[color=#b97703]“I’d like to see you do better,”[/color] Caspian rolled his eyes when Iris continued to tease him about being squeamish. Having never been part of the military—his father had been far too protective to allow his only son to risk his life, even if he’d wanted to join the ranks—he wasn’t used to seeing gory scenes outside of horror movies. It was easier to detach from films too, since he knew the actors and actresses weren’t actually bleeding all over themselves. To actually see someone with an injury as severe as hers had been shocking, and he was rather proud of himself for handling it by himself. Of course, in hindsight he supposed he should have called an ambulance to pick her up instead of carried her to the hospital alone. They were lucky her condition had been stable when she’d arrived. If she had gone into shock, his impulsive response might have hurt her more than it had helped. Regardless, she was doing fine now, so he felt like he had done a good job of taking care of her overall.

[color=#b97703]“I know, but that’s what the brain scan is for,”[/color] he reminded her gently when she said she wanted to prove to his father that she wasn’t a threat. Good idea or not, they couldn’t change the fact that they were confined to the mansion until the rebels had all been brought back into custody. It was too dangerous to go out while the terrorists were loose somewhere in the capital. After an attempt had just been made on his father’s life, he wasn’t eager to leave the safety of the security team either. They would just have to hope that seeing proof that her memories were still gone would be enough for the king to stop accusing her of siding with the Scourge.

As she added that he should get some rest too, Cas nodded in agreement. If he found time to take a nap, he would seize the opportunity in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, he doubted he was going to be able to fit in more than an hour’s worth of sleep on top of everything else he had to do. There was still the interrogation to oversee, and then he would probably have to reconvene with the counsel alongside Atlas, since he had been the one handling the situation thus far. If they came to any decisions about what to do next, his father might include him in those plans as well. He hoped not, but since the monarch’s health had been at a low point recently, it was something he had to be prepared for in spite of his own exhaustion.

Suddenly, the prince was torn from his thoughts when Iris took him by the hand and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. The feeling of her lips against his skin made him feel warm, and butterflies tickled his stomach. Even though pushing past a platonic friendship had been natural, every touch was still so new that the effects felt magnified to him. He casted her a fond smile, slightly red-faced. [color=#b97703]“I’ll try my best,”[/color] he promised, giving her hand a squeeze before he let go of it. [color=#b97703]“See you later, Iris.”[/color]

Turning for the door, he waited until he’d passed into the hallway before he accessed the security team’s frequency again on his com device. [color=#b97703]“I’m on the line,”[/color] he announced into the receiver, making his way toward the in-house bar. If he was going to sit through an entire interrogation, he was going to need a stiff drink. [color=#b97703]“Are the prisoners talking now?”[/color]