For a few minutes, the car was quiet when everyone stopped talking to each other. Caspian fidgeted absentmindedly with the door handle as if it would eventually unlock if he tugged on it enough times. Of course, it didn’t, but it was an outlet for his pent-up energy, so he kept at it anyway. Sitting in the back of the rebels’ car felt surreal. Just that morning, he’d been happy and hopeful that his enemies had stopped looking for him since his father didn’t seem to care about his disappearance. It had seemed like his close encounter with death was behind him and that he wouldn’t have to go through it again.

Apparently, his impression had been very wrong. As Ethan drove on to wherever it was that he was taking them, a flurry of emotions stirred inside Cas’s chest. He didn’t know what to think. What [i]was[/i] someone supposed to think when he was being escorted to his execution? He’d never been close enough to any of the crown’s prisoners to ask. Part of him was afraid, but another part of him was oddly calm. He couldn’t tell if it was because he’d accepted that he was going to die or because the reality of the situation hadn’t struck him yet. It felt unreal that his life was going to be cut short at the young age of twenty-four, and he still had a sliver of hope that he could make it out alive.

When Iris spoke up, he glanced at her again, curious to know where they were headed too. Ethan’s reply was oddly hostile, and it didn’t do much to give him any clarity. Perhaps his vague response meant something to Iris, but to him, it gave no clues as to where he was going to be held this time. The only thing he got from it was the allusion that he wasn’t going to be killed as soon as he set foot outside the car. He let out his breath in a soft sigh of relief. Being made into the rebels’ prisoner a second time sounded more than unpleasant, but at least they weren’t planning to have him murdered right away.

As Ethan threatened to “prepare” something for Iris as well, Cas squeezed her hand possessively. The rebel was most likely talking about throwing her in a cell too, but he didn’t like the tone of his voice when he said it. They had a history together of some sort—the exact details were beyond him, since even Iris didn’t remember—so he suspected that her ex-boyfriend wanted revenge for the fact that she had run away with another man. The prince had no idea what he was capable of, so the cold words hung ominously in the back of his mind. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to do anything to protect her while they were at the base, but he was going to try his damnedest to make sure they didn’t hurt her, even if it meant taking her place in the beatings.

[color=#b97703]“I don’t think Regis would like it if you treat his daughter like a criminal,”[/color] he warned, trying to make Ethan think twice about touching her. In reality, he had no idea if Nox-Fleuret would care if anything happened to Iris, but it was worth a shot. Maybe he was the kind of father who didn’t like it when anyone beat up his daughter aside from him? [color=#b97703][i]God, that’s a horrible thought,[/i][/color] he wrinkled his nose in disgust.