Page 54 of City of Promise and Light (Mates of Gods and Fae #1)

Sybil

“ M y darling Sybil,” Ambrose purred, his hand reaching out, gently lifting my chin.

He moved a lock of hair from my face, then placed his hand on the back of my head.

My body tensed under his touch, like it knew what was about to happen.

His smile sharpened before he roughly pulled my face against the bars.

I cried out, the pain slicing through my face.

“I believe, Sybil, that I ordered you back to your room after our time together, did I not?”

Ambrose cocked his head to the side, his eyes dangerously cold, waiting for me to answer.

I trembled against the bars, the icy cold of iron bleeding into my face.

Ezra yelled my name, his voice cracking, but I didn’t dare look away from Ambrose.

I stared at him. Fear’s grip was so strong that I was too afraid to even blink.

A whimper came escaped my lips when Ambrose slowly moved his hand to my throat, his lips dipping in a frown at my silence.

Frustration rippled along his features while he waited for me to speak, ice climbing along the bars.

His thumb ran up and down my neck and I shivered. Ezra called my name again and I glanced at him, my eyes begging him to do something, anything—though I knew there was nothing he could do.

Ambrose clucked his tongue, his hand squeezing, cutting off my air. Ambrose lazily stood, lifting me off the ground like I was nothing but a doll. My legs kicked out and I clawed at his hand. Ezra’s yells echoed through the cells, but my blood thundered in my ears.

Ambrose slammed me against the bars, his face a breath away from mine. “I asked you a question,” Ambrose growled, those ocean-blue eyes colder than I’ve ever seen them.

“I-I’m sorry,” I choked, dots swimming across my vision.

Ambrose bared his teeth at me, throwing me to the floor. I cried out, landing painfully on the bruise from my attack with the beithir. The impact was so hard that, if I wasn’t already struggling to gulp down the putrid air around me, I would have no breath at all.

Ezra’s shouts continued echoing through the dungeon, the iron bars noisily drumming as he shook them, trying to get to me.

Ambrose let out a breath of annoyance and looked back to Ezra, his pointed face severe.

“If I were you,” he drawled, “I would keep my mouth shut or else things will become a lot worse for her.”

My bowels turned watery at the threat and Ezra growled, low and deep, but tightly held onto the bars in front of him, his mouth a thin line as he stilled.

Ambrose returned his icy glare to me and opened the cell door.

I flinched at the groan of the metal, and I shuffled to the back wall of the cell, needing to be as far from him as I could.

My heart pounded faster with every step Ambrose took as he closed the distance between us. His steps were easy, near feline, though his face was detached, so different from times before when he would hold me close. My heart wailed at who he had become, at who he was .

Ambrose knelt, grabbing my hair and tilting my head up. I whimpered, wanting nothing more than to curl into myself and hide away from the truth of who he turned out to be.

“One way or another,” Ambrose muttered, “You will learn to follow my commands. Whether I must use our bargain to force you or use such unsavory force like this, you will do as I say. Have I made myself clear?” I nodded quickly and he smirked, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Good girl. Now, let’s get started with your punishment, shall we? ”

“Wait,” I breathed, my body feeling paralyzed. “I agreed that I would listen.”

“You did agree, yes. But it’s easy to say one thing in a time like this and then not follow your word under different circumstances. This way, your punishment will serve as a reminder of what happens when you defy my wishes.”

“What are you going to do?” I whispered, so low I could hardly hear the words over the trembling wracking of my body.

Ambrose leaned closer, his hot breath curling around my neck, making my stomach crawl. “We, my darling Sybil, are going to have some fun.”

Letting me go, Ambrose stood as two guards brought in a table and a bag filled with different tools.

Another guard followed, carrying a wide barrel, which he placed it in the middle of the room.

Ambrose walked to the table, inspecting the tools that were laid out.

Finally, Arianna strode into the cell, dragging a chair behind her.

Her beautiful and terrible smile sharpened when she spotted me shaking on the floor.

Placing the chair close to the barrel, Arianna walked up to Ambrose, her hands roaming up his back and down his arms while she slid off his coat.

Ambrose turned to her, his face bright with excitement.

My eyes widened, my breathing becoming erratic as I watched Arianna lean into him, slowly pulling his sleeves up his toned forearms, cuffing them near his elbows.

