The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series)

by Rachel Higginson

  “Stay with your brother,” I whispered to Amelia, hoping whatever was between them before was long gone. “I’ll be back in three minutes.” And then to everyone else, “Everyone hang here for a minute, Gabriel, Silas, Jericho and I are going to check out the back.” I nodded to Jericho and he immediately followed.

  We made our way through the debris, Gabriel shifting everything out of the way with his magic. We filed through the arched doorway and walked past confessionals that had been smashed to pieces and beyond a small kitchen type room. There was a short, narrow hallway with doors on either side. I assumed those were the living quarters and followed Gabriel’s lead as he knocked harshly on each door before opening them to investigate the inside.

  There were no people here, which was upsetting, but I was at least given hope with the fact that there weren’t any dead bodies either. For that I could breathe a sigh of short-lived relief.

  “This is my room,” Gabriel announced solemnly when we approached the last of the small bedrooms.

  He pushed open a heavy wooden door that had been abused and hung limply off its hinges. Inside the dark room was a single bed, a nightstand and a lamp. Gabriel didn’t seem as pacified as I had been with the lack of bodies. In fact, he seemed more on edge than ever. He surveyed the room carefully before turning on the bedside lamp and shedding light onto the room.

  All of our eyes fell to the same place at once. On the wall, across from the doorway, written in what looked like blood was a note.

  A note meant for me.

  How long will this Kingdom remain faithful to a King that

  cannot protect them? Let’s find out.

  A guttural, feral growl ripped from my lungs and the bed was up, tangled in my magic and thrown against the bloodied wall before I could feel sanity again. And when instead of calm reason, I felt the hopeless depths of frustration my outburst was followed by a string of curse words that couldn’t even begin to describe the anger bubbling up inside of me.

  Gabriel stumbled back against the cold cement blocked wall and slid to the floor, his caramel colored hands covering his face in despair.

  “Who else was here, Gabriel? Were there other Immortals that could have been here? Besides your human nuns?” Jericho asked in a measured tone. I wanted to believe he was in control of his emotions, but one look at his brewing expression and the fury heating his gaze convinced me he was only holding it together long enough to make the next step in our plan…. only long enough until he could channel all of his anger into fighting, until he could find retribution.

  “No, there were none. Only humans,” Gabriel answered gruffly.

  “My people,” Silas whispered in terrified realization.

  “Your colony has been hidden for centuries,” I reasoned, but the thick blanket of fear settled on me, and suddenly I felt like I was suffocating beneath it.

  “We have not been careful since Lucan died,” Silas’s accent was thicker than usual and his voice barely rose above a whisper. “I have not been back to….” he trailed off and I was as afraid of his next words as he was to say them. “I have not been back since your coronation.”

  “How many days do they have ahead of us?” I demanded of Jericho.

  “Four,” he answered, fear now mingling with his rage.

  “That’s enough,” Silas growled.

  “No, it’s not,” I reasoned, forcing myself into confidence. “They would still have to hunt. And your people are capable. More than capable. What’s their contingency plan? Where would you go if…. Where would they have gone if Lucan found you?”

  “The city of kings,” Silas answered, his gray eyes sparking with determination.

  “Get in the vans, we’re going to Machu Pichu,” I commanded before turning on my heel and leaving the sadness of Gabriel’s church behind. There were no dead bodies, there was hope.

  When I was alone in the hallway I paused, taking in deep, cleansing breaths.

  It was there. Faint, but calling. The magic was there in the distance. Machu Pichu would have answers.

  And if not answers, then a fight.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I pulled Amelia close to me once we were in the van. I wrapped my arms around her waist and I buried my face in her hair. I inhaled her sweet scent, and memorized the feel of her touching me.

  Jericho started our van and we were off, flying through the narrow mountain roads with the tall, majestic Andes rising on every side of us. The sun was setting over the mountain peaks, blocking out the sunset completely. Soon we would be shrouded in darkness, perfect for a fight if that’s what it came to.

