The feeling of Iris’s warm hand on his leg helped Caspian to relax a little as he drove the car onto the highway. Although he wished he didn’t have to get her involved in his runaway plan, he couldn’t help but be glad that she was with him now. It would be easier to hide out at the resort with another person there too. If he’d been alone, he probably would have driven himself mad with worry and despair, unable to distract himself from the knowledge that his father had been about to admit him to a mental institution. Plus, he’d missed her lately. He’d been relieved that she was safe with Miles, but he’d gotten spoiled when they had been together every minute of every day in the districts. It was exciting to know that they would have at least a few days together before he made up his mind about whether or not he would return to hash things out with his father.

[color=#b97703]“There’s nothing anyone can do,”[/color] he sighed. [color=#b97703]“He’s convinced that I’ve been ‘brainwashed’ by you and the other rebels. In his mind, your disappearance means you went back to the Scourge, and because I won’t agree with him that you deserve the death penalty, he’s decided that I’m a risk to him and to myself. I don’t know exactly why, but my guess is that he’s convinced that you’re gonna turn up again, manipulate me, and use me to overthrow the monarchy on behalf of the rebellion.”[/color] He shook his head exasperatedly. [color=#b97703]“He’s always been paranoid, but never like this… I don’t know what to do, but I [i]do[/i] know that I needed to get out of there before he had me sent to that hellhole.”[/color]

Glancing at the side mirror, he guided the vehicle smoothly into the express lane and increased his speed. [color=#b97703]“If it’s any consolation, you actually have about forty minutes,”[/color] he corrected with a smile. [color=#b97703]“The resort is right on the edge of the city, so it’ll take us a while to get there.”[/color] If he hadn’t been worried about getting caught, he would have turned on some music for them to listen to. However, he needed to keep it quiet, just in case he caught the sound of sirens in the distance.

When Iris joked about being the disguise, he laughed softly. [color=#b97703]“Actually, I didn’t… Those are my spare sunglasses, and I just keep them in the glove compartment all the time in case I need them,”[/color] he confessed with a shrug, turning his head to look at her as she put them on. [color=#b97703]“They look better on you than they do on me.”[/color] It wasn’t the best disguise, but it would have to do. Hopefully the security guard who was waiting for them wouldn’t recognize her as the same woman that had been broadcasted all over the news as an escaped convict. There were plenty of other blonde women in the city, so someone would have to have a sharp eye to realize she was a wanted criminal.

Passing the time by talking in hushed tones, Cas drove them all the way to the northeastern wall, where an enormous, twenty story building stood majestically. It’s exterior was an elaborate combination of glass curtains, steel and concrete, arcing smoothly around a large, backlit pool. Floodlights in bright shades of blue and purple illuminated the structure as the sunlight faded from the sky.

The prince slowed the car and followed the road up to the front then turned onto a smaller side street that took them around back to a narrow, sloping tunnel that would bring them to the private, underground parking lot below the building that was reserved for guests who needed to stay out of the public eye. Usually, celebrities took advantage of it when they wanted to get out of the bustle of the city, but he also had been given the access code to open the gate earlier on the phone. Pulling up to the keypad at the front of the tunnel, he punched in the seven-digit pin and waited for the gate to slide open before he proceeded inside.

Almost every space was empty, so he parked in the closest one to the elevator and turned off the engine. [color=#b97703]“Sunglasses on?”[/color] he checked with Iris as he unbuckled his seatbelt. The security guard was already waiting for them near the lift doors, so he wanted to make sure she’d put on the glasses before they got out of the car.