After straightening the last cuff, Ambrose ran his fingers through Arianna’s silky golden hair, pulling her into a deep, passionate kiss.

I looked away, unable to stomach seeing them together, glancing to Ezra, his eyes nearly black with fury.

“Would you like to decide what we start with, darling Sybil?” Ambrose asked, his tone sickeningly playful.

“We can play with my toys here first or we can start with that.” He pointed to the empty barrel, but I didn’t look.

Swallowing, I stared at him, terror taking away my ability to speak or move.

Ambrose chuckled, his eyes gleaming as they turned on Arianna.

“What about you, Arianna? Would you like to decide for her, my queen?”

Arianna walked to the table, humming a sweet melody, shifting through various knives and tools laid out there.

Her hand stopped over a small dagger. The hilt was made of wood, with small runes carved along the sides.

She picked up the dagger, smirking and waving it at me as she handed it over to Ambrose.

Ambrose murmured his approval, taking it from her to study the sharpness of the blade.

Rubbing his thumb along the edge, he drew a bead of blood. “Bring her over.”

Arianna knelt in front of me, cooing at the terror that painted my face.

Her hand drifted along my cheek, and I edged away from her touch, pushing my back into the wall behind me, my heart beating frantically.

Arianna huffed a laugh. “It would be a lot easier if you’d just cooperate,” she said sweetly. Her voice was so soft and lovely.

“Don’t touch me,” I whispered viciously, slapping her hand away .

Arianna sneered at me, her hand snapping out, grabbing the hair along my scalp.

My head burned and I shrieked, my hands wrapping around her wrists to lessen the pain.

She hauled me to the chair, forcing me into it while Ezra’s shouts filled my cell, settling around me.

I jerked forward, hoping to shove Arianna away when ice formed around my wrists, the frozen bite of it making me gasp.

The ice froze my hands and ankles to the chair, keeping me tied down.

Ambrose stepped closer, eyeing the dagger carefully, running his fingers up and down the edge of the blade.

I whimpered, struggling to break free, but the frozen crystal wouldn’t break.

The blood drained from my face, a cold sweat beaded along my brow and down my back at his nearness.

Stepping between my legs, Ambrose let the dagger rest on my arm.

My muscles tensed at the feel of its sharp edge.

I eyed the dagger, keeping my arm as still as I could, my breathing coming in harsh pants.

Slowly, so slowly, Ambrose moved the knife up along my arm, the razor-sharp edge slicing through my skin in a shallow cut.

Burning pain followed in its wake and I screamed, writhing and sobbing at its touch.

My magic prickled underneath my skin, rising to protect me.

“We will have none of that,” Ambrose tsked, somehow knowing what my power was doing. “I command you not to use your magic.”

Agony pierced through me, like a chain tightening around my heart.

I doubled over, my chest heaving as it spread through my whole body.

My magic winked out in response and Ambrose hummed, moving the dagger to my other arm, following the same motion as before.

I cried out, hot tears blurring my vision. I begged him, pleading for him to stop.

“You haven’t been punished enough, darling,” he sighed.

He took the blade, gliding it down my left cheek.

His eyes had a wild look, and his smile grew from the sounds of my cries.

“I need to know that you understand the consequences of not following my commands. This is the only way I can assure myself that you will listen to me, my darling Sybil.” Ambrose put the blade under my chin, lifting my face so that my eyes met his.

Leaning close, he licked the blood that trickled down my face.

My eyes squeezed shut and I whimpered at the hot feel of his tongue sweeping along the cut, swallowing down the bile that rose.

“Trust me, Sybil, it hurts me deeply to do this.”

Putting his mouth against my neck, Ambrose breathed in my scent as he moved the razor edge down the other side of my neck. His groan rumbled in my ear, like he took pleasure in hearing my screams, as if he delighted in them.

My head fell forward, my breathing labored.

A mix of blood, sweat, and tears dripped from my face to the stone floor below.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed—minutes, hours—it all felt the same.

My body was drained, my throat hoarse from all the cries and screams. I stared down at the pool of blood around my feet, unseeing and dazed.

Ambrose cleaned his tools near the table, setting down the ruined dagger, his bloodlust finally quenched.