Page 12 of City of Promise and Light (Mates of Gods and Fae #1)

Sybil

I closed my eyes, my tears flowing harder from the warmth of Ambrose’s embrace. I never meant to hurt anyone. I only wanted to stop Liam from doing something he would regret. But now, seeing the terror shining in his eyes, my heart crumbled, knowing I was the one who caused it.

“Ambrose,” Samian warned, “now isn’t the time to make bargains. She doesn’t know what that entails.”

“Hush now, Samian,” Ambrose cooed. “Can’t you see how frightened the poor girl is? Or,” he paused, his voice accusatory, “Would you rather bind her powers again?”

The silence deepened and his words echoed through my mind. My head felt scattered and chaotic. Logically, I knew what being bound meant: to be confined, restricted. But I struggled to understand how it related to this moment, to my magic, and to the power thrumming inside me.

Blinking away my tears, I looked at Samian, though it wasn’t me he watched.

I took in the hard edge of Samian’s jaw, his narrowed eyes at Ambrose.

I studied his ashen face and the scar running along his cheek.

His eyes, each one so different from the other, were resentful, and his usual passive mask was gone, replaced by bitterness.

His jaw clenched, as though he were contemplating his next move.

“What does that mean?” I breathed, wariness seeping into my tone.

Samian’s eyes shifted to mine, softening with regret. Samian hesitated, opening his mouth to answer, when Ambrose pulled my face to his, forcing me to meet his gaze.

“It means, my darling, that this gift you were given was ripped away from you by those who claimed to loved you. But they were afraid of you, frightened by your potential. They sought out Samian to snuff out your light. Isn’t that right, John?

” Ambrose murmured. His hand tightened around my face, though not enough to hurt.

My father sneered, flicking his gaze to Ambrose.

His bright blue eyes hardened, his lips thinning.

“You know as well as I do that her power isn’t normal,” he spat, his face contorting with ire as he cut his gaze to me.

“The power that runs through your veins, through my veins, only knows how to hurt and destroy. Nothing good can come from it.”

“I-I don’t understand,” I said softly, my stomach twisting as I tried to grasp his meaning.

“Our family was cursed long ago,” he said, his lips curling with disgust. “Every now and then, a generation is born with this ability . And every time a child showed this power, nothing but destruction came. Everything around them was ravaged, and people were hurt. Our family tried to rid ourselves of this curse by killing off those who showed these traits, but it always found its way back into a different generation.”

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening as I followed my father’s gaze to the destruction around us .

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” he confessed with a soft sigh.

“I loved you, but I knew I couldn’t allow you to remain as you were.

After months of searching, I was able to find Samian.

Though I knew he had abilities like yours, he agreed to bind your magic so that you wouldn’t be able to access them and hurt someone. ”

“But why couldn’t he just teach me how to control it? If he was like me, he could have taught me not to hurt anyone,” I stammered.

“Look around you,” John roared, slamming his fist against the wall behind him. “Look at what you have done. Think of what might have happened if I had allowed you to continue as you were.”

Flinching, I held onto Ambrose’s shirt, hoping to hide my trembling. “But I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” I cried, my voice quivering with every word. “It was an accident.”

“Is that the excuse you’ll use when you kill the next person you lose control around?” John asked, revulsion lacing his voice. “That you didn’t mean to do it? Do you really think that this,” he said, pointing around the kitchen, ending on Liam, “is something you can control?”

I looked at Liam, and my heart dropped. I saw him leaning against the wall, bewildered and shocked. When our eyes met, Liam pressed himself further against the wall.

Nausea rolled through me, and my mind blanked.

My heart began to race as my brain fought to convince me that this magic was something that I could control, that I wouldn’t harm anyone else.

But apprehension smothered any hope that began to form in my mind and heart when I watched Liam’s terrified gaze dart wildly between me and my father.

My father was right. How could I ever hope to control something like this?

“Let Samian bind you again,” my father urged, catching my hesitation. “Let him bind you and forget that any of this happened. I’ll take you with me and we can pretend none of this ever happened.”

I slowly shook my head, unsure of what to say.

Did I want my magic to be bound again, to pretend like nothing had happened?

To act this moment was nothing but a terrible nightmare?

I didn’t want to hurt anyone else, but to reject this part of myself felt wrong, almost unnatural.

I would never be able to forget this moment or pretend?—

“No,” Samian growled, interrupting my thoughts. “I told you before that her magic should never have been bound, but I did it for her own safety. It is something I will not do again.”

I looked toward Samian, our eyes meeting.

His stare was severe, yet beneath it flickered something protective, almost warm.

A spark of some unnamed emotion heated my blood, and my breath caught in my throat.

Before I could respond, Ambrose tilted my face back to him, wiping away the last of my tears from my cheeks.

The tightness in my chest eased under the gentleness of his touch.

“I agree with Samian,” Ambrose said, his eyes refusing to leave mine. “I will not allow your magic to be bound again, and if anyone tries, they will come to regret it.”

Liam’s voice shook as he finally found the courage to speak. “Sybil,” he said softly. “Sybil, tell them to bind your magic again.” He stumbled over the word as if he still couldn’t believe this was real.

When I glanced at Ambrose, then Samian, I found both of their eyes narrowed on Liam, filled with malice.

