The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series) (11 page)

              Those were not my best days.

              So no, the only memory I had of Amelia was a scared child that was too shy to talk to me. She was half the woman she is now and I certainly didn’t remember leaving her on the dance floor, or even why I would have asked her to dance to begin with.

              “You didn’t ask her, Avalon,” Eden took pity on me, feeling my confusion. “You were supposed to dance with her since you were both part of the wedding party. She was your partner, we paired you up for the wedding party dance. We rehearsed the whole thing at the rehearsal the night before. You would have been better prepared if you would have attended.”

              Unbelievable. Eden was still bitter I ditched the rehearsal after all these years. I hadn’t seen the point then and I didn’t see it now. Except for maybe the whole dancing with Amelia part of it.

              Eden shook her head at me as if she was following my inner thoughts. She sent me a nudge of a memory. The outdoor tents, the dance floor, the song immediately following Eden and Kiran’s first dance as a married couple….

              Oh ok. I nodded, finally understanding while I put the pieces together.

              “Really, we don’t have to go over this,” Amelia muttered. “It was humiliating enough the first time.”

              “Dancing with me was humiliating?” I asked, turning my sharp gaze on her. Was this why she seemed not able to stand me? Was it something I did at the wedding?

              “Except you didn’t dance with me!” She suddenly explained all dramatically. I couldn’t stop my smile of amusement as she half raised out of her chair and swung her arm dramatically nearly smacking Jericho in the face.

              “I didn’t?” I laughed at her.

              “No you didn’t,” Kiran laughed too. “Three seconds into the song you smacked Amelia on the arse, and told her to go ahead and finish without you while you walked out of the tent completely.”

              “I thought you were walking out on my wedding Avalon! It was really disconcerting and you left poor Amelia in the middle of the dance floor all by herself after you had just spanked her on the ass!” Eden laid my offenses out for me when I still didn’t seem to get what the big deal was. “You’re lucky you came back, brother, or there would have been serious hell to pay.” Eden threatened, narrowing her eyes at me.

              I sat stunned for a few moments, trying to replay the day in my head. Realization dawned on me when I pictured Angelica’s haunted face and how she practically ran from the reception. I had been so worried about Angelica that I really had left Amelia standing there now that I thought about it. And smacking her, that was just to lighten the mood when I knew leaving my sister’s wedding was going to cause a huge stir. I slipped back into the reception but after only after a long while and I didn’t remember seeing Amelia for the rest of the night. Hell, I hadn’t seen Amelia again until a few days ago.

              “It was Angelica,” I answered their mocking laughter somberly. The look on her grieving face still disturbed me. “I, uh, she…. she left the reception really upset and I was worried about her. I’m sorry Amelia, I wasn’t thinking when I left you there. I was just a bit desperate to get to Angelica. I really am sorry,” I offered sincerely, looking up from the table to meet her eyes.

              She stared back at me like she wasn’t sure what to believe, but with my most pathetic and genuine expression I tried to convince her to forgive me.

              “Was it really because of Angelica?” she asked, narrowing her eyes into shrewd slits.

              “Yes,” I half laughed putting my hands up in surrender. “She had just….” I swallowed before finishing, not wanting to show even my closest friends the weakness of my emotions. “She had just glimpsed Eden as she was waiting to walk into the reception and Eden reminded her of my mother. The ceremony had been very painful for her. It was all so soon after…. after everything, that Angelica needed a minute. She composed herself eventually, but I walked her back to the castle anyway. I’m sorry Amelia…. I had to make sure she was Ok.”

              “Well, damn,” Amelia sighed. “I can’t fault you for that. Even if you embarrassed me in front of the entire Kingdom.” I smiled my most charming smile at her and she shook her head like she already regretted forgiving me. “You may now address me as Mimi,” she waved her hand gallantly.

              “Not a chance, Amelia,” I answered in a husky voice and then I enjoyed watching her shiver from the sound of her name on my tongue.

              Yep, this was definitely better than eating breakfast alone.

