Chapter 137: One secret revealed to protect another

Chapter 137: One secret revealed to protect another Vespertine attempted to compose himself, using magic to pull the liquid out of the couch and his coat, putting it into the empty teacup before him before he cleared his throat. He glanced at Cass, who sat back, relaxed, and his own shoulders tensed before he sighed. "I’ll get right to the point. It’s about Ava. She’s behaving erratically, but especially involving you. She keeps...muttering about a secret. A secret between you, that you told her. I’m trying to get her to tell me, not because I want to know, but because at this point I can’t trust her with personal information. I’ll keep it to myself, and I know it’s not any of my business-" "You’re right. It is none of your business." Cass interrupted, a smile on his face as he sat back, his hand swirling the glass of mixed liquid in his hand. Vespertine’s grin tightened. "Cassian, please don’t be like this. I mean it when I say I have no use for the secret." Vespertine said and Cass tsked. "You might not have the same thought if Ava told you, which is probably why she isn’t. I bet she thinks you are trying to get everything out of her to kick her out of the party. She’s a paranoid mess, Vespertine. Anyone can see it. She’s spiraling. She needs support, not to be stripped of everything and thrown away." Vespertine sighed. He leaned back against the couch, running a hand over his handsome face, through his blonde hair. "How the hell would you know? Do you know what kind of hell I’ve been dealing with? I found out she’d been preaching this shit to others, Cassian. It’s against every temple doctrine I’ve taught her, and I-" He cut off. He took several deep breaths and Cass chuckled. He put down his own glass, held between his two hands, before he leaned forward and gave a nudge to a similar glass that Vespertine had. "Take a few sips. Hell, drain the glass. You look like you need it about as much as I do." Vespertine’s bright, monstrous gaze glanced at Cass, before he glanced at the goblet, then his gaze slid to the bottle. Cass, noticing it, slid it towards him. Without a second more of hesitation, Vespertine reached for the bottle and placed it against his lips. Cass watched as the other man drank, his throat pulling from the bottle long, deep mouthfuls that had Cass freezing. Fuck. Vespertine finished the bottle, gasping as he came up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. It was far too erotic for a normal person to witness. Cass felt like he shouldn’t be here, and shifted awkwardly as Vespertine’s gaze dimmed, and he licked his lips, before he licked the back of his hand. Holy shit dude. Stop. it. Fiona wasn’t here. There was no one you needed to seduce here. "Thank you for your consideration, Cassian. I...I did need that." He sighed. "The gods give me strength. I’m sorry for coming across so pushy. I know having you be a witness to family drama must be annoying for you. Under normal circumstances, Ava knowing any secrets wouldn’t be an issue. I just fear that...with her new change in demeanor that it could be used against you." Vespertine sighed, pushing a hand through his hair while his other held the neck of the bottle, resting it against the couch. The man looked like a damn work of art. It was hard to listen to what he was saying as he shifted further, looking even more enchanting. It was easy to see how he got prey. "Used against me? I don’t see how the information I-" There were two secrets that Cass had given her. One which was related to the Temple, and one that was not. Cass was an idiot for not realising that. She was charismatic. She could convince everyone that she was straight if she wanted to. She had been doing so for long enough. Damn it. Cass didn’t want to give anything to Vespertine. He wanted the man to remain ignorant after everything. After he continuously chose others over him, and accused him. He stood by while others had hurt him, even if he had tried to tease him and ’make it up to him’ after. He didn’t owe him anything. But. There was the matter of Cass’ own safety. Cass didn’t need to tell him everything. He could tell him some of it. No doubt he had some idea about what it was, especially since he had spoken about the ’gods’ in front of him. "She’s unstable, like you said. I do not know how she could use the information. Please, Cassian. I know it’s...it’s not ideal to trust me. Hell, you don’t have to trust me personally. You can trust in the fact that as a member of the temple, as a member of the Vespertine family, I will hold whatever-" Cass held up a hand, silencing him. He raised an eyebrow. "I am not so sure you’re going to want to continue with that statement once you hear what I told her, or, what she found out." His expression went dark, his handsome features twisting in a way that had Cass swallowing. "What she found out? What? How?" Vespertine’s expression was one of grim acceptance. Whatever Cass said next, he had a feeling it would be locked away in a vault. Cass smirked, leaning back further. Ah. He really wanted to milk that expression, that emotion from him. Was it bad that he wanted to do that? It felt so fucking good to see a man who was normally so confident, so