When Iris said she didn’t think she would be able to get them out of the prison, Cas didn’t say anything. He hadn’t expected that she would be able to do it. When she had helped him escape from her father’s basement, she’d had a much easier task. He had already dismantled his cell, there had been no other people around, and the had been familiar with the building and the area. All the factors had worked in her favor. In this real prison, the opposite was true. If this place had been built by licensed penitentiary designers employed by the crown, as most were, he wouldn’t be able to simply unscrew and pull up his cell bars. There would also be guards around every corner, and as far as he knew, neither of them knew anything about the layout of the building nor the surrounding ones. It was practically impossible for them to get away without getting caught and killed by the rebel watchmen. It also would have been too much for him to believe that she could do it.

At her following apology, he shook his head. [color=#b97703]“You have to stop blaming yourself,”[/color] he murmured, side-eyeing the guards near the entrance of the prison. All of the men were armed to their teeth, and he didn’t know what might set them off, so he kept his voice down as low as he could. [color=#b97703]“None of this is your fault, and taking the blame for it isn’t doing either of us any good. Just focus on getting yourself out of here… no matter what happens to me.”[/color] The sentence was difficult to vocalize, and he stifled a wince as it left his lips. Speaking about his own demise out loud made it feel more real, and cold dread began to wrap its tendrils around his heart. This was it. There would be no escaping from the rebellion this time. They were going to kill him, and there was nothing he could do to stop them. Thinking about it made him feel lightheaded, and he took a slow breath as he focused to keep himself from stumbling.

The sound of Iris’s spoken name made him look up, and he caught sight of the guard who was looking at her with unexpected glee. He wondered if it was an old friend of hers from before she’d lost her memories, but he didn’t get the chance to ponder over it for long. As Ethan gave the order to shoot her if she ran, he ground his teeth. For a moment, he was tempted to jump to her defense, sick of letting her ex speak about her that way. It wasn’t like they could threaten to do anything to him that they weren’t already planning on doing. He fully expected that they would torture and kill him as soon as he was behind bars. If someone shot him now, at least he would spare himself the pain. However, there was always the risk that they would hurt her too, so he quelled his tongue and walked silently into the building.

The inside was even grimmer than the outside. It looked almost identical to the penitentiary in the capital with narrow hallways and rows upon rows of cells that the rebels seemed to have transformed into different kinds of rooms. His dark eyes skimmed each one they passed with idle curiosity until they came to a bare, empty cell that had been left open. Stopping beside Iris, he watched Ethan point at it in a wordless command to get inside. He didn’t move to follow the order right away though. Hesitant to trap himself in the concrete and metal cage—especially one in which he was expected to stay without Iris—he willfully planted his feet.

[color=#b97703]“No,”[/color] he said before he could think through his actions. Narrowing his eyes at Ethan stubbornly, he held his ground. In the back of his mind, he knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere by protesting, but he had nothing left to lose. Backed into a corner, he wasn’t going to let them take his life without putting up a fight. It wasn’t like he would be rewarded for good behavior, after all. Committed to his decision, he went on obstinately, [color=#b97703]“I don’t trust you twisted bastards alone with Iris for a single second. Either she comes with me, or I go wherever you were planning to take her.”[/color]