CHAPTER 222: DRAGON ON THE ROOF

Fiona’s stop came up shortly after that, and then Lord Ridgewood’s rather quickly after that. Then, it was just Lucian and Cass.

Cass was getting the sneaking suspicion that the man didn’t have a place to rest, and was then more worried that he was going to stay in the same inn that he was.

Cass was right to worry. That was exactly what the man had planned, but only part of Cass’ worry was correct.

Sir Forsythe let Cass know about the plan once they had stopped to drop off Lord Ridgewood’s things. Sir Sanders and Ser Hune had gotten back to him ahead of then, but both had agreed that the place that Ser Hune had gone to, the newer noble inn, was where Cass would feel more comfortable. They had come back to Sir Forsythe to let him know, before rushing back to get a few rooms.

Cass was totally up for it, but couldn’t take his eyes off of Lucian the whole time they were chatting. Lucian wouldn’t meet his gaze, as if he knew exactly what Cass was going to ask once the door was closed.

Cass did like to have his arguments behind closed doors. It felt more civilized.

"Lucian Draken." Cass started and the man flinched. "Where are you staying?" Cass asked and Lucian let out a soft exhale.

"I...normally stay either outside of town, in one of the homes of one of the heroes, or at an inn." Lucian admitted. "I never bought property when I came back to civilization. Didn’t really matter to me." He admitted and Cass stared at him.

"So the whole reason why you weren’t saying anything when Vespertine was going off the deep end was because you were sure you were going to stay in the same inn as me?" Cass asked and he flinched.

"Well, either in it, or on it." He admitted and Cass stared at him, blinking, before his face flushed.

"On it? What do you mean?" Cass asked and Lucian shrugged. He wouldn’t meet Cass’ gaze.

"You know, like on the roof?" Lucian said and Cass knew he wasn’t a monster because that sounded fucking awful. No way was Cass ever going to sleep on a fucking roof. How could he be so casual about that? It sounded legitimately awful.

"What are you talking about? That sounds terrible. Are you...trying to mooch a room off of me?" Cass asked and watched as Lucian turned into a damn storm cloud. The carriage began to fill up with smoke and Cass realised he’d probably insulted the man.

Lucian grew in size, puffing out as smoke poured from his nostrils. The man looked livid, fully alive with the anger that was filling him. Cass kind of knew that the words he had said were rude, but this felt like a pretty severe reaction to them. Was this some kind of...weird masculine thing that Lucian was getting upset about? Did he think he was the provider in their fucked up relationship?

Ha!

"How dare you? I would never do such a thing! I have my own money, my own wealth! Everything that damn king owns rightfully belongs to me!" He snarled and Cass blinked, before he felt a smile touch his lips.

That was a rather interesting thing to learn. Not only did the royal family use Lucian’s actual dragon form as the emblem for their family crest, they had also promised him that their money was his money? How old of a clause was that, and who made it? What fool had decided that that was what they were going to do?

How much did Lucian terrorise them for someone to write that in?

"Lucian, my family supplies most of the money that the royal family uses for expenses. I’m not trying to insult you. It’s a rather valid question in my world. I also don’t really care if the answer was a yes. I have so much money in this world that I don’t know what to do with it." Lucian’s fur relaxed, his bristles down as Cass explained rather calmly that he didn’t give a fuck.

"I do have money." Lucian confirmed, still insulted. Cass chuckled.

"I believe you." Cass told him and Lucian adjusted his clothes.

"A lot of it. I have a lot of money. It’s just not...the stupid currency that humans use right now. It’s timeless. Never changes." Lucian huffed, smoke still coiling around him and Cass tried his best not to outright laugh at his reaction. He didn’t think it would bode well for him.

"Oh? What do you consider the currency that never changes?" Cass asked and Lucian glared at him. Apparently Cass wasn’t able to hide his humour at this situation as well as he wanted to and Lucian growled, crossing his arms and for once Cass was pretty sure the man wasn’t aware of how much his pecs were plumped. He wasn’t trying to seduce Cass, and that alone was an issue.

It was really fucking hot seeing how angry the man was, his fucking giant pecs popping out of the damn slutty pirate blouse and his orange eyes glaring at him. He looked like a hot pirate from a sexy dream. Focus, Cass.

