[color=#b97703][i]Yeah, right,[/i][/color] Cas thought bitterly when Iris began acting like she was sorry for what she’d done. It [i]was [/i]unforgiveable, but he didn’t believe for a second that she actually felt any remorse for what she had done. It was all just part of the game she was playing. She was pretending to be ashamed, so he would think she was someone he could confide in when the reality was that she had been his enemy from the very beginning. He wasn’t going to fall for her manipulations a second time. When he’d trusted her in the capital, he’d gotten himself abducted. He didn’t even want to know what would happen if he let her play with his heart while they were in the Scourge’s territory. For his own safety, he continued to watch her with a keen eye, refusing to allow himself to empathize with the pain on her face so she couldn’t get to him.

As she went on, he fought the urge to scoff. He already knew that not all the citizens outside of the capital were terrorists, but the rebels were, by definition, enemies of the crown. He was a Maydestone, so he [i]was [/i]the crown. Even if the Scourge tricked the common people into believing that they had their best interests at heart, they were openly hostile to the high borns and the royals at the top of the upper echelon. Ethan had said they were going to kill him too. He wasn’t going to buy into their crap that they were actually good people just because she had brought him enough food and water to stay alive. That wasn’t how it worked.

[color=#b97703]“Maybe you’re not, but your boyfriend is,”[/color] he muttered, wrinkling his nose as he pictured the cruel smile that had twisted Ethan’s face when he’d said that the rebels were going to kill him. Even though he’d sentenced two people to death just a few days ago, he wasn’t so heartless that he would have delivered the news with a grin. Only psychopaths were that sadistic.

When Iris lifted her arm, he glanced at her briefly. For a second, he’d thought he saw something on her wrist, but it was so dark in the room that he couldn’t tell. He considered it for a second longer before he shrugged it off as a shadow and was distracted by her assertion that her feelings for him had been real. [color=#b97703][i]Here we go again,[/i][/color] he sighed, bending one leg slightly to bring his knee to his chest. However, he quickly remembered that his feet were supposed to be bound, and he snapped his leg back down on the ground before she could tell that the rope wasn’t actually tied to anything.

[color=#b97703]“You keep saying you’re sorry and that you didn’t mean to hurt me, but tell me something,”[/color] he looked up at her with distrust in his eyes. His stomach begged him to dive for the food and water at her feet, but he wouldn’t move until he had answers. [color=#b97703]“Why were you in the capital to begin with? If you’re related to the leader of this whole damn rebellion, I can’t imagine you were just there for sightseeing. What were you really doing there if you didn’t mean to kidnap me?”[/color]