Sam looked stricken, his eyes wide as he stared up at Cass from his back. Edgar was frozen, standing near the two of them, his hands out, ready to step in if things escalated. The fairies sitting on the couch in the room were frozen as well. One of them was Byron’s Mom, but as Cass glanced at them, he could tell that they weren’t shocked.

They knew. Cass’ eyes narrowed further.

"Y-You told me to." Sam reminded him, his hands trying to reach for his collar and button it up again and Cass frowned. He wanted to slap his hands away and keep staring at the mark, but he didn’t.

"I took it back. I only wanted you to do it if you wanted to. Did you want this?" Cass couldn’t help the fact that he shook Sam a little. He couldn’t tell if that was from his hands trembling slightly, or his body jerking. It wasn’t intentional, either way.

Sam stared up at Cass from on his back, his mouth slightly agape as they made eye contact. The silence went on for far longer than either man wanted, and Cass frowned further. Cass knew they were on a bit of a time crunch, and that now wasn’t the time to ask this question.

He let go of Sam, stepping away from the desk, raising his hand and running it through his hair.

"We shouldn’t be doing this. We have other things to worry about." Cass muttered, shaking his head. He did want an answer, but the longer that the air remained charged between them without an answer, it only made Cass feel worse. Cass brushed past Edgar, heading for the door on his own.

Cass could hear Sam scrambling off of the desk, could feel the presence of the other two following him as Cass opened the door to leave.

"My Lord, I-"

"It’s alright, Sam. You don’t have to answer me. It’s your private life." Cass told him, waving a hand dismissively. He didn’t look behind him at either Edgar or Sam, his steps quick as he moved towards the foyer of the mansion.

"My Lord, p-"

"Sam, can you go make sure that we have a carriage ready?" Cass asked, cutting him off. He flinched at his own tone. He didn’t want to be rude or curt with Sam, it really wasn’t what he wanted, but he was annoyed and a little worried. What if Sam was bonded in a similar way as Cass had been, even after Cass had walked that decision back. He’d been emotional and crazy when he’d suggested it.

He hadn’t been in his right mind, and now? When he was hungover he found out that not only had Byron marked him and bonded with him in the same way that Lucian had, but that they had completed the loop? So that now Sam and Byron were not just dating, and not just married, but a separate, far more serious option that had Cass’ mind spinning was just...

Cass was feeling a little dizzy. They barely knew each other! Sure, they had a few months of knowing each other, but Sam had considered Byron a child for a long time. Was Cass crazy for being worried about this? Was he the weird one right now?

He knew that this was a romance novel and that things could move fast. He couldn’t exactly remember how soon after meeting Fiona that the gang decided to get engaged and married, but he was pretty sure that it was longer than the time that Sam and Byron had been involved in a romantic way. Generously, that was about as long as Lucian and Cass had been up to no good together.

Two months.

It was different from Lucian, Edgar and Gideon knowing each other. They had known each-

Cass halted, his steps coming to a standstill as his mind came to a screeching halt. Where the hell was he getting off from criticizing and worrying about Sam and Byron when he was in the exact fucking same situation? Just, with a little flare.

The boys had barely known Cassian before Cass got here. Cass’ anger came from his concern for the two men. He didn’t want them to regret their decision but also, he was the one who had even suggested a temporary bond to them. He might have been the one to plant the seed.

Definitely not in Byron’s case, the man was making moon eyes after the demon aide since before he became an adult.. Sam, however...

Ugh. Cass was a little too hungover for this. He needed time to process this, and the drive over to find Gideon and Byron was hopefully going to be enough.

~

The drive over was predictably, awkward. Cass and Edgar sat on one side of the carriage, while Sam sat on the other. Cass had his arms crossed, looking out the window, shut off from the others while Edgar and Sam filled up the quiet air with small talk. They were speaking about where they were going, if they were going in the right direction, all of that.

Cass could feel them looking at him, hoping that he would provide any kind of input, but Cass had nothing to give them. He was stuck in his own thoughts, focusing on trying to keep his head on straight for when they arrived at the Ridgewood Estate, not filling his mind with what Sam and Byron were doing. Trying desperately not to focus on the decisions of his aides, because that would make him a damn micromanager, and he wasn’t that.

Okay, maybe he was, and he liked knowing about other’s romantic relationships, but bonding? That was a completely different thing, one that Cass and Lucian were working on getting out of. Lucian’s words, and Lucian’s promise.

