Page 45 of City of Promise and Light (Mates of Gods and Fae #1)

Sybil

M y eyes widened, my heart dropping into my throat at the cruelty reflected on Ambrose’s face.

He stared at me with hideous arrogance. Triumph glinted in his sharp eyes, and he cackled, the sound so wicked and merciless.

I slid my gaze to Arianna as she breathed out a laugh and looked at Ambrose with elation.

The hair on my arms rose, my mind spinning, trying to piece together what happened, but something wasn’t right with my body. It felt restricted, not fully my own.

I looked down, inhaling sharply at the black band that circled both of my wrists, like shackles tying me down, tying me to Ambrose.

He ’ s not trying to help you; he is trying to use you.

Samian had told me—warned me.

Samian knew what would happen if I fell for Ambrose’s tricks. And I didn’t listen to him. I shut him out instead and my heart ached with remorse .

Arianna moved to Ambrose, her arms wrapping around his neck, their lips crashing together in a searing kiss. My face burned at the intensity of their affection and at my foolishness for not seeing it until now.

Ambrose groaned into her mouth and pulled away, Arianna whining in protest. “Later, my love,” he purred. “Don’t you want to test out our newest weapon?”

Ambrose smiled down at me, and I paled.

He is trying to use you.

Samian was right and I played right into Ambrose’s hand.

Ambrose moved out of Arianna’s embrace to kneel in front of me.

His hand caressed my face, and I flinched at the icy touch of his fingers.

A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest as he wiped the tears from my face.

He moved then, so slowly, like he couldn’t believe it was happening.

He gripped my wrist tightly, and I hissed at the pain as he roughly yanked my arm closer to study the black band.

He frowned, gripping my other wrist to study the other band.

His movement felt rough and callous, so different from the soft touches of just moments ago.

Ambrose’s frown deepened, his brows knitting together at the small sliver of unmarred skin where the bands did not fully link together.

His cold eyes cut to mine; all warmth he had was gone, replaced by a hardened face.

He narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to speak when Ezra rushed into the room.

Ezra stopped short, his face tight when he took in the scene around him. Noticing me on the floor, he stared at the black bands around my wrists and his eyes flared. I could only imagine what was going through his mind.

Ezra’s gaze flicked to Ambrose, noticing the raised eyebrow and the tilt of his head. He schooled his face into cool indifference and bowed low as Ambrose stood to face him .

“Arianna tells me that you sided with the rebels today,” Ambrose drawled, stalking closer to Ezra. “How disappointing.” The temperature of the room fell quickly, ice slowly climbing up the walls. I trembled, goosebumps running across my skin.

“I didn’t,” Ezra said, swallowing thickly. He straightened his shoulders, keeping his eyes lowered to the floor in front of him, not daring to look my way.

“Are you calling your future queen a liar?” Ambrose asked coolly. His eyes and face were utterly blank, unreadable, and my blood ran cold. Samian told me the queen was on a trip. Did this mean that the queen was dead? That Ambrose had her killed?

Ezra must have been wondering the same thing.

He looked up, glancing between Ambrose and Arianna as if he was trying to decide how to play along.

I followed his stare to Arianna, my heart thundering in my chest. She lifted her chin, her face glowing bright and proud.

She stepped to Ambrose’s side, wrapping her arms around him, placing her head on his shoulder, giving Ezra a razor-sharp smile.

Ezra hesitated a beat before saying, “No, Ambrose. I’m not calling my future queen a liar. I’m calling Arianna one.”

The room froze with Ezra’s words. Arianna blinked once, then twice. The defiance slowly registered and she huffed a laugh. But Ambrose just snarled at the remark.

“Then what would you say happened?” Ambrose asked, his unnaturally calm voice at odds with the tension that was building in his shoulders.

“We looked through the village and found no hint of rebel activity in the area. We came across a boy moving children out of our way when Arianna approached him. He came earlier this year to Lowbrook from the mountains after his parents passed. He did nothing wrong. He was following our orders to move the children to a safe location. Sybil and I were trying to show Arianna that, but she and her men attacked us both. We were defending ourselves against an unwarranted attack, not helping the rebel cause.” Ezra stood tall, his body stiff, meeting Ambrose’s glare with one of his own.

