Father. Caspian’s eyes widened as he made the connection. This man was Regis Nox-Fleuret, the leader of the Scourge. He was shocked that someone as high up the ladder as Regis would show his face in a prison cell, but maybe he’d just come by for Iris since they were family. However, he wasn’t acting like the prince would have expected of a parent. The man’s tone was sharp, and he was looking at her with nothing but anger in his eyes. Even if she had disobeyed some order he had given her, it seemed harsh for him to speak to her so furiously when all she’d done was talk to their prisoner for a minute.

As the father and daughter conversed, Cas couldn’t help but gawk at them. He was grateful that the room was dark enough to veil his expression for the most part because his surprise was written all over his face. He was both baffled and disgusted that Regis would accuse Iris of sleeping with him. For one thing, she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions about who she chose to be with. For another, he couldn’t understand why the rebel leader was so upset when their plan had worked. What did it matter how she had tricked him if they had managed to capture him either way? It seemed like he was upset that she had even pretended to be interested in him so that he’d go with her to the woods.

He sucked in his breath and turned his head away as the glass bottle struck the bars of his cell and shattered. [color=#b97703][i]He’s insane,[/i][/color] he thought, wincing at the feeling of a sting in his cheek. One of the broken shards had nicked him in its flight path. Not long after, the sound of a slap followed, and he looked up again incredulously as Regis ordered Iris to her room like a rambunctious toddler. He couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed, but even more so, he was astounded that Iris would side with a man who hit her. If this was the way members of the Scourge treated each other, it seemed obvious to him that they weren’t people who could be trusted.

Still, she followed the order, and Cas watched with a frown as she hurried out of the room. Even though she was the one who’d gotten him into this mess in the first place, he couldn’t help but feel a little pity for her. No one deserved to be treated like that. And, if he was honest, he still had some faint, residual feelings for her that had yet to disappear. It was difficult for him to watch someone he’d gotten close to be treated like she was less than dirt.

Regis spoke again, and Cas turned back to him cagily. The image the rebel painted was gruesome, and he swallowed the lump that began to form in his throat, trying to remember that the Scourge wouldn’t have the chance to kill him before the soldiers found him and brought him home. [color=#b97703][i]He’s just trying to scare me,[/i][/color] he assured himself, taking a deep breath and meeting the other man’s gaze with narrowed eyes. Even more than when Ethan had been in the room, he couldn’t show Regis that he was frightened of him. He had to appear strong because he was Aspiria’s future king. Besides, he had already figured out that the rebels weren’t going to touch him, otherwise Iris’s boyfriend would have punched him earlier.

[color=#b97703]“Like hell it will,”[/color] he said, tilting his chin up defiantly as his confidence returned. [color=#b97703]“I’m not going to die at the hands of a man who treats his daughter like that. She did what you wanted, yet you practically accused her of prostituting herself! You should be ashamed of yourself.”[/color] He scoffed. [color=#b97703]“You call yourself a leader, but this rebellion is a joke. I hope [i]you’re [/i]ready for death, because it won’t be long before Aspiria’s army squashes all of you like bugs.”[/color]