full of himself, just trembling, shaking in his boots over something his adoptive sister had found out. He didn’t even know the half of it, but it was clear he was afraid that he was learning some deep, dark Blackburn family secret, and that he was going to have to take it to the grave. Little did the precious god worshiping boy know, Cass was not only conversing with the gods he held in reverence, he was belittling them, calling them names, treating them with open disrespect. He was making harsh demands of them, threatening to end his own life because it was an inconvenience to them. He got a manager because he was throwing that much of a fit. He lost his anger towards the ’gods’ as a side effect, and he was pissed about that, but it was a nice feeling to know he’d kicked up enough of a stink that they had done that. He’d used his Karen abilities, and it had worked. Wow. Who knew it sometimes had positive effects? "Cassian? Are you alright?" Vespertine’s concern brought him back to the moment, and Cass shook himself. "Ah. Yes. Sorry. I’ve been drifting a bit. Probably the medication. Uh, anyways..." Cass trailed off, before he sighed. "You’re going to be quite shocked. It shouldn’t happen, but it did." Vespertine’s expression grew even more grim. "Okay." He said, clearly bracing himself. Cass sighed again. "I...am another hero." Cass told him. At first, Vespertine didn’t react. He didn’t even move. It seemed like that was the last thing he was expecting to come out of his mouth. Cass smirked. He sat, watching the other man as the gears turned, got stuck, and then the whole machine short circuited. "I’m sorry, what?" Vespertine asked and Cass shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "The night that I woke up from my injury, the first time." Cass clarified. "I went to the temple. Something compelled me to." Cass said. It wasn’t a lie. He had been compelled to beat some ’god’ ass. "I prayed, and spoke to the gods that night. They had sent me to go to the temple so that they could give me my quest. Ava, as I’m sure you know, can see spirits. She saw mine leave, go up, and then come back down." Cass told him and Vespertine sat back, covering his mouth. His hand was shaking, his blue eyes wide as his other clutched onto the neck of the wine bottle. "Are you fucking serious? You aren’t joking?" Vespertine asked and Cass laughed. "Who would joke about something like this? Ava practically flew at me, her eyes sparkling to talk to me about what I’d seen. It was shortly after that that Lady Fiona found out. I had to tell her for...reasons." Vespertine’s fingers shook and he nodded. "Oh. My. Gods. Two heroes? Two? How fucked are we?" He whispered and Cass had to fight himself so that he didn’t snort. Pretty fucked, buddy. Especially since they had decided Cass was the best option. "They kind of said I’m here to make sure...everything goes smoothly." Cass said quietly, softly, and Vespertine swallowed thickly. "Smoothly." He repeated, before his brows furrowed. "Has your mark developed?" He asked and Cass nodded. "Where is-Can I see it?" Vespertine asked, sniffing. He attempted to compose himself, his hands still shaking. He put the bottle back onto the coffee table between them, running his hands nervously down the front of his body, smoothing out his jacket and shirt. Cass smirked. "Well, it’s only shoulder, so unless you want to undress m-" Vespertine was up on his feet, a determined look on his face and he was back over on Cass’ side of the room, quickly, with deft fingers, undoing his shirt. Cass made no comment on how quickly he got him undressed. Faster than Sam. Soon, his shoulder was revealed and Cass was turning so Vespertine could get a better look. Cass supposed this was a pretty big moment for him. He was heavily religious after all, and heroes were sent by the gods after all. "Oh my gods. Oh my gods." Vespertine was whispering to himself. "This is...you truly are another hero. By the gods, this is a higher rank than Fiona’s mark." Vespertine’s whisper was all kinds of confused, and filled with a lot of emotion. Cass froze at what he said. "They had different ranks?" Cass asked, surprised, and Vespertine exhaled. "You aren’t supposed to know that. Fuck." Cass looked over his shoulder at Vespertine, who met his gaze and he exhaled harshly. "Fuck. Alright. I’ve already let it slip, it’s fine. There are several ranks, all determined by the flower that’s in the center, and what’s wrapped around it. An old, ancient book dictates the ranks of the heroes. Yours, Cassian, is the second highest rank." Cass let out a soft exhale. Thank fuck they weren’t stupid enough to give him the highest rank. That was painting a target on his weak, couldn’t eat most foods back. It was a death sentence. "Does Fiona know about the ranks?" Cass asked and Vespertine shook his head. "No. The King thought it best for her not to know. I...didn’t agree at the time, but now that there are two of you...I can understand why he didn’t want her to know. She already..." His face twisted. "She already has a lot on her plate." He whispered and Cass felt like things were shifting. While they had started at Lady Fiona, he had a feeling they were now twisting into Lady Fiona territory. This could get messy.