A few hours had passed since Cassian's return.
For the first time in fifteen years, he was no longer trapped inside his own body.
He could move. But barely.
Every attempt to shift his weight sent a strange stiffness through his limbs. His joints cracked loudly when he stretched his legs over the edge of the bed, and his muscles trembled beneath his skin as though they had forgotten how to carry him.
"Ah..." Cassian winced, rubbing his thigh. "My body feels like I've been buried alive."
The maidservants immediately rushed around him.
"Careful, Your Highness," one warned softly.
"Please don't stand yet, my Lord," another added, reaching out to support his elbow.
"Your bath is almost ready," a third maid announced from the doorway.
"Your hair has grown far too long. We should trim it for you," another suggested, bringing over a silver basin.
Cassian stared at them in bewilderment as they moved around his room with practiced efficiency. One maid straightened the sheets, while another prepared fresh clothes over a chair. Two more carried warm water into the adjoining bathing chamber, while another gently combed through Cassian's long, tangled hair.
It was strange. So familiar, and yet completely unfamiliar.
Fifteen years had passed for everyone else. For him, it felt as though he had only been gone for a few months.
Meanwhile, Lucien stood several feet away. His arms were folded across his chest, his eyes following Cassian's every movement. He hadn't looked away once. Not when Cassian struggled to sit up. Not when he nearly stumbled. Not even when the maids surrounded him. It was as though Lucien was terrified that the moment he blinked, Cassian would disappear again.
Cassian eventually noticed the heavy gaze. He turned his head slightly.
"I haven't seen Elias since I woke up," Cassian said quietly. "Where is he?"
The room quieted slightly at the question.
"Elias is the head steward at the Arden estate now," Lucien answered, his tone soft. "I brought him there because I needed someone I could trust completely to care for our children."
He paused, studying Cassian's face.
"If you want him back here by your side, we can bring him immediately."
Cassian lowered his gaze, staring at the embroidered pattern on the blanket.
"Our children..." The words came out almost like a whisper.
He had so many questions running through his mind. Too many. What had happened while he was gone? How had the Empire survived? What had become of his family? And most importantly... what had become of the children he had left behind?
Lucien seemed to notice the sudden heaviness settling over Cassian's expression. He stepped toward the bed and gestured to the room.
"Everyone, leave us for a moment," Lucien commanded gently.
"Yes, My Lord," the servants replied in unison as they immediately bowed and quietly exited the room, closing the double doors firmly behind them.
Once the room fell into complete silence, Lucien sat on the edge of the mattress beside Cassian.
"If something is troubling you, tell me," Lucien urged softly while Cassian stared down at his trembling hands.
"I was just wondering..."
Cassian's voice cracked slightly.
"How much must have changed while I was gone. And how much my children must resent me."
Lucien's brows drew together.
"Cassian—"
"I abandoned them," Cassian interrupted, his throat tightening.
"Especially the ones who were still inside me when I left." His fingers curled tightly into the sheets. "What if leaving so suddenly harmed them? What if they were frightened? What if they grew up believing that their father simply disappeared because he didn't care about them?"
His eyes slowly filled with tears.
"What kind of parent does that?" Cassian asked, looking up.
Lucien immediately reached out and took Cassian's cold hand to console him.
"Dear–."
"What if they hate me?"
"You didn't abandon them," Lucien's voice was firm and unyielding.
"You were deceived."
"But I still left!"
"You left because you believed I had rejected you," Lucien countered softly. "And besides, you had a home to return to on Earth, did you not?" He squeezed Cassian's hand tightly.
"And I will spend the rest of my life making sure you understand that none of that was your fault."
Cassian remained silent, the tears slipping down his cheeks.
Lucien lifted Cassian's hand and pressed a gentle kiss against his knuckles.
"I told the children everything," Lucien murmured against his skin.
Cassian finally looked up into Lucien's eyes. "They know?"
"They know about Earth. They know why you disappeared. They know that you never stopped loving them," a faint, warm smile touched Lucien's lips. "And they have been waiting for you."
Cassian's chin trembled. "They have?"
"Indeed, they have," Lucien brushed his thumb across Cassian's knuckles. "As for the rest of the royal family..." He let out a long sigh. "I suppose you will have to apologize properly to them."
Cassian groaned softly, leaning back into the pillows. "I knew there would be a catch."
Lucien chuckled, the deep sound vibrating in his chest.
Cassian leaned his head against Lucien's shoulder, exhausted by the weight of the conversation. "You said my mother and Mellisa are staying at your estate?"
