, Cass agreed.
They went to the same room, or tried to go to the same room that Cass had entertained her and the rest of her family in before, but she sheepishly told him that that probably wasn’t a good idea. She may not have harmed them, but she had gotten very angry and had to take it out on something. What she had damaged had been the room, and Cass was impressed.
That was what he had noticed the bruises and scratches on her hands and knuckles. Cass was impressed. Ava did not get any of her mother’s scrappiness, which he considered a great loss. If she tried to fight Cass, he probably would have had more respect for her.
Or not. He was the weakest in the party, especially now with her gone from the party. Even Gideon, who was fully human, was not as weak as Cass in general.
Reminded of that, Cass led her to the room next to where she’d lost her mind, and they had a chat. She was very grateful for what Cass had done for them, especially since it put him in danger. He did not correct her misinformed opinions, but he didn’t say she was wrong either.
It could have been dangerous for Cass, if he wasn’t who he was.
She then went on to say that she wanted to work for Cass. She wanted to be of some help, and if Ava came back from her mission or adventure, she wanted to have an honest conversation with her. She had no idea if this whole situation had stemmed from a horrible misunderstanding because she had to explain, to her husband and son, why Ava had been given over in the first place.
It had nothing to do with the money they would have received, or the fame they could have achieved and had everything to do with Ava’s well-being. She had given Ava over to the Vespertine’s because they had promised to take care of her daughter. Having too much of one power was a blessing, and a curse. They had relied heavily on the traveling priest who would come through their town.
Ava’s Mother knew it was wrong, knew that there could come a time when they couldn’t get their help to dull the symptoms of a small child being born with more than a child’s body could bear, but she didn’t want to consider it.
They were barely making ends meet on top of what they had to fork over for Ava’s safety. She didn’t have time to consider the bad things.
Until one year, the priest didn’t come to the village.
They almost lost Ava that year. When she was recounting it, her hands trembled. Cass, not being heartless, reached out a hand to offer her comfort. She seemed surprised, but took it willingly.
That was the year that she decided that enough was enough. She was going to find a solution for Ava, or else her daughter would die. She hadn’t cared about the boldness in which she had approached the Vespertine family, but the rumour that it had been her father who had gone?
False. It had been her. She was the one who had begged and pleaded with Edgar’s father. She was the one who witnessed the gods declare her daughter the new saint. She was the one who had fought for everything that her daughter would get, including being adopted into the Vespertine family.
She made sure that her daughter got comfort, safety, a roof over her head and her belly full. It was almost hard to listen to the love Ava’s mom had for her considering she knew the kind of family she had brought Ava into.
The only comfort he could give her was the fact that Edgar viewed Ava as a sister and had treated her appropriately. They had their differences, but he cared for her.
She was grateful to hear it, and also incredibly upset that her son and husband had not considered what they had gotten from the Vespertine family enough. She had apparently not clearly explained the situation well enough to them when she got home because they thought it was them, the Vespertines, who had suggested adopting Ava. Not her.
So they thought they were owed more for taking their daughter and sister away. She laughed at herself, shaking her head. She could hardly believe it, but the pain, the anger and fear that was in her eyes were real. She was very upset with them.
Cass was pretty sure they would have to do some serious groveling before she would even consider speaking to them.
She told Cass that she wasn’t considering divorce yet, but she needed time, space and distance. She also wanted to repay Cass for his role in this. She laid out what she was capable of, what she could do, and the job she had in her old village.
She was a hard worker, a capable person, and if he needed her to keep secrets, she could. It was funny, Cass thought to himself, that at a time when he was thinking that he needed another person to rely on, that they just so happened to arrive.
He shivered, glancing behind his shoulder to make sure nothing was there, before he turned back to her.
Cass didn’t want to fully hire her in case she didn’t find it comfortable here or she found something else she liked to do more in town. He wouldn’t chase them off, but he wanted her to consider her options. She didn’t seem to like that much, but Cass was just being honest. Debt and gratitude were great, but only to a point. If she kept turning back to him, well? Then he’d take her up on her offer.
The men, however, were a different story.