Atlas nodded as if to agree with his own statement and turned to his son, “Come, Caspian. Before I make the call to Emett, I’d like you to fill me in on that interrogation you’ve been listening to.”

Cas blinked. He’d gotten so caught up in what his father had been doing with Iris that he’d forgotten about the other conversation he was supposed to have been following. It was a good thing the rebels were still undergoing treatment for cyanide poisoning or the king would have had a good reason to take out his anger on him. However, even though his earpiece had gone silent, he didn’t want to leave the amnesiac’s side just yet. If he could, he wanted to stay with her a little longer to make sure she was okay after Atlas had threatened to send her to a holding cell without a good cause.

[color=#b97703]“I think you should call Dr. Emett first,”[/color] he suggested, shifting his weight. [color=#b97703]“There isn’t much to tell yet on my end.”[/color] He gestured helplessly to the earpiece.

“What do you mean?” the king narrowed his eyes.

Cas’s dark eyes flicked toward Iris. He hated involving her in their trouble any more than she already was, but he didn’t have much of a choice when his father was trying to beckon him from her room. [color=#b97703][i]Of all the times terrorists could have attacked our home, it had to be when we had a guest, didn’t it?[/i][/color] he thought with an inward groan. [color=#b97703]“Well,”[/color] he started slowly, turning back to Atlas. [color=#b97703]“Nothing really happened. The soldiers gave the prisoners Apro—”[/color] he coughed, catching himself before he finished the word [i]Aproveset[/i]. The drug was classified, and even though he trusted Iris, he couldn’t tell her about its existence. No one outside the royal family and the military knew about the use of such a resource in interrogations.

[color=#b97703]“They gave them a supplement,”[/color] he corrected, [color=#b97703]“to improve the results of their questioning, but it sounded like the terrorists tried to kill themselves before it could take effect. They’re in emergency care right now being treated for cyanide poisoning.”[/color] He glanced toward the window. There hadn’t been time to think much about the rebels’ actions, but now that things had calmed down, he marveled at their stubbornness. They cared more about tearing apart the country than they did about their own lives. Their delusion ran deeply, and it frustrated him that they were so dead set on keeping the Aspirian military from neutralizing the threat of the Scourge that they would sooner commit suicide than give up their secrets.

Atlas pinched the bridge of his nose. “Those fools should have searched the terrorists more thoroughly when they arrested them,” he hissed under his breath. “I suppose nothing can be done about it now though. I’ll make the call to Emett.”

As the king stepped out of the room, Cas followed him with his eyes, waiting until he had disappeared fully before he hurried over to Iris and sat down beside her on the sofa. He took her face in his hands and pressed a deep kiss to her lips before pulling back to meet her gaze with an apologetic expression. [color=#b97703]“I’m so sorry,”[/color] he breathed, shaking his head. [color=#b97703]“My dad is too paranoid for his own good sometimes. He had no reason to treat you like an enemy, and I’m sorry you had to go through that.”[/color]

He wrapped his arms around her and touched another kiss to her cheek, hoping to help her calm down after what Atlas had done. [color=#b97703]“At least you won’t ever have to do it again. As soon as we get your test results back from the doctor, he’ll know you haven’t been lying to us.”[/color]