  “I shouldn’t have convinced you to come,” I whispered to Amelia and then placed a kiss on the nape of her neck. I let my lips linger on her skin, relishing the taste of her flesh. “It’s too dangerous. I was an idiot.”

  Amelia shivered underneath me, convincing me I needed to pull her even closer. But she turned in her seat and lifted her hands to my face. Her eyes were golden pools of warmth and affection.

  “No, I’m glad I came. I wouldn’t be able to…. I would hate not knowing how much danger you were in, or when I would hear from you again.” She paused and kissed me sweetly on the lips. “I’m a good fighter Avalon. I’m more than capable to hold my own. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “That’s not possible,” My voice was suddenly gruff with emotion. “I trust you, of course I do. But I can’t not worry about you.” I turned in my seat to face Sebastian. He was staring at me not even trying to disguise his distrustful hatred of me. At this moment, with danger and uncertainty looming before us, I didn’t blame him. But I couldn’t give him an excuse so I gave him an order instead, “Sebastian, your only job when we get there is to protect Amelia. I don’t want her anywhere near me where she could be identified as something I care about. They cannot know she is a weakness, Ok?” She started to protest so I amended my order to cater to her feminist ways, “I’m not saying I don’t want you to fight. We need everyone we can. These people are ruthless. Hell, they kill their own people to protect their secrets. But Sebastian you are not to let anything happen to Amelia. Do you understand?”

  “I do,” Sebastian bit out. “I’m not happy you let her come Avalon, but thank you for keeping your distance.”

  “Why? Why do you have to stay away from me?” Amelia demanded, her cheeks flushed with anger. She looked so sexy with her eyes narrowed on me and her arms folded in defiance I had to stomp down the urge to lay her down on the bench seat and pass the time to Machu Picchu in a more entertaining way…. “I want to be with you! What if something happens to you! What then?”

  “Amelia,” I assured her, taking her neck in my hands and tilting her chin up with my thumbs. My hands looked huge next to the delicate perfection of her slender neck and face. “Nothing will happen to me. I’m King for a reason, remember? But if these men see a connection between us, they will stop at nothing to get to you. They are merciless like that, single minded and destructive. And that would kill me, more than any kind of magic they use against me, losing you would destroy me. I will do whatever I need to in order to protect you, but I’m not going to give them a reason to purposefully go after you. It was selfish to bring you, stupid and selfish. But know that I will be watching you the entire time. Nothing will take you from me.”

  Amelia nodded her response and I felt her tremble beneath my hands. I didn’t know if she was choked up from my open speech and admission of how deep my feelings for her ran, or if I had truly scared her. But either way I was thankful the gravity of our situation had sunk in.

  “Be safe?” she asked through glassy eyes.

  “Mmm, I don’t like safe,” I whispered, quoting her, before closing into to kiss her.

  ----

  Darkness. That’s all there was in the ancient city of Machu Picchu. Even the empty parking lot was completely shrouded in the black ink of night. The moon was hidden behind cloud cover, the only light appearing in a small window of bone colored
stripes. We could all see, our magic keeping the lack of light from being an obstacle. But even so, the stillness of the thin mountain air gave me anticipatory goose bumps.

  The magic was strong here, so strong it was nearly choking. The vans had stopped and the clicking and groaning of the engines shutting off were the only sounds in the motionless night. The tiny noises seemed to echo off the mountain sides in the quiet of nothing that surrounded us.

  Whatever tourists or human workers had been here during the day were long gone and all that was left was age old stone and the history of kings long buried. And the magic.

  There was magic everywhere. Fearful, frightened…. tortured.

  And then in other places angry, hateful…. aggressive.

  We had converged together. We would meet here and fight. They had the advantage of being here first, but we had the benefit of experience.

  And being generally awesome.

  Through the darkness my eyes found Silas. He was staring back at me, his gray eyes cutting through the night like a fuzzy television channel. He shook his head once, indicating that his people were not here.

  In one regard, that was a good thing. On the other hand, who were the Immortals here then?

  If Silas’s colony hadn’t been found, who’s had been?