Chapter Ten

              “Excuse me sir,” a castle employee entered through the back door of the dining hall. I looked up instinctively. “There is someone here to see you.”

              “Is it important?” I asked, already feeling the tentacles of regret snaking around my stomach. My eyes flickered to Amelia without my permission, but as soon as we connected she looked immediately away. “Or can it way until I’m finished with my breakfast?”

              “It’s alright, Avalon,” Kiran answered before the butler could. “I’m finished, I’ll go.”

              “Are you sure?” I confirmed, feeling a little bit weird that Kiran kept stepping in front of me to handle the castle business. Maybe he really had missed all the diplomacy.

              “I’m sure, really. Enjoy your breakfast,” He stood, dropping his napkin on top of his plate and gave Eden a not-for-public-places kind of kiss and then left.

              Eden cleared her throat, a little breathlessly after he was gone and I wanted to gouge my eyes out with my spoon.

              “I’m finished too, are you ready Jericho?” Amelia asked in an overly bright voice.

              “Just about,” he answered thoughtfully and then announced to the rest of the table, “Amelia and I are going to do some sightseeing around Transylvania, maybe head back into Sibiu and climb the tower. Anyone care to join us?”

              I narrowed my eyes at my best friend trying to figure out his angle. Why was he inviting other people on his date with Amelia? If I were him, I would have gotten her the hell away from this Citadel and every other male alive, and kept her all to myself.

              But I wasn’t him, which was obvious by the way Amelia’s eyes kept darting to me nervously as if she were afraid I would agree to join them. And I was tempted to, seriously tempted to. More tempted than I had ever been to shirk every single one of my duties. But I couldn’t justify even chasing after the idea of Amelia while we faced this unknown threat, let alone Amelia herself. I had to focus on keeping the Kingdom safe.

              “I’ll go,” Seraphina piped up. “I don’t really have anything else to do since Sebastian left. But Jericho, just so you know, I’m wearing my pink Louboutins and I don’t want to hear anything about it. Do you understand me?” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at him and I had to wonder for the millionth time how Sebastian handled her.

              “What is a Louboutin?” Jericho asked nervously.

              “It’s a shoe,” she replied with a practiced pout. “And it’s gorgeous and they’re brand new and I’m an Immortal so if I say I can hike in stilettos than I can damn well hike in stilettos. Do you understand me?”

              By the argument Seraphina was having with herself I wondered if maybe Sebastian wasn’t handling her so well after all.

              “I believe you,” Jericho agreed sincerely.

              “Talbott, Lilly, Eden? Do you have some free time?” Jericho pressed. Apparently he was bound and determined to include us all.

              “We have a conference call in an hour with Silas and Gabriel about the threat,” Talbott explained making it sound like an apology.

              “Lilly? Surely you don’t have to be part of the call?” Jericho asked.

              “I actually have to meet with the staff and cancel some upcoming engagements Avalon was supposed to host. We don’t want to invite whoever these people are straight to the castle doors, so we are going to slow down Avalon and Eden’s public appearances for a while,” Lilly explained sweetly. And even if she couldn’t be my wife, I was so grateful to have her in charge of my household. She thought of everything.

              “Alright, Avalon, that leaves you, are
you
in?” Jericho asked; his eyes narrowed at me as if defying me to say no. Why did he want me to go so bad? I thought he would want to keep me away from Amelia. I mean, no offense to him or anything but I was pretty challenging competition in the realm of girls.

              “I uh-“ I started, really struggling to tell him no, when I would like nothing more than to wander around the touristy cities of Romania trying to persuade Amelia I wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

              But Amelia cut me off and answered for me, “Jericho, I’m sure he has to be part of the call with Sebastian.”

              I wanted to prove her wrong and explain that Kiran could handle it, but I knew that was irresponsible. Just the fact that she tempted me to turn my head on my responsibilities was enough to hammer in the point that I needed to stay away.             

              Jericho seemed to sense my struggle, giving me an understanding nod and changing the subject. “I still can’t believe that I was in the same village as you and missed this entire conversation,” he mused.

