Ethan’s laughter caught Cas off guard, and he blinked confusedly. When he’d mentioned Regis’s name, he’d thought it would instill fear and respect in the rebel, but instead, it seemed like his comment had been taken as some kind of a joke. Unnerved, he held onto Iris’s hand tightly, wondering why her ex was so amused. Perhaps Regis was even crueler than he’d thought, allowing others to abuse his daughter just like he had. The thought made him feel sick. No one deserved to be treated like that, used and pushed around for everyone else’s benefit, and he couldn’t stand the thought of her being put back in that kind of life. Even worse, he hated that he was powerless to do anything to stop them from doing so. The rebels were the ones with the manpower and the weapons. All he had was his will, and that hadn’t even been enough to carry him to victory in a one-on-one fist fight.

As Ethan went on, Cas’s initial nervousness gave way to simmering anger. Listening to the rebel speak about Iris in such a degrading manner made him want to deck him in the face. However, one of the things he said didn’t make sense. [color=#b97703][i]Retirement?[/i][/color] The prince puzzled. Just a week ago, military intelligence had learned that Regis Nox-Fleuret was the leader of the rebellion. It was an undisputed fact. Leaders didn’t just ‘retire’ in the middle of a war. That would be chaotic and destructive to his cause. He studied Ethan quietly from the back seat of the car, wondering if it was a lie or if something else was going on that they didn’t know about. Maybe Iris’s father had been forced into an early retirement after he’d lost their prisoner? It was possible, but there was still something fishy about it.

Knowing Ethan would never tell him anything more than he already had though, Cas didn’t press the issue any further. Instead, he turned his head to peer out the window again as he noticed belatedly that the vehicle was slowing down. As soon as his gaze landed on the building ahead of them, he paled. His last “cell” had been Nox-Fleuret’s basement, so he hadn’t been prepared for the rebels to take him to an actual prison. The enormous gray building loomed ominously over them, a massive representation of security and strength. If he’d had any hope of escaping from them before, it was draining quickly now.

Ethan’s flippant threat didn’t help either. He’d already been somewhat prepared for the fact that the rebels were probably going to beat him again, but he was sore and exhausted and had hoped they might put it off long enough for him to get some rest first. Unfortunately, it seemed like he’d set his expectations a little too high.

Reluctantly letting go of Iris’s hand, he climbed out of the car at the new rebel leader’s instruction. The armed guards standing by were daunting, and he kept them in the corner of his eye as he made sure Iris was keeping up with him and followed after Ethan. Behind them, Thomas provided additional security, making sure they didn’t try to run.

Cas rolled his aching shoulders and let his gaze roam the property. By all appearances, it looked like they were going to be kept as prisoners in a real prison. [color=#b97703]“This isn’t promising,”[/color] he whispered, keeping close to Iris out of both protectiveness and apprehension.