Garden of Serpents (The Demon Queen Trials #3)(70)

Yeah, I supposed we couldn’t mention murdering an entire cadre of demon hunters on the jail phone. “Why didn’t you call me?” I practically shouted.

“They took my phone when they arrested me. These are the only numbers I have memorized.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, I guess,” I muttered. “My other phone evaporated.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” I gripped the phone tightly. “So…that’s why you disappeared? You’ve been in jail this whole time? How much is the bail?”

She cleared her throat. “Can you get a hundred thousand dollars? I know it’s a lot.”

Fuck.

Orion could easily get a hundred thousand, but it’s not like I could hit him up for that right now. Or really anyone I could think of. “I’ve been kicked out of the City of Thorns. That’s why I’m hiding here. Something’s happened to Orion. I’ll try to get the money, though—”

“So he won the trial and just kicked you out?” Anger laced her voice.

I closed my eyes, trying to understand how to explain this to her without sounding like an absolute fucking moron. “That’s what it looks like on the surface,” I said carefully. “But like you said, we need to talk in person.”

“Hang on.” I heard the sound of her muffling the phone and talking to someone behind her. “Shit. Rowan, I’ve got to go. I’m going to try to call back soon.”

Shouting echoed in the background, and then she hung up. I needed to talk to her now, though.

I crossed to the window, staring at the exact spot where I’d seen the boy with his cotton-candy fingers in my dream. Now, casually sitting on a bench outside, sipping a coffee, was my disturbingly hot cousin.

Sabazios—Mr. Esposito—had a habit of turning up when I needed him. I remembered him. He’d come to our house for tea and biscuits and bring my mom books he liked. He’d given me warnings when the hunters were coming for me. Sabazios was the one who’d given me the demon trials book. He’d been there on the fringes, helping me the whole time, without ever being intrusive or pushy.

I turned and ran down the stairs to find him.





41





ROWAN





The wind whipped at Sabazios’s red hair as he drove away from the Concord prison, the windows down in his new convertible. Chilly October air stung my cheeks.

The setting sun tinged the sky with honey and lavender, warming our faces as we drove toward Osborne.

From the back seat, Shai leaned forward. “How did you get the money?” she shouted over the wind. “And the Porsche?”

“The first thing I did when I got back into the City of Thorns was find my family’s buried gold,” Sabazios replied. “So if I’m stuck in Osborne again, at least I can do it in style.” He coughed. “Or as much style as an old man can have. My magic is already fading. I hate it. But at least I’ll be rich, and I can buy a fancier walker.”

“We’re going to get you home,” said Shai. “This is just a temporary setback. But Rowan, here’s what I need you to know. Someone fucked us over. Someone told the state police where I was the day we went to the demon hunters’ headquarters. They were waiting for me right at the southern entrance, and even though I was completely invisible, they were able to find me.”

“But why were you arrested, Shai?” I asked.

She let out a long sigh. “Either Legion or Kas screwed us. Or both of them.”

I swallowed hard and turned around to face her. “Explain.”

“Okay, so…a few weeks ago, Legion and Kas were helping me learn a spell to control the weather. It was just the three of us. That’s it. And I lost control of the spell. I have no idea how it happened, but it was too much all at once, and I caused a storm in the Atlantic. Or someone I was with caused it, because I didn’t feel like I was losing control at all.”

My mind flicked back to the night of thunder booms and a churning sea, when Jasper had attacked me. “Yeah, I remember the storm.”

“I didn’t tell you about it because you had so much stress already. But either Kas or Legion reported to the mortal police that it was my fault. No one was killed, but it wrecked a ship and caused a bunch of property damage. Then the cops knew exactly where to find me. I’ve been freaking out this entire time because I had no idea what happened to you.”

My veins buzzed with anger. “Do you think it was both of them?”

She stared at me for a long time before answering. “I think it was Kas. I don’t have a rational explanation, but I just don’t think Legion would do that to me. I think he actually cares about me. Like, I know him. Does that sound stupid?”

I shook my head. “That’s how I feel about Orion, even when I watched him call me a traitor and kick me out of the City of Thorns. I know him, and that wasn’t him. Orion technically won the trial, but he gave me the book in Sudbury. He left himself behind just to save me. He sacrificed himself to torture, and he only won because I went back for him and exploded with magic. That was the real Orion. I know the real Orion. And the person who kicked me out? That wasn’t him.”

“Okay,” she said tentatively. “Magic can create so many illusions, Rowan.”