Content as he was with the silence, Jacob didn’t think anything of it as he drove along the pockmarked road on the other side of the border wall. The city buildings beyond the capital were in noticeably worse condition than their luxurious counterparts on the inside. Years ago, the area they were driving through had been called Celeste, and it had been another wealthy housing district for upper middle class workers in the country. Now, it was a wasteland like the rest of the regions that had been abandoned by the richest citizens in favor of living near the royal family in the center of the kingdom—a reminder of the distinct division between the haves and the have nots in Aspiria.

Jacob had seen it before, since he’d been part of the military before he joined the royal security team. The first time had been shocking, since no one in the capital spoke about the condition of the country outside of their shining city. He and the rest of the soldiers hadn’t realized how much worse off the non-highborn citizens really were. He’d since grown numb to the sight of the dilapidated buildings, rusted vehicles and overgrown plants that marked Aspiria’s poorest residential areas though. It was his job to protect the monarchy from the common people who tried to rebel, not to stand up for those who had made themselves into enemies of the crown.

Iris’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he glanced at her briefly before returning his gaze to the street. “He will,” he answered her curtly. Of course, he knew that Caspian was going to be devastated when he found out she was gone, but it was all for the best. The king would grieve and heal and move on with his life, just like every other man before him who had been through a break up. He would do what he could to make the process easier as well, since he knew it was the first semi-serious relationship the young monarch had ever experienced. Caspian didn’t yet have the tools in his belt to cope with heartbreak, so the guard would teach him how to get past it if he wanted the help.

“You’re doing the right thing,” he assured Iris once again. “Ending it now will be less painful for him than it would have been if you waited longer.”

Having said his piece, Jacob lapsed into silence again as he steered them further into the districts that surrounded the capital. He remembered where her father’s house had been, so he brought her to a nearby area before finally, after a little over two hours, he slowed his car to a stop once more. “This is as far as I’ll go,” he said as he turned to her in his seat. “You’ll have to cover the rest of the distance by yourself. The house isn’t too much further though. You should be able to reach it before the end of the day.” After a pause, he extended a hand to her. “Good luck, Iris. Maybe we’ll cross paths again someday.”