Cas’s eyes flicked to Iris when she told him to stop, but he held his ground. As it was, he had nothing left to lose and everything to gain by standing up to Ethan. He also refused to stand by and let them take Iris somewhere else, where he couldn’t see what they were doing to her. The rebel had already almost killed her once, so he was going to do whatever he could to keep her safe, even if it meant taking an extra beating before they eventually decided to shoot him for their twisted cause.

Ethan’s taunts were irritating, but to the prince, they just showed how warped his view of him really was. He didn’t know what the other man thought was “charming” about his actions. If he had been faking his concern for Iris, he would have stopped trying the instant the rebels threatened to harm him. He didn’t know anyone who was so dedicated to their lies that they would put themselves in harm’s way just to keep up an image. Had he been the pretentious, haughty royal Ethan seemed to think he was, his true colors would have been revealed the instant they had captured him.

His following comment about loyalty struck a nerve though. [color=#b97703]“Oh yeah, you put a gun to her head,”[/color] he spat scathingly. [color=#b97703]“How incredibly [i]loyal[/i] of you.”[/color] He didn’t usually snap at others so venomously, but Iris’s ex was getting under his skin. He wasn’t going to let Ethan have the final word without throwing a few verbal punches, himself. After seeing everything Iris had been through just in the last week, he felt like she deserved to have someone stand up for her, and he was going to be that man.

As the rebel stepped toward them, Cas bristled and curled his hands into fists at his sides, readying himself to fight if Ethan swung at him. Even though he was still sore from the blows he’d taken from Thomas, he wasn’t in so much pain that he couldn’t defend himself and Iris. However, it seemed like he wouldn’t need to do anything at all, because in the next moment, Ethan appeared to reconsider his decision. [color=#b97703][i]He’s probably hurting too,[/i][/color] he realized, glancing down at the bleeding wound in his leg. They had gotten lucky this time.

He was just beginning to wonder if they could make a break for the exit while Ethan was too injured to chase after them when he felt Iris reach for his hand. Thinking about the other guards in the corridor, he decided it wasn’t worth the risk and unclenched his fist to let her hold his hand while she demanded to be locked up with him. Her determination made him feel a burst of fondness for her, but he didn’t like Ethan’s warning about her getting wrapped up in whatever “punishment” they had decided on for him. It felt like they were trapped between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, if Iris was sent somewhere else, she wouldn’t have to suffer with him. But on the other hand, the rebel might do something worse to her if he had her alone. Too distrusting of her ex to allow him to take her away, he begrudgingly kept his mouth shut on the matter as the guards shoved them into the cell and walked away.

Almost as soon as they were alone—or as alone as they could be with the remaining guards nearby—Cas let out his breath and leaned back heavily against the side of the bed with a wince. He’d kept up a tough face for show when the rebels had been watching him, but the pain of his various injuries had caught up to him, and he was feeling miserable. He pressed a hand to his chest where his bruised or broken ribs felt like they were stabbing his lungs every time he breathed in, wishing he had access to the advanced medicine in the capital that could take away all his discomfort.

[color=#b97703]“Are you okay?”[/color] he asked Iris quietly after he’d taken a moment to catch his breath. Despite his own soreness, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t in too much pain after everything Ethan had done to her when they’d scuffled in the street. [color=#b97703]“How’s your throat?”[/color]