Garden of Serpents (The Demon Queen Trials #3)(30)

So as we walked, I slowed the pace, rambling to Kas about my favorite morbid facts. “Mary Tudor burned several hundred people at the stake. Did you know how long it took them to burn on average?”

“I think I’d rather not.”

“Forty-five minutes,” I answered anyway.

Kas smirked at me. “Aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?”

I grinned. “Well, I am a Lightbringer, so I’ve got to have some sunlight deep down. Somewhere. Buried under lots of horrific trivia and obsessive fears.”

“They say you get the leaders you deserve. Our two Lightbringers are a genocidal maniac and an absolute neurotic downer who tends to light things on fire when practicing magic—”

“Excuse me, I’m not always a downer.” I racked my brain to think of something fun, though I’m not sure I fully understood the concept. “Tomorrow, when we practice, I’m going to bring cupcakes. With sprinkles. Like, rainbow…flower cupcakes. Very fucking fun.”

His cheek dimpled. “As we eat them, will you tell us how many small children choked to death on cake last year?”

“If you don’t think that’s useful knowledge, I don’t know what to tell you.”

His eyes twinkled. “I’d gladly take you over a genocidal maniac. A ruler’s job is to keep everyone safe, and I have no doubt that you will keep us all from harm with your wealth of knowledge about ways to die.”

“I’m glad someone understands my true value.”

He slid his hands into his pockets and scowled at Orion’s cottage as we approached. “Did the king order you to stay in his house? Is he allowed to make demands of the shadow scion?”

“There’s no protocol for that in the books.” I sighed. “But there is a protocol for attacking each other. If one of us murders the other between trials, we get executed by the Council.”

A pulse of warm electrical magic washed over me, and goosebumps rose on my skin.

I turned to see Orion stalking from the shadows, his pale blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “Ah, Rowan. Are you and your pretty friend weighing the consequences of murdering me?”

I narrowed my eyes at the king. “No. But Your Majesty, out of curiosity, are you ordering me to stay with you, or do I have the option of leaving?”

He pinned me with a heated stare. “I’ll keep you safe, Rowan, whatever it takes.”

“That’s not really an answer, is it?” said Kas.

The air thinned, and Orion cut him a sharp look. “I don’t owe you an answer, Kasyade.” Darkness slid through his eyes, and he took a step closer. “Lest you forget, I am still your king. Rowan is a Lightbringer. You are not.”

Kas held his gaze, and thorns grew in the silence.

Menace rippled off Orion. I was starting to get worried that he was going to rip Kas’s heart out—his usual method of dealing with inconveniences—and I sucked in a sharp breath. “Kas wasn’t questioning your authority. He just pointed out that it wasn’t a real answer.”

Orion’s violent gaze was still locked on Kas, and the air around him heated. “You were around then, during the purge of the Lilu.”

Oh, here we go.

The low, quiet tenor of his voice sent a shiver up my spine. An unspoken threat laced the air.

Kas lifted his chin. “I was a child then, same as you.”

“Not exactly the same as me.” Venom under that velvety voice. “I remember you, Kasyade. You were older than me. So lucky not to be a Lilu, weren’t you?”

Gently, I touched Orion’s arm. “Many of your subjects were around then. You can’t threaten them all.”

Orion had to realize he couldn’t fight a war on two fronts. If he was truly expecting a confrontation with the mortals, he’d need every demon on his side, whether or not they’d stood by during the purge of the Lilu.

Orion tilted his head. “Then don’t consider it a threat, but I do have a warning. You, Kasyade, are not qualified to help a Lightbringer learn to practice her magic. You have no idea the kind of danger you’re playing with.”

And with that, he stalked off into his house.

I stared after him. “Any idea what he’s talking about, Kas?”

“If I had to guess,” Kas replied dryly, “he’s going to try to tell you that your magic is too dangerous to use, and that you should probably just let him win the trials so no one gets hurt. And that it’s all too complicated for you to understand.”

I snorted. “Right.” So why did I feel this sharp tendril of unease at Orion’s warning? “Don’t worry, Kas. I’m ignoring everything he says.” Liar, liar.

That should be the truth, but it wasn’t.

“See you at dawn,” Kas said, and then he leaned in and lowered his voice. “Keep ignoring him. You’ve got this, Sunshine.”

I ignored the nickname, and my chest unclenched a little at his reassurance.

When I crossed inside, I found Amon sitting with his dogs by the fireplace, a book in his lap. Over a steaming cup of tea, he raised an eyebrow at me. “The king is in…a mood.”

Delightful.





17





ROWAN





I climbed the stairs and crossed into my cozy little room, surprised to find he wasn’t in his. So I shut the connecting door and flicked on the lights.