“I—I…no,” I breathed. Even though I had caused so much destruction, I hadn’t known what I was or what I could do.

But now I understood, and I knew I could do better.

If given the chance to prove it, I was sure I wouldn’t hurt anyone el se.

I was sure of it. “I can learn to control it. I promise you, I’ll learn to control it.

You can teach me, right?” I asked, looking between Samian and Ambrose, hope swelling in my chest.

Ambrose stepped back, resting his hands on my shoulders with a comforting smile.

“Of course, my darling Sybil. That’s what my job offer is for, hence the lack of specifics in the documents I sent you.

I was waiting for you to discover your magic, about what you truly are, before I told you everything .

However, you will learn to control your wonderfully beautiful magic, along with discovering what you are. ”

I looked back at Liam, the corners of my lips curving into a small smile, but it quickly fell when Liam’s jaw clenched, and his nose wrinkled.

“Then you need to leave,” Liam said, his voice hard and cold.

“Liam,” I muttered, taking a small step forward, my stomach dropping at the way he balled his hands into tight fists.

Liam snarled through gritted teeth, each word clipped, “ Get. Out. ”

Hot tears burned my eyes as I stepped closer to Ambrose, Liam’s rejection slicing through me.

I knew I could learn to control whatever this was inside of me.

No one would get hurt. I could prove that I was more than just some monster, cursed with an evil that couldn’t be erased.

But he ripped away my chance to prove that I was still the woman he loved.

My eyes moved to my father, but he refused to look at me, his gaze remaining fixed on the floor in front of him. His body was rigid, his face tight.

Disbelief hollowed out my chest at their rejection.

As my heart fractured, the hum of my magic grew stronger.

Looking down at my hands, I clenched them into fists, my knuckles turning white.

A pair of smooth, reassuring hands covered my own, giving them a small squeeze.

My skin seemed to buzz from his touch. When I looked up, Samian stood in front of me, his eyes soft and encouraging.

Finding solace in his touch, I took a deep breath, holding it for a few counts before letting it go.

My heartbeat began to slow, and the ripple of my magic settled underneath my skin.

“Well, I guess that’s our cue to leave.” Ambrose said coolly, his grip tightening on my shoulders as he led me toward the front door.

Numbness spread through me as we stepped out the door.

Samian followed in silence, pulling the door shut behind him.

I paused, glancing back at the house Liam and I bought together.

The memories of us creating our home flashed through my mind.

I saw us standing in front of the door, excitedly holding our keys as Liam’s father snapped our picture.

I remembered the time we replaced the bright white walls with warm colors, laughing at a stupid joke one of us made or arguing over how to hang the pictures along the walls.

Bittersweet pain tightened my chest at the thought of never being able to return to the home I had carefully crafted with Liam. Silently saying goodbye, I turned to Ambrose, taking the hand he held out.

His fingers curled around mine and he tugged me into his chest. Putting his knuckle under my chin, he lifted my face so I could meet his bright gaze.

He gave me a soft smile as he started gently rearranging my hair.

Heat rushed to my cheeks and I took a step back, using my fingers to quickly flatten any flyaways.

I’m sure that after everything, I looked like a mess.

Ambrose chuckled, glancing at Samian, their eyes locking as if they were having a silent conversation.

My brows furrowed at their silence, so I looked away, checking the street for a car.

The street was empty. My brows furrowed further when I looked back to Ambrose, finding him watching me, his eyes gleaming with amusement, a hint that I was in over my head.

His lips curled into a wolfish grin and for a moment, I forgot where I was.

Behind me, Samian cleared his throat, bringing me back to the moment. Flustered, I looked back to the empty street and Ambrose laughed softly to himself.

“Now that you know we’re different, I suppose I should explain what exactly we are.

But first, I believe it’s best we leave here before we continue our conversation.

I expect that our dear John will soon be calling his friends for help,” Ambrose said, wrinkling his nose.

“Now, this may be a tad uncomfortable, but just close your eyes and take a deep breath. It will all be over with momentarily.”

He held out his hand again, and I hesitated, casting one more glance up and down the street.

Fumbling with the hem of my shirt, I bit my bottom lip softly before finally taking his hand.

Steeling myself for whatever was about to come, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, shuddering as Ambrose slowly wrapped his arm around me, drawing me closer to him.

As I breathed him in, he smelled of patchouli with a hint of citrus.

Comfort washed through me as I exhaled, my body relaxing into his.

However, the feeling didn’t last long when Ambrose leaned in close to my ear, making me tense from at the intimacy of his nearness.

“Ready?” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

Nodding, I tried not to think of the heat that gathered in the pit of my stomach from the low rumble of his voice.

Liam was only a door away, still bleeding and repulsed by what I was, and Samian was so close, yet the heat of Ambrose’s hand pressing on my lower back had me wanting to lean in closer.

I felt like I was a traitor, and I never hated myself more.

I nodded and took another deep breath to clear my mind.

Suddenly, Ambrose moved us forward a step and the world felt like it fell away as if we were plummeting to the earth.

My stomach flipped, my grip on Ambrose tightening as a scream lodged in my throat.

Then, as quickly as it vanished, the world snapped back into place.