Chapter 23
Sybil
Once we entered the hall, Ambrose swung me around, forcing me to face him.
His hand covered my mouth to stop my screams. I watched him carefully with fearful eyes, my body shaking against his touch.
He really had lost his mind. There was a crazed glint in his gaze, an unsettled look filled with disorder and delirium.
I strained to find the dungeon’s entrance and the guards stationed there, pretending we didn’t exist. My chest ached, my eyes burned from the pressure building behind them.
Queen Cassia had looked so surprised when Ambrose attacked her.
She stared at the ice as though it weren’t real—like it was nothing more than an illusion.
Ambrose’s hand tightened around my mouth, forcing my attention to snap back to him.
“Not another fucking word,” he hissed mercilessly. “Keep quiet, and no one else will die, understood?”
I forced myself to take a shuddering breath and nodded, swallowing down the cry that was lodged in my throat.
My gaze slid past him, back to the entrance of the dungeons, to the queen, who was bleeding out as we spoke.
My heart pounded in my chest, and the world around me seemed to be in slow motion.
Ambrose was supposed to keep her alive, wasn’t he?
I tried to think back to what Samian had told me, but I couldn’t recall what he said, only that, for some reason, Ambrose needed her alive.
“I assume Ivara is still in your room?” Ambrose narrowed his eyes at me, watching me silently nod, his lips thinning when I didn’t meet that terrible gaze. “Let’s visit the feline, then.”
Pushing me toward the hall, I swallowed down my horror and started walking toward my room.
“Ambrose caught me and is heading to my room now,” I spoke to Samian through the bond, panic making the words spill out. “He wants to confirm with Ivara that she was with me all night, and that I wasn’t the one who killed Bramwell.”
“Fuck,” Samian rasped, his voice full of agitation. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine, but Queen Cassia is hurt. There was so much blood. I-I don’t think she foresaw it. There is something wrong with him, something that is making him lose control. Queen Cassia said that he has been hearing voices, and I heard it too before he attacked us. Samian, I—”
“Breathe,” Samian murmured. “You’re going too fast. Breathe and calm down. How do you know he has been hearing a voice?”
“The queen told me, and I heard it too.”
“Shit,” Samian whispered. “Listen to me very carefully, okay, my love? I need you to stay calm. Don’t provoke him, even if he tries to provoke you. Just get here as safely as you can, and we can figure this out with Kieran and the others, okay? Can you do that for me?”
I let out a tight breath, my hands curling into fists by my side.
Samian was right. If I acted out, if I did anything against Ambrose right now, there would be no telling what he would do to me.
With him not in his right state of mind, I doubted he could control himself enough to hold back.
I’m not even sure he would wait for Arianna to do his dirty work for him.
“Sybil, my light, can you do that for me?”
My brows furrowed. He had never called me by anything other than my name since the first day I met him. “My light?”
“If Kieran gets to call you Princess, I thought it would be fitting to find something for myself to call you.” Amusement colored his words, and I could feel my panic dwindle at his ease.
“I don’t even like it when he does that. And ‘my light’? Out of all the names to call me, you decided on ‘my light’?”
“Don’t make fun,” Samian pouted. “It took me a good long while to pick out that name.”
“Why that name?” I asked softly. I knew he was trying to keep my mind off the monster that walked beside me, to keep my mind off the ache I felt for the queen.
“Before you, I was lost. With my long lifespan, the world felt empty and mundane. Yes, I had Kieran and Aster, and the others, but there was nothing that made this life truly worth living. I had…I lost my family as a child. They were taken from me in the cruelest of ways because of me—because of what I could do. Cassia saved me. She nurtured me and helped me grow into the male I am today, but you…you were the one who brought light back into my life. Your warmth and love, your smile, your hope—you reminded me of what it was like to wake up and feel okay. Even with the shit happening around us, you make me feel hopeful about tomorrow. You are the light that brought me out of the darkness of this world.”
The pressure behind my eyes grew, but I blinked away the tears before they could fall. I couldn’t let Ambrose see what Samian’s words were doing to me.
“I didn’t know you lost your family,” I whispered back.
