After tapping ‘send’ on the text he had written discreetly to Miles, Cas sighed and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He wished he could do something to convince his father that a lockdown wasn’t necessary, but he couldn’t risk drawing attention to himself. There was no good reason for him to tell the king that they shouldn’t take every precaution against the rebellion, especially when he had just gotten home from being abducted by them. If he even said a word about it, he already knew what Atlas would think. The monarch would accuse him of being brainwashed again and treat him like he was incompetent.

The thought made his chest feel tight with a mixture of hurt and frustration, and he took another bite of his food to mask the roiling emotions. He had to remind himself that he shouldn’t pander to his father for approval. Not anymore. Not when he had Iris, who didn’t think he was just a screw-up who was too soft to be king. He wasn’t cut out to lead Aspiria the same way his predecessors had before him, and he couldn’t let Atlas manipulate him into thinking there was something wrong with him for being kind and understanding of others. He also couldn’t let him find out that he was the one who had helped Iris escape from the hospital. The safest play would be to go along with the lockdown for a week, pretend he was on board, and then see Iris as soon as the restrictions were lifted.

With a subtle nod to himself, he finished off the rest of his breakfast, said a quick goodbye to Jacob and headed back to his room to nap off the last of his hangover.

--

“Um,” Miles said dumbly when Iris asked him about his type. The first answer that had popped into his head had been “you,” but the thought of saying that out loud made him want to crawl under a rock. He did have a thing for sultry blondes—who didn’t?—and he liked her willingness to get in the metaphorical dirt with the lads, but he wasn’t about to admit it out loud. That was way too risky. He was going to save that for a time when he could escape if things went awry and she said that she wasn’t attracted to him too. The beginning of a week-long lockdown was definitely [i]not[/i] the best time.

Fortunately, he was spared the awkwardness of trying to dance around the question when Iris told him about dresses in the other districts. “Oh,” he mused. It was odd to him that women outside the capital preferred grays and muted tones, but he supposed culture was different everywhere. “Well, if you like bright colors, the capital is the best place to buy things like this,” he gestured to the other clothes on the bed. “I’ve seen high born girls wear all sorts of interesting colors. Depending on how things go, maybe you could go shopping later to find something in your size.”

When she said she didn’t know many card games and suggested that they could watch a movie instead, he shrugged. “Why not both?” he posed casually. “It looks like we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together, so we can do whatever you want until the lockdown is over.” The one good thing about being trapped at home was that there was plenty of things for them to do. His home may not have been quite as elaborate as the royal palace, but the Kinders were still wealthy. They could keep themselves occupied with all sorts of activities as long as they avoided the help.

Suddenly, his phone went off again, and he looked at the screen to see that Jay was calling. He stared at the caller ID for a moment before he blanched, remembering that he was supposed to have woken up early to meet his friend and get his car back from the alley. “Shit,” he groaned, turning to Iris apologetically. “Sorry, I have to take this.” Turning away from her, he lifted the device to his ear, “Hey, Jay. So sorry. I know we were supposed to get the car earlier, but I overslept and—”

[i]Dude, slow down. It doesn’t matter,[/i] Jay cut him off.

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” Miles frowned.

[i]I swung by downtown when I was heading over to pick you up this morning, just to make sure everything was still okay, you know? Anyway, when I got there, I couldn’t even get close to the car. The alley was swarming with police. I drove up to ask what was going on, and they just said they’d located a vehicle that was involved in a crime.[/i]

“Are you serious?” Miles squawked, slapping a hand to his forehead as the color drained from his face. “Oh my god. Fuck, man. They have the plate number! They’ll know it was me!”

[i]Calm down,[/i] Jay said quickly. [i]We can still fix this. That’s why I didn’t call you right away. I came up with an idea.[/i]

“Spill it already,” Miles prompted him impatiently. “This is my life on the line! You know the king doesn’t fuck around with traitors.”

[i]I know. Don’t worry. Just call the police station as soon as you hang up with me and report your car stolen.[/i]

“Won’t that sound suspicious since I’d be reporting it [i]after[/i] the police found it abandoned in an alley?” Miles asked dryly.

[i]Not necessarily. Just build off the story we came up with to cover our asses. Tell the police you were at the club with me and Cas. I was the DD, so you rode with me, but you accidentally left your garage door open when you left. When you got home, you were completely wasted, so you didn’t notice anything was wrong until you woke up today. Say you were about to run to the pharmacy for painkillers, and that was when you realized your car was gone. The cameras that caught us going in and out of the club with back up your alibi.[/i]

“What if they ask me why they found it behind the same club where we were supposed to be hanging out?”

[i]Just act as surprised as you can if they tell you where they found it. It isn’t impossible that it was a coincidence. Besides, they have no idea that you or I even know who Iris is, so they can’t pin either of us with a motive for helping her. You’ll be fine. Just call the station and make the report, and the rest should take care of itself.[/i]

“If you say so,” Miles took a steeling breath. Hanging up the call with Jay, he shook his head and turned back to Iris. “Sorry again but don’t say anything for a few minutes… I have to phone the police station, and if they hear any voices in the background, we’re both screwed.”