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

by C.N. Crawford

“I just think most romance is bullshit. It’s cotton candy. It looks nice, and it tastes kind of good at first, but ultimately, it just makes you want to puke.”

“Do not try to win my favor by hurting her.” Orion’s voice boomed. “The ancient laws of the demon trials protect her, and I will personally tear out the heart of anyone who lays a finger on her.”

“The twin stars. The two Lightbringers. Rowan and Orion.” “I used to dream of them at night when I wasn’t dreaming of food. The twin stars. I never knew what it meant.” “Ah,” he said quietly. “And is that why you are sitting out on a balcony staring at your ex-lover’s house like a heartbroken lunatic? You are quite literally written in the stars.”

I had one other secret: I would love Rowan until I died. And that was why I deeply regretted what I had to do next.

I’d simply wanted her to realize that little blond pretty boy Kas had nothing on me. Quite simply, jealousy was making me act like a fucking idiot.

Her heart started to race, her chest flushing. Something in her body liked being bound, which was a detail I’d have to think about later when her life wasn’t on the line.

“Somewhere, there’s another world where you and I met before my soul died in the dungeon.”

“Rowan Morgenstern, Queen of the City of Thorns.” I pressed the grimoire to him again. “Bring it home, Orion.”

“I am Chaos, the eater of worlds,” I heard myself whisper. “I was the first to exist, and I will be the last.”