Ayda's POV
We couldn't go back to the castle; it was clear Narcissa knew, not just about August and his true parentage but about my feelings for Sebastian as well. She had to have seen the way I held his hand, the way we'd both walked into the throne room together.
She knew Sebastian didn't love her, and the feeling was hostilely mutual; I'm sure she expected him to stray just like her previous fiancé had.
For now, the castle was off limits, though my heart ached to have Sebastian so far from me, trapped in the belly of the beast. I did not think Narcissa would slay him until after the wedding if being the sole ruler was indeed her game and had been from the start. Pelham had suggested, after we buried his brother and fellow soldiers in shallow graves, that the coup was only just the