“You know the rebels move from village to village to recruit, yes?” Ambrose hissed. A slight nod from Ezra was all he needed to continue his reprimanding. “Then what makes you think this boy isn’t a part of their group, recruiting the other children?”

“Not everyone in the villages is taking part in rebel activity. You know this and so does Arianna. If we treat everyone in the villages as part of the rebel group, then we will have an uprising that even you will not be able to stop.”

Ambrose snarled, his face contorting. “You believe our army is so weak that they couldn’t crush those rats?”

Instead of answering, Ezra narrowed his eyes, raising his head higher. It was an unspoken answer and dismissal, all in one. The table beside me cracked as ice splintered across it, and I shivered. This wasn’t Ambrose. This was no longer the man who had helped me or cared for me.

Arianna scoffed at the challenge glowing in Ezra’s eyes, and Ambrose was a predator lying in wait.

“Guards,” Ambrose barked, his eyes never breaking from Ezra’s. “Take Ezra to the dungeons. We will see just whose side you’re on.”

The guards filed into the room, grabbing Ezra by his massive arms, shoving him out the door and into the hallway.

Ezra yelled out, but his words fell on deaf ears as Ambrose turned to me, his lips curling in an unnerving smile.

“Now, I think it’s time for us to have a little fun with this bargain of ours, don’t you think, my darling Sybil?

” His low laugh grated against my ears; my throat tightened at the implication of his words.

I didn’t notice Arianna until she stood beside me.

Pain throbbed down my arm when she pulled me off the floor.

A small noise came out of me, one made of fear.

Once I was on my feet, her hand moved to the back of my neck, her nails digging into my skin, pushing me to the doorway.

I stumbled and was caught by a guard who stood close to Ambrose.

I met Ezra’s wild stare when the guard shoved me into the hallway.

I trembled under the guard’s touch, my eyes wide.

It was all happening too fast. I’d been afraid before, when wolves threatened me as a girl, when my father’s anger became explosive, even today when I was attacked.

But nothing, nothing felt like this. None of those times felt so cold or so desolate.

Ezra called out for me, grunting against his restraints as he tried to get to me. One of the guards punched him in the side, and he hissed. Looking back, he mouthed it ’ s okay over and over while they led him down the hallway.

“Ambrose, stop this,” I pleaded, pushing away from the guard to hold onto his vest. “Ezra hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Ambrose didn’t answer; he just stared at me with such brutality that when he stepped out of my grip, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I could only watch, frozen, as he sneered, raising his hand in the air and swiftly bringing it down across my face.

I cried out, falling to the floor, pain lacing through my face. Terror, utter terror, splintered through me.

Ezra must have seen it, must have glanced back one final time as they turned the corner.

He yelled my name, fighting against the guards to get to me.

I watched, my eyes blurred and burning, as the guards clashed against him, beating him until he was disoriented enough to restrain him again.

They dragged him around the corner, my name still ringing from his lips.

When the last of the guards followed, Ambrose turned his piercing eyes on me. Whimpering, I pushed myself back against the wall, every fiber of my being screaming, begging for me to run, to escape this new prison.

“Grab her,” Ambrose growled, not breaking his fixed stare, annoyance edging his voice. “We don’t want to keep our guest waiting.”

Ambrose continued glaring, my body too shaky and heavy to move. But then Ambrose winced. Shock flashed so quickly in those deep blue eyes that even Arianna missed it. He looked away, moving down the hall. “We don’t have all day.” Every word had a bite to it, an edge.

Arianna grabbed me by the neck, shoving me forward to follow Ambrose. I stumbled but found my footing before I could fall back to the ground. Hugging myself, I quietly walked behind Ambrose, my heart twisting at the sickening feeling that a far greater hell awaited me.

We made our way through the palace, turning at the door beside the dragon statue Samian had advised me to avoid just a few days ago.

Passing through the entrance, the hallway changed from that once-pristine marble of the palace to the old stones that matched the outdoor corridor of the training grounds.

Samian told me that parts of the old palace remained hidden within the new, but instead of the antiquated beauty of the outdoor corridor, this passage was cold and dark.

Eventually, we began to pass several empty cells of the dungeon, and pained moans filled the air. I swallowed hard, my steps faltering, my legs feeling like lead. Arianna clucked her tongue, pushing me to the door of a harshly lit cell.