Page 46 of City of Promise and Light (Mates of Gods and Fae #1)

I swallowed my gasp when I saw a man tied to a chair, his body drenched and caked in blood.

Some of it fresh, some old. His dark brown hair lay limp against his forehead, wet from the sweat that beaded along his face.

His breathing was labored, and blood trickled down from his nose.

There was a nasty cut over his eyebrow, as if he was hit with something hard and blunted.

Ambrose opened the cell, the rusted hinges screeching, making the man open his tired green eyes. Arianna shoved me into the cold cell and stepped in with me. Ambrose entered last, closing the door behind us.

“Now, I think some introductions are in order,” Ambrose said, moving behind the chair, placing his hands on the man’s trembling shoulders. The man seemed to curl into himself, whimpering at Ambrose’s soft touch, so at odds compared to his cold, unreadable appearance.

“Sybil, meet my good friend, Arbus. Arbus is suspected of being part of the silly little rebel uprising, isn’t that right my dear friend?

” Ambrose tightened his grip on Arbus’s shoulder, making him cry out in pain.

My stomach churned, nausea rippling through me while Ambrose continued.

“We found him spying on our soldiers with notes on our formation, where the soldiers were heading, and the types of weapons in our possession.

We believe he was planning on giving this information to the leader of the rebellion so the rebels could attack our soldiers before they even made it out of the valley.

We have already deemed him guilty after squeezing out all the information he had, so we don’t need to go into further interrogations. Instead, we are here to not only test out this little bargain of ours, but also to give him his punishment. Today, Sybil, your job is to deliver that punishment.”

My knees quaked, so much that I feared they would buckle. “ What punishment is that?” I whispered, my voice too small and weak.

“Death,” Ambrose answered, his lips curling into an unfeeling grin. “Little Arbus’s punishment is death. And you will be the one to do it.”

“No.”

The word rushed out of me as my stomach clenched, twisting so hard that I had to swallow down the bile that rose.

Arbus started begging Ambrose to let him live.

His eyes filled with desperate tears that only grew when Ambrose tsked and walked to a small table pushed against the wall, picking up a bloodied cloth.

That desperation morphed into a frenzy. Arbus thrashed against his chains when Ambrose wrapped the bloodied cloth around Arbus’s mouth, tying it behind his head.

Arbus continued those muffled cries, looking at me with pleading despair, his face twisting with agony.

My tears fell freely, and I stumbled back, wanting nothing but to run, but Arianna’s cold hands stopped me from moving.

“Come now, Sybil. We don’t have all day,” Ambrose murmured, a sneer curling his lips.

All I could do was shake my head. I couldn’t speak; my voice was gone, my mind still unable to grasp what Ambrose was demanding of me. Ambrose sighed, displeasure leaking from every pore as he walked to me, gripping my face tightly. I gasped, meeting his cold glare, a small noise escaping my lips.

“Do as I say, and kill him.” His voice was hard and flat.

“No,” I recoiled, barely breathing. “I can’t. I can’t hurt him.”

“I didn’t ask you to hurt him. I asked you to kill him. Those who are found guilty of being part of the rebellion are sentenced to death.” Ambrose pushed me closer to Arbus. “He has been found guilty of being a traitor, so kill him. ”

“Ambrose, please,” I begged, my heart feeling like it was about to be ripped out of my chest. “Please don’t make me do this.

You were supposed to help me, help me not hurt anyone else.

That’s what our bargain was for, so I wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

” The words came out so fast they tumbled into one another.

Ambrose released a frustrated breath, leveling me with a dangerous glare.

Moving too fast for me to react, Ambrose wrapped his hand around my throat, lifting me off the floor and bringing me close to his face, cutting off my air.

Gagging, I strained against his hold, trying to find some type of footing.

“If I remember correctly, our bargain was for me to have control of your magic. There was nothing said or agreed upon about not allowing you to hurt anyone. Now,” Ambrose paused, shoving me against the metal bars behind me, “kill him.”

Letting me go, my knees buckled, and I leaned into the cold metal bars, gulping down air.

I looked at Arbus. Heavy tears were falling down his beautiful, wretched face.