"It’s gems. I have several gem mines that humans would never be able to find because of how deep down they are. If you could survive, uh, when you can survive, I’ll take you to them. I plunk away at them when I need things." Lucian told him, all proud, and Cass had to admit. That was a solid work around.

"You’re right. Gems rarely lose their value. That is a very solid plan." Cass told him and that seemed to soothe Lucian more.

"Right? My den Mother taught me that. She even showed me how to search for them. One of the mines is for my bond partner, so if we go through with the bond, it’s yours." Lucian said it like it was a temptation, but he’d forgotten what Cass had just said.

Cass’ family was the bank in this kingdom. He had all the money. A ridiculous amount of money tied to his family, and then an even more ridiculous amount tied to him personally. Oh! That was something Cass should do while he was in town. Use the password that Lord Blackburn had allowed him to use and get an actual inventory of what he owned. Check over the inventory and see if he needed to buy another house in the small town nearby where the heroes had settled, or if he already had one.

He was pretty sure he already had one, he just hadn’t had the code back then. He’d also had so much on his mind when he’d woken up that it wasn’t a priority then.

"Of course. If." Cass said and Lucian grumbled. He didn’t force it more, which Cass appreciated.

They arrived, the carriage coming to a halt and the first thing Cass noticed was how much noise was going on outside of the carriage. It felt...lively. Happy. Like everyone was having a good time.

A weird feeling overcame Cass as he realised for the first time that it sounded...fun. He’d never had these thoughts before. He’d always turn down invitations to parties or going out for drinks because he never saw the point, but listening to everyone have a good time just...stirred something in him.

Was this him, or was this Lord Blackburn?

Cass wasn’t quite sure who it belonged to, but it gave him enough of a shock that he paused, and Lucian noticed.

"Too loud?" He asked and Cass shook his head. That wasn’t the issue.

"No, it’s not that." Cass told him and grew silent as Sir Forsythe came and opened the door. Cass tucked his book away into his bag before he crawled out of the carriage, and Lucian followed behind him.

Most sounds died down when the people realised who had been in the carriage, while Cass took the moment to investigate everything around him.

The inn they were at was on a busy street. A busy, but wide street that allowed for carriages to move past each other with some distance between them still. There were homes above, but businesses below, and most were still open. Restaurants, taverns, other inns. It was a bustling city that was filled with a diverse cast of people.

But not a lot of fairies. Cass could just tell, especially when he met Ser Hune’s expression. She was waiting by the door, her normally dark skin a little pale. She was probably feeling uncomfortable with the lack of greenery, and Cass couldn’t blame her.

This feeling in his chest felt...normal. The tug, the loneliness that he felt. He hadn’t realised that some of it came from his fairy blood because Cass was used to it from his time as a human.

The inn that they had stopped in front of had a beautiful outdoor space, with lots of benches and tables and what looked like fairy lights decorating a sloping wooden canopy. It was very enchanting, and there were several large planters with trees and plants. It was kind of silly, but Cass just had a feeling that Ser Hune would do better once she had a drink in her hand near one of those planters.

Cass looked up at the building and took in the several stories. Probably built with magic. That was a cool thing about this place. Construction didn’t have to be done by hand, and there was also the chance that had been allowed to use spatial magic to change the interior of the building as well. Cass would just have to wait and see.

It seemed nice, and with Lord Blackburn’s memory, Cass could pick out a few faces in the crowd on the patio that he knew. Nobles, newer ones, that were staring at Cass like he was some kind of mutant. A smile touched his lips.

"I think you were right. This should do. Were we able to get some rooms?" Cass asked, turning to Sir Forsythe and he nodded.

"Yes. They had quite a few available." He said, seeming surprised by that. Cass shrugged. It probably wasn’t a busy time, and Cass didn’t mind.

"Perfect. Let’s get the carriage unloaded, stowed away, and a bath drawn. I feel vile." Cass said and Sir Forsythe’s lips twitched before he nodded.

"Of course, my Lord." Ser Hune took over as Sir Forsythe did as he was ordered, and Lucian followed like the shadow he’d never asked for. It was only mildly okay because Cass was getting used to it. This behaviour of Lucian’s.

He liked being a shadow, even though he was 6 foot something, as big as a fucking brick house, and caught every eye he passed. He did act as a good shield though, but couldn’t pass as a shadow.