The ice fell away from my body, and he jerked me off the floor, keeping his hold on my neck. Ambrose shoved me through the dungeons until we came to Queen Cassia’s cell. Her face was tight when I came into view, her eyes narrowing on my reddened skin, marred by Ambrose’s touch.
“Now, explain to me how you, mydarlingSybil, know Cassia here,” Ambrose growled against my ear. “From what I understood, you’re not supposed to know of Cassia’s presence in the dungeons.”
His question was met with nothing but silence. How could I explain I found her cell when helping Ezra escape without giving Samian or Aster away? How do I tell him I got past the guardsstationed at the entrance of the dungeon, keeping myself hidden from those stationed here, making their rounds?
“I said,” Ambrose paused, pushing me into the bars, “explain.”
“I-I don’t know,” I cried, the bars biting into my face. I felt foolish, my mind blank under the pressure of Ambrose’s scrutiny, unable to think of anything better to say.
“You don’t know,” Ambrose frowned, his voice dripping with disapproval. “How could you not know, Sybil?”
I stared at Queen Cassia, my mind blank. She could see the panic reflected in my features, as if nothing could make my being here seem like an accident. Not without giving away my involvement with the rebels. I opened my mouth, trying to force out any words that could come to mind when Queen Cassia tucked a lock of stray hair behind her ear, but not before tapping a delicate finger against her temple.
The voice. The voice I heard earlier, urging me to be patient, was the one that sent Salem into the shadows.
“I heard a voice,” I gasped out. “A-a voice pulled me out of my sleep, and when my eyes opened, I was here.”
“You’ve been hearing a voice?” Ambrose’s voice sounded cold, yet there was a hint of alarm hidden within his ridicule. “Tell me, darling Sybil, what did this voice tell you?”
“T-that it wasn’t time yet.”
“Time for what?” The venom in his voice was no longer hushed. It dripped with every word he spoke.
“It didn’t say,” I pressed, praying that it would be enough for him to believe me. “That’s the only thing I heard, I swear.”
“Were you the one who killed Bramwell?”
I tried to turn my head to show Ambrose the sickening surprise transforming along my features, but Ambrose pressed me harder into the bars. Whimpering, I attempted to shake myhead. “I didn’t do anything, I swear it, Ambrose. I was asleep in my bed, and then I was here.”
“How do I know you didn’t make any nighttime visits elsewhere?” he growled.
“I-Ivara was with me the entire time. She came to my room last night, wanting some company. We talked late into the night and fell asleep.”
“I guess I’ll just have to ask her to verify myself. Is this the first time you two have met?”
“No,” Queen Cassia answered for me, her voice soft. “We have met one other time.”
Ambrose blew out a breath, his frustration growing. “If someone doesn’t start giving me more details, there will be blood. Do I make myself clear?”
“She told me of my fate,” I squeaked out. “She said that death lay in my future but wouldn’t tell me more than that.”
“And today,” Ambrose pushed, looking at the queen.
“I told her that there was an abnormality in the bargain between you. That something happened during its creation that has not happened before. At least to my knowledge.”
“What does that have to do with me, Cassia?” Ambrose’s voice rose, his breathing becoming unsteady.
“That she’s not the only one who hears the voice.”
My eyes widened, and I watched as Queen Cassia stepped to the iron bars. I was right. Ambrose was hearing a voice. That’s what made his eyes go blank from time to time. “Let her go now, Ambrose. You have your answers. She did not seek me out, nor does she have plans to make it known that I am here. Let her go and leave.”
Ambrose let out a cruel laugh. “Yes, I will let her go, but not before my promises have been fulfilled.”
Pulling me away from the bars, a shard of ice formed in the air. Before I could even scream, Ambrose flicked the shardtoward Queen Cassia, lodging it into her stomach. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked down where blood welled around the ice. Shrieking, I lunged toward the cell, only to be stopped by Ambrose wrapping his arms around my stomach, pulling me to his chest while I thrashed and fought against his hold.
Queen Cassia’s hands inched toward the ice as she finally sucked in a breath. She blinked, falling to her knees, the warmth of her blood and magic melting the ice. Ambrose dragged me out of the dungeon while I screamed out her name again and again.
Chapter 23