He continued those muffled pleas, his hands pulling against his chains.

I swallowed, trembling wracked every part of my body.

But I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. Not again.

I shook my head, whispering a silent no, unsure if anyone could hear me. A few quiet seconds passed before I cut my gaze to Ambrose, repeating my refusal, this time a bit louder.

Ambrose scowled, his jaw clenching from my rejection. His hands curled into fists, and he bared his teeth. “Sybil, I command you to kill him.”

His words felt like they echoed through me, reverberating through my bones, through my entire being.

I stood, unmoving, breathing heavily, waiting for something to happen, for some indication that his command held any sway over me.

A moment passed. Then another. A small hope began to bloom, a whisper telling me that the bargain did not work.

That hope steeled me, and I took a step to leave the cell. “I said that I?—”

Pain shot through me, up my arms, across my chest, feeling like a knife striking me in my heart.

My steps faltered and I clutched my hands against my chest, gasping for air.

The pain sliced through my body again and I groaned, my legs buckling from the hot, agonizing torture that pulsed through me.

My knees hit the dirty stone floor hard, and I winced.

My breathing was labored, and the agony in my body grew.

Another wave of pain ripped through me, and I fell forward, barely catching myself before my face hit the stone.

Lying my head against my forearms, I cried out into the grimy, cold floor beneath me, my heart racing, my body feeling like it was slowly being torn apart.

My chest heaved, hardly able to take in air when Ambrose knelt beside me, leaning down beside my ear.

“This could all go away, my darling Sybil,” he said, his voice soft and kind, as if time reversed itself, like this bargain never happened while he moved my hair from my face.

“Just listen to my command and the pain will go away.”

I lifted my head, my eyes meeting his. He looked at me warmly, reminding me of the days when I thought of him as a friend.

But now? That version of him was gone. His love and friendship were nothing more than a ruse.

A trick to make me trust him. But that tenderness, that affection still shone in his eyes.

So, I begged, hoping there was a small part of him that truly came to care for me.

I begged him to make it stop, to take away the pain, to rescind his command.

Ambrose gave me a soft smile, his eyes reflecting the warmth of better times as he wiped away my tears.

“I can’t do that, Sybil. I commanded you to kill him, and even though we may not always like it, we all must follow the commands of our masters.

Now, be a good little girl and do as I say.

Once you do, the pain will go away. It will be like it never even happened. ”

I looked away from him, unable to stand the false compassion in his eyes.

The pain was spreading through my body, and I shook.

I tried to take a breath, but dust from the floor caught in my throat.

Coughing, the taste of iron coated my tongue while blood splattered on the floor.

Warmth trickled from my nose and over my lips.

My hand came up to my face, feeling the stream of blood.

Once you are in a bargain, it is bound by death. Meaning, if you don ’ t keep up your end of the bargain, the magic of it will take your life instead.

I was dying. My body was dying. Unless I?—

A fresh wave of pain ripped through my chest. My lungs were fighting for air.

Ambrose cooed, gently lifting me off the floor and setting me on my feet.

I felt weak, and the world tilted around me.

My breath rasped in my lungs, but Ambrose took my hands, placing them side by side in front of me, cupping them as he had when we were in the room in the library.

The memory felt spoiled, tainted by the harsh light around us.

“Remember your training from before,” Ambrose murmured softly, recalling the same memory. “Feel for your magic, then picture it in the shape of a dagger.”

Pushing through the pain, I moaned, feeling for my magic. The pain eased as I followed his guidance. I thought I was going to be sick right then and there. But this agony? I couldn’t fight against it. I didn’t want to die.

My hands trembled in his while I tried to call my magic, but nothing happened. I could feel it whirling under my skin, but it felt though it too recoiled from Ambrose’s command, not wanting to follow his order.

Ambrose squeezed my hands, this time commanding me to form the dagger. A sob broke from my lips, but I pushed, coaxing my magic to listen, to help me stop this torment.

My light formed, small and pure, growing as I breathed into it, like a flame. I glanced at Arbus, still fighting his restraints, and my heart fell. My hands twitched and my magic rushed out of me in a long, sharp spike, almost cutting Ambrose. Arianna cursed, stepping away from me.