Expecting Iris to keep up her sad act to try and trick him into trusting her, Caspian was caught off guard by the sharpness of her voice. He stared at her incredulously as she said he didn’t know anything beyond his life in the capital. It was a ridiculous accusation. He’d spent his entire life being groomed to take over as the next king, seen so many maps he could envision the boundaries of every province in his mind’s eye. He may not have ever left the city in which he’d been born, but he knew more about Aspiria than everyone else in the nation other than his own father. It was why he couldn’t compromise with the Scourge, who were threatening to destroy the utopia his ancestors had built, and it was why he couldn’t take pity on the rebels who had broken into his home.

As she asserted that the terrorists hadn’t actually been trying to kill the king, he averted his gaze. Even if what she said was true—and he was hesitant to believe a word out of her mouth after what she’d done—it wouldn’t have changed the sentence. Treason was punishable by death in their kingdom, and just the fact that the men had been part of the rebellion had been enough to seal their fates. It was a necessary punishment. The crown couldn’t just turn a blind eye to everyone who wanted to swipe power out from underneath the royal family or their enemies would take advantage of their kindness. As gut-wrenching as it was, he’d had to make the tough call to uphold the precedent his father had set before him and that his father had set before him. However, he knew that there was no point in explaining it to Iris. She’d obviously been brainwashed by the propaganda of the Scourge if she thought her friends had committed no crimes.

Her following assertion made his skin prickle, and he parted his lips to tell her to stop pretending like there had been something between them, but the words didn’t have a chance to make it past his lips. Instead, he grimaced as she demanded to know what he would have done if she’d told him who she was. If he was honest, he didn’t know the answer. Last night—he was assuming he’d woken up the next day, although it was hard to tell when he was locked up in a room with no windows—he would have been shocked and appalled, but would he have had her killed like he had the others? Now that he knew the truth about her, he wanted to say that he would have had the foresight to do the responsible thing and judge her the same way he’d judged the others, but deep down in his heart, he knew he wouldn’t have been so strict. He’d caught feelings, and feelings clouded judgement. He probably would have taken her to the border to make sure she left the capital, but he wouldn’t have handed her over to the soldiers.

He drew his knees to his chest, unsure what to say, but fortunately, she left the room without waiting for a reply. As the door swung open, he craned his neck to see what was on the other side, but the view didn’t give him much of a clue. It just looked like he was in some sort of run-down old building, and there were plenty of those around Aspiria. Abandoned sites that had yet to be demolished and turned into something extravagant. He sighed, leaning his head back against the cold, concrete wall. The surface was soothing against the injury on the part of his skull that had swollen into an angry bump. Even though he couldn’t remember the incident, he was certain someone must have struck him with a blunt object, and that was why he’d passed out in the woods. He just hoped the small laceration that came with it wouldn’t get infected before he managed to get out of this place.

[color=#b97703][i]It won’t be long,[/i][/color] he assured himself, closing his eyes. [color=#b97703][i]Aspiria’s military is one of the best in the world. Dad will realize I’m gone and send them to look for me, and I’ll be home in no time.[/i][/color]