“That is a story for another time. One I’ll tell you once you are back in my arms unharmed.”
Ambrose shoved me around a corner to the hallway of my room. Despite Samian’s attempt to calm my apprehension, a cold sweat dripped down my back.
“We’re almost there,” I muttered, hoping that he was somewhere safe. “If you are in the room, you need to hide.”
Silence was my only reply as Ambrose forced his way into my room.
The door slammed into the wall, reverberating through the room.
Ivara jumped to her feet, her teacup rattling against the small plate in her hand.
Her eyes widened as they landed on Ambrose, shock flickering as she took in every change in his appearance.
“Is everything alright?” Ivara said slowly, keeping her voice calm, her gaze bouncing between Ambrose and me.
“Did Sybil leave this room at any time through the night?” Ambrose asked, his voice tight.
“Just when she left a few moments ago, though…” Ivara trailed off, her brows knitting together in confusion.
“Though what?” Ambrose grunted, taking a step closer to her. There was an intensity in his voice that had a shiver shooting down my spine. It felt like he was hoping—pushing—for Ivara to tell him something that would pin me as Bramwell’s killer.
Ivara’s eyes cut to his, her face tight and full of unease. “I don’t believe she was quite awake. Her eyes were open, but they were blank and unseeing. I tried to stop her from leaving, but I couldn’t wake her. By the time I grabbed my robe and followed her out the door, she was gone.”
“Was this before or after Hale delivered my gift?”
My blood froze, my mind emptying. I had forgotten about Hale during the chaos in the dungeon. Hale, who not only met my gaze but also spoke to me and knew that I was awake and in my right mind before Ambrose found me.
Ambrose turned toward me when Ivara spoke, bringing his attention back to her. “It was before. I was the one who met Hale and brought the box into her room.”
Ambrose glared at Ivara, his nose curling in a sneer. “And you just sat here and waited for her to return while you drank fucking tea?”
“I figured she would return when she awoke from her stupor,” Ivara shrugged, tilting her head to the side. “Why? Did she cause any trouble?”
Ambrose released a sharp exhale and turned toward me, ignoring Ivara’s questions. “You will stay in your room until I call for you. Both of you,” he growled.
Ambrose swung the door open to leave the room, letting the door slam shut behind him.
Ivara and I stood silent, watching to see if he would return to cause more trouble.
When it was clear he wasn’t coming back, a wave of exhaustion crashed through me, almost making my knees buckle.
Walking to the closet chair, I let my tired body collapse onto it.
“Are you okay?” Ivara asked, her voice soft. When I looked up, concern flashed across her face as she knelt in front of me.
“The queen,” I whispered, too afraid to speak any louder.
Ivara nodded knowingly. “Samian told me before he left. He went to check on her, so you don’t have to worry. She has lived a very long life and has survived worse than this. She will make it again.”
“It looked bad, though,” I said, unconvinced. “She was taken aback, almost as if she were in a daze as she stared at the wound.”
“Queen Cassia’s power is unique. Like Viv, she can see the future; however, it’s more than that. Viv can see only what Edris, the God of Fate, shows her. But the queen, she sees what Edris can. She has access to many possibilities, and more.”
“Does that make her a goddess of fate?”
“One could take it that way, but Cassia doesn’t see herself as one. Before you ask why, we don’t know. She loves keeping things to herself, despite everyone’s frustration. I like to think it's her way of having fun.”
Ivara flashed me a wide grin, and a soft laugh left my lips.
Since meeting her, Ivara has always had a way of making me feel more at ease.
It made me half wonder if she could be the third mate Queen Cassia mentioned, though my feelings toward her felt different from what I feel with Samian and Kieran.
“You’re not my third mate, right?” I raised a brow, forcing the words to sound playful, though I held my breath while I waited for her answer.
“Do you think I am?” Ivara asked, catching me in my ruse.
Sighing, I let my head fall back to the cushion of the chair. “No, not really. I do feel a pull towards you, but it’s not romantic. I feel like I’ve known you forever, though, like we have always been close friends.”
