Expecting to see Iris, Caspian paused in the doorway and raised a brow when the first face he saw in the room belonged to Harry Calhoun instead. As the guard bowed to him, he realized belatedly that he should have known Jacob would have left someone behind to keep an eye on their prisoner though. The head of security wouldn’t trust her enough to be left alone at the hospital even if she was injured. He nearly rolled his eyes at the thought but restrained himself. The man he was upset with was Jacob, not Harry or Iris, so there was no point in taking out his frustration on either of them.

Noticing Harry’s wandering eyes, he glanced over his shoulder. [color=#b97703]“Jacob is parking the car right now,”[/color] he explained casually, taking a guess as to what the guard was searching for. Carefully, he maneuvered around the other man to come further into the room, losing interest in talking to Harry as his gaze landed on Iris. Right away, he could tell that she wasn’t doing well. Her skin looked pale, and her eyes were red as if she’d been crying recently. The sight made him want to run to her side and wrap his arms around her in a protective embrace, but he couldn’t do that when the guard was there with them. Everyone on the security team reported to his father.

So, suppressing the urge to let go of his inhibitions and close the distance between them, he glanced at Harry again, quickly coming up with a way to get rid of him for a little while. [color=#b97703]“Actually… why don’t you go down and meet him in the lobby?”[/color] he suggested. [color=#b97703]“That way you can show him how to get to this room when he gets here.”[/color]

“Oh, Jacob already knows where this room is, Your Highness,” Harry replied.

[color=#b97703][i]Shit. Of course he does,[/i][/color] Cas cringed inwardly, remembering too late that Jacob had visited Iris once already. He shifted his weight, his dark brown eyes flicking toward the open door once more before he tried a slightly more honest approach, [color=#b97703]“Do you mind waiting just outside then? I’d like a word with Iris in private.”[/color]

“Of course, Your Highness,” Harry bowed again and stepped into the hall, and Caspian was relieved that he didn’t ask any questions. There were some perks to being the crown prince.

He waited until Harry closed the door behind him and then turned toward Iris again, crossing the rest of the way to her bed and wrapping his good arm around her tightly. After spending the night apart, not knowing what had happened to her, he was relieved to be able to hold her again. [color=#b97703]“I’m so sorry,”[/color] he murmured, his voice muffled against her long hair as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. [color=#b97703]“I had no idea—I thought when we got to the border, I would be able to keep you safe… I didn’t know my dad had already put out a warrant for your arrest.”[/color] He shook his head, drawing her in as close as he could and hoping she wouldn’t push him away. [color=#b97703]“I’m sorry they did this to you… I love you, and I didn’t want any of this to happen.”[/color]