Cas deflated slightly when Iris said it was unlikely that they would make it to the capital today. Even though he’d seen it coming, it was still disappointing to know that he would have to keep waiting to get home. He missed his bed, good food, his friends, and even his father. After coming within an hour of losing his life, he wanted nothing more than to return to what was familiar and put the kidnapping behind him. He was sure he wouldn’t leave the mansion for at least a week when he got back. The world was more unforgiving than he’d given it credit for, and he wanted to hide away from it long enough to rediscover some semblance of normalcy.

Following her back into the city, he kept his head down to lessen the chance of anyone recognizing him. He wasn’t sure if the people outside the capital would be as quick to spot him as the high borns in the capital were, but he didn’t want to find out. There was no way to tell if any of the men and women around them were part of the rebellion or if they were even sympathetic with the Scourge’s cause. Right now, he had to assume anyone could sell him out, and he couldn’t afford to be thrown back in a cell a second time. Or worse, killed on the spot. Just the thought of it was enough to leave a bitter taste in his mouth, and he kept close to Iris, using her as a second set of eyes and ears.

When she answered his question, he glanced up at her from beneath his hood. For some reason, the mention of a best friend surprised him. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because when they had met, she hadn’t had any memories. Her life had been a blank slate; no friends or family or any other people to mention. It was also weird to him to picture her living in the Tongsen slums rather than somewhere in the capital as he’d first imagined. He was still getting used to the reality that she wasn’t a high born.

It also didn’t slip his notice that she’d avoided using pronouns when she spoke about her friend. He studied her quietly, unable to keep himself from wondering if the person who had helped them was a man or a woman. He hadn’t known that she’d had a boyfriend when he’d gotten close to her, and even though he’d told himself that he needed to keep his distance now, he found himself hoping that there wasn’t yet another man in her life who was important to her. [color=#b97703][i]God, stop it,[/i][/color] he chided himself with a wince. [color=#b97703][i]She’s the daughter of the Scourge’s leader. It doesn’t matter if she’s close to another guy… It’s not like he would be my competition.[/i][/color] Despite the mental reminder, he felt his face warm up at the thought of competing for her attention, and he fixed his gaze on the ground, trying desperately to will the ruddiness away. Apparently, it was going to take longer than half a week for his residual feelings to fade.

[color=#b97703]“It’s good to know I’ve got at least one more ally out here,”[/color] he muttered, doing his best to keep the reflexive jealousy out of his voice. Even if he wanted anything to happen—which he [i]didn’t[/i], now that he knew she was a rebel—nothing could anymore. Assuming he survived long enough to get back to the capital, he was going to be Aspiria’s next king. He had to mingle with women on his own class, potential partners who didn’t deceive him about who they were and who weren’t associated with the enemies of the crown. Any chance they had of being together had been squashed the instant she’d told him that her last name was Nox-Fleuret.

Trying not to feel discouraged by the fact, he wasn’t paying enough attention to realize that Iris had stopped walking. He stepped into her outstretched arm and jumped, realizing abruptly that he’d been spacing out. Gathering his wits, he followed her gaze to the gate up ahead and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he recognized one of the men standing in their path. It seemed like the other rebels had caught onto his disappearance already and were trying to hunt him down again.

He quickly pivoted on his heel and followed Iris away from the gate, murmuring a string of swears under his breath. If Ethan spotted him, he already knew he wasn’t in good enough shape to run. [color=#b97703]“Are you sure there’s no other way we can go?”[/color] he asked, glancing sideways at her as they headed for a housing complex. He really hoped they weren’t going to be delayed because of her ex-boyfriend. [color=#b97703]“What about that friend of yours? Do you think he can help?”[/color] Even though he knew he had to stop looking at her that way, he couldn’t help himself. He had to dig subtly to figure out the gender of the person she called her best friend. Besides, it was a practical question too, because he genuinely wanted to know if her friend was willing to help them get out of the district.