Ivara’s smile widened, looking every bit the powerful feline that she was. “Maybe we have, and you just don’t know it.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to figure out the meaning behind her words.
However, before I could ask more about it, Samian strode into the room, his face grave.
Standing from my chair, I rushed to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. My body relaxed into his as his arms circled me, pulling me in close.
“Is she okay?” I asked, my stomach twisting with dread. Ivara and Samian kept repeating that she would be okay, but they weren’t there. They didn’t see the daze she was in when she peered down at the ice shard.
“She’s…” Samian paused, weighing his next words. I could feel the tension building in his body and voice. “Alive. For now, at least.”
“What does that mean?” I said, pulling away from him enough to see his paling face. The muscles in his jaw feathered, his lips thinning.
“She wouldn’t allow me to heal her,” he breathed out sharply. “She is completely refusing my help. Anyone’s help, for that matter, saying the same fucking mystical bullshit that she always spews.”
Samian’s throat bobbed, his eyes gleaming with worry.
I understood the fear and concern he felt; I’d lived it myself with my own mother.
I’d sat by her side, holding her hand when we learned the cancer had returned.
I’d swallowed my anger, even when I wanted to scream, as she chose to refuse treatment again.
It was the hardest time of my life, and the anger and sadness written across his features were painfully familiar.
Clearing his throat, Samian gave me a small smile. “It’s alright, my light. She will be fine; she’s just being stubborn. Her healing abilities are slowed, but still working enough to keep her alive.”
My hands moved to his waist, gripping the sides of his shirt. “What do you mean her healing abilities are slowed?”
“The dungeon cells were made with stones from the lower realm,” Ivara answered.
“It acts as a barrier for those inside. For beings who are powerful enough, like Cassia or Ambrose, or even Samian, it doesn’t have an immediate effect on them.
They can still use their magic at full force.
However, if someone stays in the cell over time, it can take a toll on their magic.
Their power will act differently. It will weaken, becoming an echo of what their magic used to be. ”
“And for those not powerful enough?” I wondered, thinking back to the prisoners we passed while helping Ezra.
I remembered how weary and frail they were, but shoved it aside, believing it was because of the lack of food and water.
Mainly because, other than being in pain from his brutal beatings, Ezra acted as if he was fine.
Yet, Arianna never used her magic during our time in the dungeon—only Ambrose.
“It can severely weaken them, and in some cases, it can be fatal. It just depends on how strong they are.”
My brows pinched together, my mind reeling. “Do they immediately feel the magic working against them?”
Samian’s lips dipped as he took in my uncertainty. “Yes,” he said slowly, his eyes glancing at Ivara before returning to mine. “They should feel the effects of the stones as soon as they walk into the cell.”
I nodded, taking in their words. “If someone from the lower realm came here, what would happen?”
“The magic of Nemos would work against them and vice versa. The rulers of the land created conditions to make sure the realms stayed separated for their people’s protection. Even Mide has such protections, as magic is not as strong there.” Samian’s eyes narrowed, his head tilting. “Why?”
“I didn’t feel weak,” I said quietly. “Well, my magic didn’t. I could always feel it coiling inside, looking for a way out.”
“You are part of the royal family,” Ivara said.
“And your magic is powerful,” Samian pointed out. “Like Cassia, it probably wouldn’t affect you unless you spent years in the cells.”
Right, Samian did mention when I first arrived in Nemos that my magic was stronger than he first thought.
I could feel it continually growing, along with my seelie blood.
The last time it was checked was when I stayed the night in the healer’s wing with Aster.
If I had it retested, it would probably be over fifty percent by now.
But something didn’t feel right. I couldn’t explain it, but during those times in the dungeon, even when Ambrose commanded me not to use my magic, I could have sworn that my power felt stronger.
Hearing Ivara call my name, I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Do you feel up to training tonight with the others?” Ivara said slowly, worry lacing across her features.
“Oh, right,” I grimaced. We hadn’t been training as much in the past few days, and my body felt itchy knowing that I should have been doing more. “I’m still up for it tonight.”
“Good,” Samian smiled. “I’ll send a letter to Kieran to let him know.”