On the drive back to the mansion, Caspian’s thoughts were occupied with fledgling plans to get Iris away from the soldiers before they could throw her back into a cell. He wasn’t used to coming up with schemes like this, since he’d always had the power to command Aspiria’s armed forces, but apparently things had changed. Now that he and his father no longer aligned in what they believed was best for their prisoner, he no longer had the authority to tell anyone what to do. If he even tried, his father would just negate the order and probably have her killed before he could try to free her again.
He shuddered at the thought, keeping his eyes fixed on the side window as they approached the wrought-iron gate at the edge of the Maydestone estate. Even if he had no prior experience with arranging rescue missions, he’d watched enough movies to get creative. He just hoped that whatever he ended up trying would be enough to keep her safe. Messing up would most likely have fatal consequences, so he had to make sure that he got away with it and didn’t leave any trails behind that would point back to him as the one who had taken her from the hospital.
Mulling it over for the entirety of the drive, he didn’t come out of his thoughts until the mansion came into sight around the bend. Like everything else he’d returned to, it felt like a dream to be home. He stared absently at the massive building as Jacob pulled the car around to the back and put it in park by the rear entrance, somewhat dazed that after everything he’d been through, he was finally back.
Jacob opened the passenger-side door for him, and he climbed out of the vehicle with the paper bag from the pharmacy in hand, heading inside the massive solid-core doors and pausing in the foyer to look around. Everything was comfortingly familiar. The sight of the plush furniture; the elaborate, Victorian-style decorations; even the homey smells in the air. Although he still had trouble to deal with in regard to Iris’s fate, for that moment, he felt a sense of peace wash over him, glad to be back in the place where he’d grown up.
“Tell the cooks to bring lunch to my room,” he said to Jacob, who had stepped inside after him. “I’m gonna lay down.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the guard bowed, striding off down the hall that led to the kitchen.
Cas turned and made his way to the stairs, climbing them carefully as he still tried to favor his injured left leg. While he really was getting tired and sore as the intravenous medications were wearing off, he wanted to eat lunch in his bedroom to avoid crossing paths with his father. Since the king had made no effort to reconcile with him yet, he didn’t want to bump into him in the kitchen and made awkward small talk or end up in another heated fight. He was willing to make amends on his end, but until Atlas was willing to do so as well, he felt like it was better for them to keep their distance from each other unless there was something important for them to discuss.
With that thought in mind, he limped up to his room and closed the door behind him, thankful that he’d managed to get there without running into any of the servants. As he stood with his back against the wooden panel, he paused to take a look around. Everything was exactly where he’d left it the day he’d been abducted, aside from some obvious tidying up that the maids had performed while he was gone. It seemed like even though everyone had thought he was dead, they hadn’t felt the need to go through his belongings so soon after his “demise.”
Relieved by that, he ambled over to his bed and sat down on the edge, resting his legs as he slipped off the sandals he’d borrowed from the hospital. While he did, he noticed something else about the room that caught his attention: His cell phone was laying on the bedside table, fully charged on its wireless station. He picked it up, curiously soothed by the feeling of the cool, aluminum device resting in his hand, and tapped the screen to turn it on.
“Jesus,” he murmured with a grimace as an obscenely long list of notifications appeared before his eyes. Apparently not everyone had gotten the memo that he’d lost his phone when he’d been knocked out in the woods. He had dozens of texts from all sorts of different people. Most were from Jay and Miles, but there were also some from others whom he hadn’t spoken to in a long time. It was funny how everyone came out of the woodworks to express their “concern” only after something newsworthy had happened to him. They never cared this much when he was just going through his day-to-day life.
Aside from the texts, he had literally thousands of tags on various social media platforms in the form of miniature obituaries. It seemed like every high born in the capital had written something to the effect of “rest in peace, Caspian Maydestone” on their pages. He was shocked that his supposed death had gotten so much attention, but, then again, he wasn’t sure how many of the posts were genuine and how many were just the result of people who wanted to feel like they were part of his life in some way, when they never really were in reality.
Leaning back against the pillows on his bed, he continued to scroll through social media accounts, blogs, news articles, and everything else he could find that was tied to his name. There were a few recent posts about how he had come back to the capital alive—he decided to read those later—but most were about a memorial that had been held for him in the town square a few days ago. There was even a video recording of his father, who had given a speech during the service. He hovered over the square with his thumb, tempted to watch it and see what the king had said about him when he’d thought he was gone. However, after wavering for a few seconds, he closed the tab with a sigh. He wanted to see the clip—after all, how many people had the chance to watch their own memorial services?—but he couldn’t let himself get too distracted when he had to focus on freeing Iris.
Suddenly, someone knocked on his door, and he looked up from the phone, “Come in.”
“Your Highness, I’ve brought lunch for you,” a maid said as she entered the room and bowed politely. When she righted her posture, he saw a bright smile on her face, giving away her delight to see him. She stepped over to the bed and handed him a tray with a steel dome on top to keep the food warm. “It’s tomato soup with a chicken cordon bleu sandwich.”
“Thank you,” Cas said appreciatively, already salivating at the aroma of the hot meal. It had been a while since the last time he’d had a dish prepared by the royal chefs, and even though this one was simpler than most, he was excited to taste it.
“You’re welcome,” she bowed again. Leaving him to dine in peace, she turned and strode back over to the door, only pausing once on her way out to say, “It’s good to have you back, Your Highness” before she disappeared into the hallway.
Setting his phone aside, Cas dug hungrily into the food. He had to remind himself of the doctor’s warning that his stomach might still be sensitive, otherwise he would have wolfed it all down in just a few minutes. The rich spices in the soup were heavenly, and the sandwich practically melted in his mouth. He finished it all and pushed the empty tray aside, sinking down on the mattress with a contented exhale. With something solid in his belly to keep him from getting sick, he also took the first dose of pills from his prescription to ease his pain.
While he waited for the medicine to kick in, he picked up the phone again and studied the black screen contemplatively. Reaching out to anyone felt strange after he’d lost touch with them for a whole week, but he didn’t know if he could help Iris alone. Even if he was able to come up with a plan, he wasn’t in any condition to move her—or even move quickly, for that matter—while he was still recovering from his wounds. I’m going to need muscle to pull this off, he mused, taking a deep breath as he unlocked the device and opened his contacts. Hoping that he wasn’t about to overreach with his request, he called Jay’s number and brought the phone to his ear.