Fuck. It was frustrating. Being upset, while knowing that it was something he was supposed to be happy about. He’d been like this for his sister too. When she had told him, he hadn’t responded with happiness and excitement, and instead had responded with confusion, distrust, and he’d even scowled.

Here he was, practically doing the same thing. In fact, he’d thrown Sam against a desk and undressed him. He was pretty sure that was worse.

Cass sighed, the sound coming from his soul, both Sam and Edgar watching him with worried expressions, but Cass was too focused on the outside world to notice.

He forced himself to worry about the task ahead of him. He was hungover, in a bad mood, and Gideon, the damn human of the group, had gone back to his family for...some reason. He had no idea what he’d gone back for, but either he’d been smart enough to take Byron with him, or Byron had smelt something was up and had offered to go. Cass’ reaction would change depending on what the answer was when he got there.

Cass wasn’t exactly feeling generous right now. He would not take kindly to something bad happening to his people, especially after just finishing a fucking dungeon, finding out what the royal family had done, or allowed to be done to Taniora, and Lucian had to leave his side.

Cass was happy about last night, about having a good, bonding moment with the fairies, but he was still fucking pissed that he even needed to distract himself from a serious moment of misery.

Finally, the carriage pulled up to the Ridgewood estate, and it seemed that the people there were reluctant to let them enter. Cass wasn’t going to bullshit around, doing the pretty little noble polite shit that the Ridgewood family was trying to wrap them up in. As soon as their coachman let them know that they weren’t going to let them enter, Cass nodded, thanked them for informing them of that, and then told them to wait here.

Obvious. In the middle of the damn road.

Cass was not about to make this easier for them, especially after they had tried to belittle not just Cass, but everyone associated with him. The Ridgewood’s were getting too big for their damn britches. Cass had a way to fix that.

"I’m going to cause a scene. Stay in the carriage if you want." Cass whispered to Sam and Edgar, giving them an out so that they didn’t have to be accomplices with faces if they didn’t want to.

Edgar and Sam stared at him in surprise, but neither of them shied away as Cass flung open the carriage door, elegantly stepping out in the outfit that he thought wouldn’t see the light of day. While there weren’t a lot of people about, there were still people. People who could tell who owned the carriage stopping outside of the Ridgewood Estate and who were lingering around as Cass approached the gates that had turned him away, and the guards who were tensing. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Did Cass have a feeling that a lot of these guards have holy powers? Yeah, Cass did think that after finding out the truth about Gideon. He could also figure that out with a helpful glance from Sam, who looked a little wary of the guards. Cass didn’t give a fuck. He wasn’t like most with demon blood.

He wasn’t really like anyone here.

"Are you truly going to deny us entry?" Cass demanded, staring at the guards, giving them one last warning. Edgar’s wide brim hat swayed in the gentle breeze behind them as the trio stared at the guards.

"We apologise, my Lord, but we are under strict orders." The guards said, shifting uncomfortably. Cass nodded, his arms still crossed, then turned to Sam and met his gaze.

"We’re in the right spot?" He confirmed and Sam nodded.

"We are, my lord." He replied and Cass sighed.

"I don’t blame you two." Cass told the guards. "You’re just doing your jobs, so I suggest you step away from your posts. You won’t be able to stop me, and honestly, it will only embarrass you and your people. Don’t worry, the gods will forgive you for letting me in. They might even praise you for not getting in my way." Cass told them. The guards only had a second after Cass spoke to clue into what he planned to do.

Cass raised a hand, waved it, and the gate that had been closed against them flew up into the air and landed several feet down the road. Gasps could be heard all around them as Cass carefully stepped onto the estate.

He kind of thought that maybe something magical would happen if someone of demon blood stepped inside, but that wasn’t the case.

The ground felt like ground. No magic, no resistance, nothing. That worked out for Cass.

After he’d taken his first step, he began moving with purpose down the long drive. He was not about to be made fun of because he couldn’t cover this kind of ground, even as the guards were protesting behind him. Cass was glad he didn’t need that kind of protection outside of his mansion. He just had the damn trees that kept those who they truly didn’t want from their home.

"W-Wait! Stop!" The calls from the guards followed Cass. It was clear that they wanted to stop them, but they were afraid to do so. After all, it was one thing if someone broke in. It was another if it was the only heir to another Dukedom.