Cas wished he had an answer for Iris, but truthfully, he had no idea how his father would react if he tried to vouch for the other districts. He wanted to believe Atlas was a just ruler who didn’t know how bad life was beyond the capital and who would leap at the chance to rectify the situation. However, it was highly unlikely that a king could be so out-of-touch with his people. It was far more probable that his father knew exactly what was going on and had kept the information from him for some reason. [color=#b97703][i]Probably because he knows I wouldn’t have been okay with it,[/i][/color] he theorized, looking down at the pothole-filled road they were walking beside. He believed in an Aspiria that was a utopia for people of all classes, not just for the elite and wealthy.

No matter what the monarch had been trying to do by keeping him in the dark, he had to wonder how Atlas had thought he would react when he eventually found out the truth. It was a temporary solution at best. When he became king after his father passed, he would have found out everything on his own. Economics may not have been his best subject, but he wasn’t so hopeless at it that he would have missed such a gaping discrepancy between what he’d been told and what was actually going on in the country. If he went back to the capital, he was eager to question the king to find out exactly what had been going on in his head for the last twenty-four years.

When they walked further along the road, and Iris told him that she thought she had enough money left to treat him to dinner, he smirked. [color=#b97703]“You sure do know how to make a man feel special,”[/color] he jested, teasing her hand with his thumb. [color=#b97703]“I’d love to be your dinner date.”[/color] He knew that dinner beyond the capital was likely to mean more sandwiches and bottles of water, but when that was their only option, he couldn’t complain. I was interesting to him how quickly his mentality shifted when he was in survival mode. At home, he could afford to be more picky with his meals, choosing to eat almost exclusively gourmet dishes to satisfy his expensive palate. However, on the run from the rebellion, plain food suddenly seemed more delicious.

He was mulling over the thought when he noticed that Iris was starting to look around as if she was worried about something. Tardily, he took notice of the sound of an old engine and realized they were no longer alone on the road. He glanced over his shoulder after she did, spotting the vehicle that was approaching them just before she pulled on his hand and told him to run. Without replying, he followed the order, slipping his hand out of hers to take up a sprint at her side. In the back of his head, he knew they weren’t going to get very far though. Running as fast as they could, they still couldn’t outpace a car, and the walls that bordered the road were too tall to climb over. He just hoped that whoever was behind the wheel wasn’t really after them—

Suddenly, a gunshot rang in the air, and Cas felt his heart leap into his throat. Whoever was in the car was most definitely after them. His fight or flight instincts kicked in, prompting him to sprint faster, which ultimately only caused him to stumble when Iris froze at his side. Caring more about staying with her than he did about escaping, he forced himself to stop, staggered to catch his balance and turned back to take her by the arm, trying to encourage her to keep moving before the shooter was in range to hit them. [color=#b97703]“Iris, come on,”[/color] he urged her frantically. [color=#b97703]“It’s harder to hit a moving target, so—”[/color] He didn’t finish the thought before he was interrupted by the voice of the last man he’d ever wanted to see again.

The prince blanched and looked up to see Ethan and the other rebel that had broken into the capital, Thomas Howard, out of their vehicle and on their feet. The former was aiming his gun directly at them. In that moment, his thoughts raced a million miles per second as he hurried to think of a way out of the situation. He didn’t want to give up without a fight. If Ethan caught him now, he would probably just send him back to Regis, and he dreaded the thought of finding out what Iris’s father would do to him after he’d already escaped once. A shiver zipped up his spine as he imagined being beaten and stabbed all over again by the alcoholic sadist. He couldn’t go back, but he also couldn’t risk Iris’s life by disregarding Ethan’s orders.

If he’d been alone, he would have been desperate enough to turn tail and flee in the hopes that Ethan wouldn’t be able to hit him if he ran in an irregular path. However, he didn’t want to chance that Iris would be shot in the crossfire. If something happened to her, he would never forgive himself. So, trembling with a mixture of fear and adrenaline, he let go of her arm and averted his gaze as he reluctantly held up his hands in defeat.

Facing her father again was the lesser evil when compared to getting her killed. The rebels might punish her for turning traitor, but she was still one of them, so he was fairly sure she would be alright. He was the one they wanted, after all, not her. He took a steeling breath. [color=#b97703]“Just do what he says,”[/color] he murmured without looking up from the ground, keeping his voice low enough that only she would hear him. [color=#b97703]“I don’t want you to get hurt… He’s after me, so just go along with it so he doesn’t shoot you.”[/color]