His question seemed to have caught Iris off guard. Cas watched her mull over the inquiry quietly while he nursed the cut on the back of his head, ready for whatever bullshit she was about to throw his way. He didn’t know why he’d even bothered to ask. She was probably just trying to win back his trust and make him believe that the lies the Scourge had been spreading about quality of life outside the capital were true. It had been a waste of breath to press her for details in the first place, so he looked away to continue studying the room he was locked in, resuming work on his plan to escape.

However, when she spoke, he found his eyes wandering back to her face. He was still leery of believing her, but every word sounded genuine. If nothing else, he felt fairly confident that she was being honest when she said that his death would solve nothing. It wasn’t entirely true though. If he died, the Maydestone line would die with him, so the Scourge would have succeeded in destroying the monarchy. The biggest downside for them would be that his father would rain fire on the rebellion before he breathed his last breath. Whether or not they thought that ending his life was the right move depended on how badly they wanted to end the crown.

Apparently, Iris cared more about her fellow rebels than she did about usurping power.

As she said she wouldn’t let him die, he stared at her guardedly, unsure what to think. He knew she was a smooth liar since she had tricked him, but he couldn’t think of any reason why she would tell him something like that. Unless she was trying to get him to relax and trust that he didn’t have to get out on his own, because he could rely on her. The thought made him stiffen slightly with apprehension. Whether she was telling the truth or not, he couldn’t give up on escaping alone until he ran out of time.

[color=#b97703][i]So, I’ve been here for at least one whole day,[/i][/color] he mused, reflecting on what she had said about two days. That explained why he’d been feeling so dizzy. In twenty-four hours or more, he’d only had one small glass of water to drink. Well, now two, but it still wasn’t enough to replenish the amount he was losing with each passing day. Vaguely, he thought he remembered something about prolonged dehydration causing seizures. He hoped it would take more than just a day for that to happen if it was true.

Concerned by his own train of thought, Cas didn’t even hesitate when Iris asked if he wanted more water. [color=#b97703]“God yes,”[/color] he said and then immediately bit his tongue. He hadn’t meant to give away how thirsty he was, but he supposed she could have made the connection on her own. She was the only one who had brought him anything to drink, so she would have already known he was running on empty.

With a sigh, he removed the makeshift compress from his head, resting his arms in his lap to give them a break. [color=#b97703]“If you don’t want me to die, then why did you bring me here in the first place?”[/color] he asked with a frown, still skeptical. [color=#b97703]“You could have just left me in the woods after you knocked me out.”[/color] As he spoke, his gaze wandered back to the bread she’d left for him, and he picked up a slice to take a bite.