None of that mattered. Caspian clenched his jaw to stop himself from arguing with her. Iris was too kind to pin blame on his security head, but her mercy didn’t stop him from feeling angry and betrayed by a man he was supposed to have been able to trust. All this time, Jacob had known she was alive and knew exactly where she was, and yet he’d pretended she was dead to keep him from going after her. He wasn’t going to break his word to Iris and fire the other man, but he definitely had a few choice words he planned on sharing with him later.

Hearing her say that she still loved him sent a wave of relief washing over him, and he pulled her in as tightly to his chest as he could without suffocating her. [color=#b97703]“I’m not letting you go again,”[/color] he promised, his own voice partially muffled behind the curtain of her long hair. And he meant it. Of course, there were still a lot of things he was going to have to work out now that she was back. He was king now, laden with new responsibilities and expectations as he stepped up to manage Aspiria in his late father’s place. If he became publicly involved with a former member of the rebellion, it wasn’t going to be a popular move with the people of the capital.

Even though nothing had been put down in writing, there was also the problem of his prospective courtship with Raine. The Suphate princess had seen his reunion with Iris, and he was sure she was upset and confused. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but when he’d begun to spend time with her and entertain the idea of a future marriage between their kingdoms, he hadn’t believed he would ever see his “dead” girlfriend again. Everything had changed now that she was here again, and the princess’s feelings weren’t enough to stop him from choosing the woman he hadn’t stopped loving since they’d parted months ago. He was going to find a way to be with Iris no matter what.

[color=#b97703]“[i]You’re[/i] what’s better for me, Iris,”[/color] Cas insisted, pulling back from their embrace so that he could meet her eyes. [color=#b97703]“While you were gone… I could barely get through each day. I could barely even think straight sometimes.”[/color] He shook his head. [color=#b97703]“I was surviving, but I was never doing well. Please… if you ever get it in your head again that I’m better off without you, just know that you’re everything to me.”[/color] Holding her gaze earnestly, he brought a hand up to gently caress her cheek.

When she brought up the attack at the castle, he winced. The memory was still raw, and he hadn’t yet had time to process all of it, but he managed a flicker of a smile at her compliment. He hadn’t realized she’d seen him that night. The expression gave way to one of interest when she added that she had something to give him, and he pulled her back into his chest, slipping his arms around the small of her back and resting his chin on her shoulder. [color=#b97703]“I love you too,”[/color] he whispered, turning to press a kiss to her cheek. [color=#b97703]“And I forgive you—for everything.”[/color]

Giving her one more squeeze, he drew back once more and let his hands trail down to rest on her legs, searching her eyes with knitted brows. [color=#b97703]“Now… what did you mean when you said you wanted to give me something to take down the rebels?”[/color]