Caspian floated through the rest of the day only half present in his excitement to finally free Iris from the suite that had become her prison. Multiple times, he got caught up in his daydreams about what it was going to be like for them to finally be able to be together without the distance or the worrying or the sneaking around. Of course, there was still the question of what the Aspirian people would think when he came forward about choosing to be with a former member of the Scourge, but they could cross that bridge when they got there. At the moment, all he cared about was making her comfortable in the palace, so she could live with him in the place that would hopefully become a second home to her.

It was an exciting fantasy, and when his last meeting of the day finally ended at eight in the evening, he wasted no time hunting down his security detail to make the trip to the [i]Sunset Veil[/i]. He found Jacob in his office reviewing camera footage in search of blind spots and technical issues. With a knock on the door to announce himself, the new king stepped into the room. [color=#b97703]“Hey, are you ready to go?”[/color] he asked. [color=#b97703]“I figured I’ll have a late dinner with Iris after she settles in, so we can pick her up now.”[/color]

“Sure. Just give me a minute to lock up,” Jacob nodded a little distractedly. He made a quick note on a pad to mark a timestamp on the video he’d been watching and logged out of the computer. As soon as he was finished closing up his office, the two made their way up to the helipad on the roof, where the hover cars were kept under a cover. From there, it was a straight shot to the resort. The ride only took about fifteen minutes, and once they found a place to park the vehicle, Cas led the way inside through the underground entrance, so they wouldn’t need to worry about being spotted by random passersby while they collected Iris.

On the elevator, he chattered with Jacob about his excitement that they were finally going to be able to be together. It had been a long journey to get there, but he was hopeful that they were nearing the end of the worst of it. The guard nodded along quietly without voicing his opinion one way or the other, which was fine. Cas didn’t expect him to be thrilled about his decision to be with a former rebel, but he would see soon that it was a good thing. He cared more about Iris than he did about anyone outside of his own family, and he was confident that she would be a good match for him since she had a big heart for the people in the kingdom who needed the most help from its leaders.

But that was something that would be proven with time more so than an argument, so he didn’t press the issue when they arrived at the top floor of the building and headed down the hallway to the executive suite. Already, the fledgling king had a grin on his face. He couldn’t wait to surprise Iris with the news that she didn’t have to stay hidden in the resort any longer and that he’d waived the warrant for her arrest. He strode ahead of his guard and knocked on the door, taking one step back to wait for Iris to answer.

Which took longer than he expected. A few seconds passed, then a few more, and the smile on Caspian’s face wavered slightly as he knocked again. The last time he’d come by, she had answered right away, but it was possible that she hadn’t heard him the first time. So, he waited again to the same result. [color=#b97703]“Maybe she’s in the shower or something,”[/color] he guessed, glancing over his shoulder at Jacob. [color=#b97703]“You can get us inside without the room key, right? I can go in and check on her.”[/color]

Jacob nodded and reached into his pocket. “Step aside please, Your Majesty,” he requested as he approached the door. Once he was given the room to work, he jimmied the lock open and pushed the door in for the king to enter first.

Cas stepped through with a quick word of thanks and looked around the suite in search of Iris, but the room seemed empty. All the dirty dishes had been left in the kitchen just like before, and the TV was turned off in the living area. [color=#b97703]“She has to be upstairs,”[/color] he mused, turning back to the other man once more. [color=#b97703]“Wait here. I’ll go ahead just in case she really is in the shower.”[/color] After the guard voiced his agreement, the king jogged up to the second level of the suite and called out Iris’s name. However, the top floor looked just as cold and empty as the lower one. He frowned, worry starting to creep up inside of his chest. He couldn’t hear the sound of running water, but he checked the bathroom anyway. It was empty too.

Abruptly, the thought crossed his mind that the soldiers could have found her and brought her back to prison since his last visit, and his worry escalated into panic. [color=#b97703]“Jacob, something’s wrong,”[/color] he yelled down to the guard as he stepped out of the bathroom.

“Your Majesty, there’s a note on the table down here,” the guard called back.

[color=#b97703]“A note?”[/color] Cas echoed, knitting his brows together. He hurried back down the stairs, where he found the other man with a slip on paper in his hand. Taking it from him, he skimmed the words, hoping that Iris had left some kind of explanation for him. But while the note did contain an explanation, it wasn’t one that made him feel any better.

“Caspian?” Jacob frowned as he watched the color drain from his king’s face.

Cas sat down on the sofa without taking his eyes off the note. It wasn’t a long message, but he’d gotten the meaning loud and clear. [color=#b97703]“She’s gone,”[/color] he murmured dazedly. [color=#b97703]“Iris isn’t here anymore… She left.”[/color]