Garden of Serpents (The Demon Queen Trials #3)(49)

I stared at him, stunned to catch a glimpse of silver hair and pale blue eyes. The beautiful face of the king. “Orion? What the hell—”

He raised his hand, and ivory claws shot out.

Panic stole my breath. Had he lost his mind?

I reached out and grabbed his wrist, twisting it to the side so he lost his balance. I shot up and headbutted him, his bone cracking as my forehead slammed into his nose. My claws extended, and I swiped wildly, slashing across his face. He let out a strangled growl as he staggered away from me.

I jumped from the bed, my body glowing with golden light. Heat simmered through my blood. As I lunged for him again, he leapt out the window into the garden below. Fleeing on foot, he trampled through the garden and disappeared into the shadows.

“What the fuck?” I shouted.

A second later, the door to Orion’s room burst open. Shirtless, he stood on the threshold, raking a hand through his hair. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re just waking up now?” I asked. “Your house is literally on fire. Why don’t you have alarms?”

Orion’s gaze slid across the room, a line between his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

I started to gesture at the burning room, but not only was the fire gone, it had left no signs of damage whatsoever. No smoke, no ashes or char.

I glanced back at the window, confusion whirling in my mind. Everything looked just as it had been—still and dark under the night sky, white flowers blooming in the shadows.

I turned, staring at the unburnt room. “Maybe it was a nightmare.”

“We are the nightmares, love.” He nodded at the window. “But was the window open? The protection wards depend on having the gates and windows locked. Was someone in here, Rowan?”

Outside, the sky was just starting to turn pink and gold. I searched my bedsheets, and when I spotted the crimson streak of blood on them, I felt a strange sort of relief.

I wasn’t losing my mind.

“Yeah, someone was in here. I raked my claws across his face, and his blood is on my sheets. I thought he had silver hair. I thought it was you for a minute. He really looked like you.”

Orion crossed to the window and slammed it shut, then scooped me up and carried me into his perfectly tidy bedroom.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Not letting you out of my sight,” he whispered against my ear. “We have two more hours before it’s reasonable to wake, and I still have no idea who wants you dead. But I do know that two Lightbringers are stronger than one.”

He dropped me down on his bed, and I slid between his sheets, which smelled so beautifully of him. He lay down next to me and wrapped me in his powerful arms. I nestled my head into the crook of his neck, feeling far more comfortable than I should have.

As he relaxed, I listened to the slowing of his breath, and I felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

I loved the sound of his heart beating.

Fuck.

Why not just admit that I loved being near him?





27





ROWAN





In Kas’s kitchen, I sat before a bowl of freshly made spaghetti aglio e olio as he filled our glasses with Syrah. My mouth watered as I twisted the pasta around my fork. Night had fallen, and a lantern swung outside his little house, casting swaying shadows on the Tudor buildings.

Shai held her wineglass in her right hand, not touching her food. “You two first, Rowan. Did you and Legion check out the Noyes Mansion?”

“Yep,” I said. “We spent the day in Sudbury. The mansion is completely cloaked with magic, but it was easy to find. There was a group of demon hunters patrolling the woods, giving the game away. So Legion turned invisible and moved close enough to learn the magical signatures of the protection spells.” I took a big bite of the spicy, garlicky pasta, hoping no one was going to ask me to elaborate, because right now, I really needed to eat this.

Legion nodded. “There’s the spell that cloaks, and another that will kill any demons who pass by the wards. I’ll be able to disable the demon-killing spell on the day of the trial without them even realizing. We’ll leave it cloaked so as not to alert them. They don’t need to know that Rowan is going in.”

Shai looked even more exhausted than I was, and she rubbed her eyes. “Only problem is that this all benefits Orion, too.”

I sipped my wine. “Well, Orion, unlike me, won’t have a whole team to help him. He won’t know where the book is in the headquarters.”

Kas was already refilling my wine glasses. “Why do you two lovely women look so exhausted?”

I picked up my glass, feeling a sharp pang of protectiveness for Orion. If I told them about the assassination attempt—a silver-haired, blue-eyed assassin who looked a lot like the king—I could only imagine how they’d respond: That’s because Orion is trying to kill you.

“Just insomnia,” I said.

“Same.” Shai’s eyes darted away from me as she spoke, and I had the feeling she wasn’t giving the whole story, either.

Interesting. If I had to guess, she and Legion were keeping each other company late into the night.

“Okay,” Legion said. “Kas, what did you learn today?”

He stood, pushing back his chair. “Hang on.” A minute later, he returned to the room with a large, rolled-up piece of paper. He spread it out between glasses and plates, and I found myself staring at the blueprint of a building.