              “Well, you can be pretty thick-headed at times,” I laughed. “And at the time I was having serious, important, life-altering conversations you were off hunting wild beasts.”

              “And catching nothing,” he laughed in return. “It turns out I have terrible aim.” I had to wonder if that was for Amelia’s vegetarian-minded benefit.

              “Hey, Avalon? Can we go for a walk?” Eden asked sweetly.

              “Absolutely,” I answered, pushing my empty plate forward. I would never tell Eden no, but some quality time with her actually sounded really nice.

              We said goodbye to the table of our friends and left the dining room in search of some privacy. It took a lot of people to keep this castle running and different kinds of butlers and maids busied themselves all around us as we walked the spacious hallways quietly. Eden led me through the empty ball room that felt cavernous without anyone in it. Our footsteps echoed off the polished floor and I had no doubt even a whisper would reverberate against the vaulted ceiling. Eden pushed open the balcony sliding glass doors and stepped out on to the long terrace that wrapped around the stone castle and led down into the gardens.

              “I’ve missed you E,” I confessed before she could say anything. “I thought after we beat Lucan that you and I would get some quality time together. I mean, I’m happy for you and Kiran and all of that, but it’s been nice having you back.”

              “It’s been nice to be back,” She smiled at me. “And I missed you too. I wish I could say that we will get some quality time together now, but we both know you aren’t going to be able to sit still while there’s something threatening the Kingdom.” She shook her head at me, and I saw the strong flicker of anxiety in her black eyes.

              “Those days are over,” I grunted. “You know I can’t go off hunting bad guys and leave the throne open for whoever they are to just step in and take over.”

              “That’s why you have us,” she counter-argued. “We’re here now, so if you need to go Avalon, then go. You don’t have to feel tied so this place, because you’re not.”

              “I know that, I know I’m not stuck here. But if we’re going to be honest, in a weird way it’s started to feel like home.”

              Eden paused at my words, turning to look out over the gardens that were being bathed in morning sunlight. “I feel the same way. Which doesn’t make sense, I know, especially after everything we’ve been through here…. But there’s just something about this place that makes me comfortable, like everyone we lost isn’t so far away, like I can be close to them here.”

              We fell silent again for a few more moments as I quietly agreed with her. But then a thought occurred to me, “Maybe you want me to go? I mean, do you and Kiran want to stay here? Am I in the way?”

              “No!” She was quick to assure me. “Absolutely not! There’s more than enough room for all of us here. I just thought you might want to get in on the action is all.”

              “Oh, because I can leave if you want me to. I mean, Kiran seems more than happy to take over the responsibilities and duties here. So if you guys don’t need me….” I didn’t want to sound pathetic, but after being flooded with sudden insecurities I couldn’t help it.

              “Avalon, seriously,” Eden rolled her eyes at me, and I couldn’t help but love how she didn’t give into my whining. “Kiran’s only stepping in because it’s obvious how much you hate this part of the job. He thinks he’s doing it for your benefit. Believe me when I say, he doesn’t enjoy it any more than you do. But he grew up in it, so I think it comes naturally to him. Plus he’s really good at hiding his real emotions…. unlike us.” she laughed.

              “Ah,” I sighed, relieved. I hadn’t really been worried that he was going to push me out of my job; I didn’t want the crown anyway. Well, not really. But still, there was that warm flood of relief that argued with my reasoning.

              “Do you think it will be as bad as last time?” Eden asked in a quiet voice, referencing whatever was ahead of us.

              I wanted to lie to her. I wanted to promise her that it would all be fine and that not only would no one get hurt, but that we would stop the threat before it became anything substantial. But I couldn’t lie to Eden. I mean, literally I couldn’t. She would know if I tried to even soften the truth. Curse the twin bond.

              “I don’t know what to expect,” I answered honestly. “Ileana…. Ileana didn’t have any clear details to give me. But from how she talked about them we have legitimate reasons to be afraid, E. These bastards, whoever they are, are dangerous. They’re a real threat.”