It felt like a dream. As Iris wrapped her arms around his back and buried her head into his chest, Cas just held her tighter, amazed that she was really there. He still didn’t know how it was possible when he’d watched her die on screen and had been told that she was gone. There were questions in the recesses of his mind that were going to demand an answer eventually, but right now, it was all he could do to keep himself from unraveling completely as he felt the warmth of her living body, the tickle of her hair against his cheek, and the pressure of her hands on his shoulders.

When she began to apologize to him, he shook his head fervently, loosening his grip on her just enough to meet her tear-streaked gaze with his own. [color=#b97703]“You have nothing to be sorry for,”[/color] he murmured, his voice catching slightly in his throat with roiling emotion. He swallowed hard, reining it back as much as he could. [color=#b97703]“I’m just glad you’re here.”[/color]

He could feel the tremor in her arms, so he pulled her back in, resting his chin on her shoulder and squeezing his eyes shut as he whispered, [color=#b97703]“I love you, Iris.”[/color]

For a long moment, they stayed like that. Cas ignored the quiet, confused chatter of the other people around them, all of whom were certainly baffled by the sudden appearance of a girl from the rebellion in the capital and their king’s obvious attachment to her. Raine was silent from her corner, watching the display with tight lips and uncertainty written across her features, while Jacob was prickling under the questioning gazes of the other guards. None of them knew what he’d done, but as the personal head of the king’s security, they had to suspect he had some awareness of this illicit relationship between their monarch and a member of the rebellion.

Cas also felt the eyes on his back, though he was less affected by them. As the initial shock wore off, and he felt the flood of emotions slowly subside, he opened his eyes halfway and threaded his fingers through her hair, thinking to himself. Her return meant a lot of things. Not the least, she’d come back after he had started actively pursuing a courtship with another woman—a woman who was sitting in the same room as them. He felt a faint twinge of guilt for the way he’d reacted in front of Raine, but he couldn’t help it. Iris was the one he loved, and no one else could replace her in his mind. It was uncomfortable to know what that meant for the Suphate princess, but…

[color=#b97703]“Here. Let’s go back to my room,”[/color] he said softly, pulling back again and taking her hand in his. [color=#b97703]“We have a lot of catching up to do.”[/color] With a glance over his shoulder, he flashed an apologetic look at Raine before turning to the guards. [color=#b97703]“Go back to your posts. Iris is my guest, so I’ll be the one to look after her.”[/color]

The security team exchanged a few uncertain looks amongst each other, but none of them were bold enough to challenge their king’s order so, after a brief, collective hesitation, they began to disperse throughout the safe house with only a few mumbled ‘yes, sir’s, and Cas led Iris further inside with a gentle tug to her hand.