She walked tall beside him, even as sweat kissed her spine and unease curled in her stomach.
Behind them, Sebastian kept his distance but watched everything. The courtiers hiding behind pillars. The scribes pretending not to record. The maids who whispered and crossed themselves at the sight of him.
He smirked.
"Let them wonder if I'm their death sentence or their savior. I'll keep the truth to myself until it's useful."
The long, exhausting walk ended at the inner marble stair.
The air inside the great marble corridor was too still. As if the castle itself held its breath.
They'd barely taken five steps in the opposite direction when the voice of a knight called from behind, stiff and formal.
"The king is this way."
The group paused.
Alaric didn't even turn. "My wife needs—"
But Salviana reached for his arm, gently. "No, Alaric," she said softly, shaking her head. "Let's go."