"Yes," Lucien replied.
"And?"
Lucien's expression immediately changed, a look of mild exasperation crossing his features. "It has been... lively ever since they arrived. And they posed as fallen nobles—very beautiful nobles, if I must add."
Cassian raised an eyebrow, a slight smidgen of amusement in his voice. "What are their titles?"
"An ousted baroness named Fransia and her daughter Zelda."
"Then I can imagine," Cassian muttered with a soft huff.
Lucien smiled faintly. "Your mother must have already reorganized half the western estate by now. And your sister has the children wrapped around her thumb with the earthly trinkets they brought along."
Cassian let out a quiet, genuine laugh. For the first time since waking, something warm settled inside his chest.
"Then that is good," Cassian murmured. "I suppose from now on they will live as your relatives instead of mine."
"That is true," Lucien agreed. "Word has already circulated that they are my distant aunt and cousin. It works well that way."
"And what about Ruby?" Cassian asked suddenly.
Lucien stiffened instantly. "What?"
The single name drained every drop of warmth from Lucien's expression.
"Is she still your wife, Lucien?"
"And is she still living at your estate?"
Cassian watched him carefully as Lucien pulled his hand back slightly.
Lucien's breath caught. His hand slowly loosened around Cassian's fingers, and he looked away toward the floor.
"She is," Lucien admitted in a low voice.
But Cassian said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
Panicking at the silence, Lucien immediately began speaking faster.
"And I have a son with her."
Cassian blinked in surprise. "A son?"
"Yes, his name is Tristan," Lucien swallowed hard, his throat dry.
"He is seventeen now. Just a year younger than our girls."
Cassian remained quiet for several long seconds, absorbing the information.
"I see."
"Then doesn't that mean you slept with her before leaving for Earth?, after all if it were after your return the boy would have been three years younger than our girls right now."
Lucien's expression tightened in desperation.
"Well–"
"Yet you never told me anything back on Earth."
"I couldn't bring myself to do that!, after all I didn't think that she would concieve for me. Please believe me, Cassian. It was only two nights and it never meant anything!"
Cassian looked at him, surprised by the sheer panic on Lucien's face as his voice grew frantic.
"I wasn't myself!" Lucien explained quickly. "Jerga's influence had become stronger during those years and the demonic mana was overwhelming my mind, and during those nights I—"
"Lucien," Cassian tried to interrupt.
"I never wanted that—"
"Lucien."
"And I would never willingly—"
"Lucien!" Cassian raised his voice, forcing Lucien to stop.
Just then Cassian stared at him, taking a breath before speaking calmly.
"I understand. After all, fifteen years is a long time. So I understand if you kept yourself busy. She is your wife, anyway."
Lucien looked almost afraid, his eyes wide. "Cassian, please—"
"I truly don't blame you,"
Cassian gave a small, tired smile.
"After all, I was the reason you ended up marrying her in the first place. It was my own undoing and my own fault."
Lucien's eyes widened further as his hands scrambled for his.
"Don't say that!"
"But it's true," Cassian sighed, shaking his head. "Fifteen years is still a very long time, Lucien. And you weren't exactly living like a priest all those years, were you?"
Lucien flinched and slowly looked away. "...No."
["How would you live like a priest when you had the elf taking proper care of you for fifteen years?"]
Jerga's dark, mocking voice echoed inside Lucien's mind.
["You even planned to marry each other if this one did not return. In fact, you were practically married with all these years you spent together."]
Lucien flinched again, terrified that Jerga's voice would somehow leak out of his head and reveal everything to Cassian right then and there.
Desperate to change the subject before the demon pushed him further, Lucien's face became dead serious.
"My love," Lucien said, his voice deep. "There is something else you need to know. It is important that I tell you myself."
Cassian's small smile disappeared.
"What? That sounds serious."
"It is... Uh, well," Lucien scratched the back of his neck, looking off to the side awkwardly. "It concerns Sora."
Cassian blinked. "Sora?"
"Yes," Lucien hesitated for a moment and then sighed.
"During the fifteen years you were gone, Sora became ill. His spirit was in such chaos that it made him severely sick."
Cassian's face immediately paled, the remaining color draining from his lips. "What?"
"Your resonance with him disappeared when you crossed worlds," Lucien explained carefully. "And as your mate, that sudden separation nearly destroyed his mana core."
Cassian stared at him in horror.
"He nearly died?"
"Yes."
"Sora... because of me?" Cassian sank back against the pillows, the guilt crashing down on him all over again.
"Because of how I left?"
It felt as though his return was bringing no true relief, only the realization of how much pain he had caused. He had nearly ruined everyone's lives because of his choices. At the very least, he should have given them a proper farewell before returning to Earth.
"Cassian," Lucien reached out, taking Cassian's chin gently between his thumb and forefinger to force him to look up.
"Are you blaming yourself again? You don't have to worry. Sora is fine now, and he is healthier than ever. I treated him using the dark mana inside of me. It turns out it is highly compatible with your original mana signature."
Cassian frowned, confusion replacing the horror. "And how exactly did you keep supplying him with it?"
Lucien became very quiet.
Cassian narrowed his eyes, studying the sudden shift in Lucien's posture.
"Lucien Arden."
"Well..." Lucien looked toward the far wall, avoiding direct eye contact. "We had to replenish his core periodically."
"How?"
"Every three months–..." Lucien cleared his throat roughly. "Sora and I would-... You know-.... do it every now and then."
"Intimacy?" Cassian stared at him. "Is that what you mean?"
Lucien's jaw clenched. Then nodded.
"Yes."
"You and Sora?" Cassian asked, his voice flat.
Lucien tightly closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable fallout.
'He must be furious,'
Lucien thought.
He could already imagine the sharp slap across his face. Or the screaming. Or perhaps Cassian turning his back on him completely.
Instead—
A strange, breathless sound escaped Cassian's lips. It was a sharp snort.
Lucien cautiously opened one eye.
Cassian was covering his mouth with both hands, his shoulders shaking. Then, he burst into full, uncontrollable laughter.
And Lucien stared at him in utter shock. But Cassian only laughed harder, tears of genuine amusement pricking the corners of his eyes.
"Lucien..." Cassian wiped his eye, wheezing slightly.
"You and Sora?"
"I was only trying to save his life!" Lucien protested, his face warming. "For your sake and for Aurelian!"
Cassian laughed again, shaking his head against the pillow.
"But you, Lucien Arden, actually did it?"
Lucien's ears turned bright red. "Yes, me!"
"The same Sora you once called an impure elf and claimed you couldn't stand being around?" Cassian leaned sideways against Lucien's shoulder, still chuckling. "I can't believe this."
Lucien finally released a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding. The tension completely drained from his frame. "So... you are not angry with me? For sleeping with your mate?"
"Why would I be?" Cassian smiled warm and clear.
"You were keeping my mate alive." His laughter softened into something far gentler. "Instead of being angry, I should be thanking you. If Sora had died because of me, Aurelian and the others would have hated me forever."
Lucien's broad shoulders finally relaxed completely. A genuine, relieved smile spread across his face. "I knew you would understand."
Cassian gave him a teasing, side-eye look. "But still..." He shook his head slowly. "You and Sora?"
Lucien groaned, covering his face with one hand.
"Please stop saying it."
Cassian laughed again, the sound light and clear in the quiet chamber. For a few precious moments, the heavy weight of fifteen lost years simply vanished from the room.
'I should have known he would act like this, Lucien thought to himself, feeling a profound wave of relief wash over him. Why was I worrying so much?'
Deep within the dark recesses of Lucien's mind, however, a familiar demonic voice stirred once more. Jerga's bitter disappointment seeped through the shadows of his consciousness.
["After fifteen years of separation, his partner cheated on him with two people—one his very own mate, and the other even bore a child for his partner. And yet this is all the reaction you receive?"]
Lucien's smile vanished from his lips.
'Don't start,' he warned internally but Jerga only continued.
["I expected some screaming, actually,"]
Jerga drawled with cold mock disappointment.
["Perhaps a dramatic slap. Or maybe even tears and a dramatic separation, ending your relationship instantly."]
'Jerga, be quiet.'
["But instead, he just laughed it off?"]
The voice tutted within his thoughts.
["How disappointingly wholesome."]
Lucien clenched his jaw, keeping his face perfectly still so Cassian wouldn't notice.
["What a lukewarm response. I am truly disappointed in the Crown Prince of Edrath, he has grown soft."]
Jerga sneered softly.
Lucien's eye twitched slightly.
'Stay out of this.'
Cassian noticed the sudden stiffness in Lucien's jaw and tilted his head.
"Are you alright?"
Lucien instantly smoothed his features and offered a warm smile.
"Yes, my love. I am fine."
From deep inside the shadows of his soul came one final, lingering whisper.
["Oh, Holy Knight... after everything we've survived together, you should know by now that I never stay out of anything."]
*****