  “On my lead,” I commanded my van, knowing the second van would wait for my move anyway. “We’ll head into the city. Be ready immediately, we might not make it that far before they attack.” I stood up as much as I could in the cramped van and made a move for the door before pausing with one last piece of instruction, “Be careful with the city. Try to avoid any permanent damage, unless it’s at the cost of your own safety.” And then to Amelia, “Stay with Sebastian.”

  She nodded with a resolved tilt of her chin. I loved that she was ready for this, that she wasn’t afraid of what was outside this door.

  And hated it at the same time.

  I slid open the rusty door and stepped onto the dirt and gravel parking lot. I cringed without realizing it, until nothing immediately came flying at me. I allowed myself to relax with practiced confident aloofness and signaled for the other van to empty with us.

  I walked forward, toward the magic and the ancient ruins. Machu Picchu had a vast and haunting feel to it in the emptiness and dark. It seemed to stretch on forever, sprawling across the mountainside and up to the peak. The night seemed to whisper across the thin air, telling the stories of other kings that had died here, warning me not to become another fallen ruler, cremated by the earth beneath my feet.

  I breathed deeply through my nostrils and stilled my thumping heart. I dared a glance behind me; I quickly surveyed my group of skilled warriors until my eyes landed on Amelia. I drank her in, deeply, one last time and then I entered through the tall gates and met the enemy I came to destroy.

  My team entered behind me and spread out in a protective half circle. We hadn’t all fought together before, but the Titans that tagged along fell into an easy pattern of practiced experience. I refused to let myself look at Amelia, but I felt her magic down from me. It was everything I could do to keep my magic from hers, to stay separated from her just in case they had anyone capable of paying attention.

  We stood there, with the parking lot and entrance gates behind us and the layered city before us. Their magic pulsed around us, but there were too many buildings and places to hide for us to pursue them. If they ran we would of course follow, but until then it was safer to wait them out.

  I gave Xander a discreet nod allowing him to release the taunting I knew would be coiled tight inside of him. He grinned in reply and cupped his hands around his mouth to project the sound.

  “Bad guys! Bad guys!” he called in a playfully mocking tone that had several of us snickering. “Come out, come out wherever you are!”

  A muffled cough sounded in the night but was quickly quieted. I nodded again to Xander, giving him a look of approval and at the same time warning everyone to raise their magic and prepare for the battle.

  Threat level orange. DEFCON five. Or whatever. It was time to be prepared.

  “Look,” Xander continued, displaying how very unimpressed he was so far. “We know you’re out there and we have places to be, things to do, Kingdoms to run. It’s time to come out and play.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. The anticipation of battle, the thrill of a fight ran deep in my blood and had awakened my inner warrior, the most real and alive part of my soul. I flexed and clenched my fingers, and bounced on my toes. This wasn’t just about my addiction to action; this was about punishing an evil that deserved my wrath.

  This was about vengeance for too many needlessly dead Immortals.

  Movement from behind nearby stone structures caught my attention and I stilled my body in expectancy for confrontation. Out walked two Immortals, wearing grins of excitement and vibrating with aggressive magic. They were large, well-toned, and I instinctively knew they would be challenging opponents.

  I argued that they weren’t Titans though and so we had somewhat of a tactical advantage. Still, they weren’t the only two. There were more out there and before too much more time passed I knew we would meet the rest of their gang of merry men.

  “Ah, if it isn’t his royal highness, the great King Avalon,” one of the men picked up Xander’s taunting tone and used it against us. “Come to arrest us? Turn us into one of your many minions, weeping at your feet? Kissing your ring?”

  His friend sneered beside him and gestured to those around me. “Look how willingly he calls them to be slaughtered. He cares nothing for you,” the man’s tone turned serious and he looked along the line as if meeting each individual in the eye. “He is asking you to give up your lives for a fight he doesn’t even understand yet. And you will do it. You will all do it.” He ended with a note of pure disgust as if I were the worst kind of evil.

  This was a new place for me to stand in. I had never been accused of this kind of cruelty before. I had accused others of this same thing, but never once had I been on the receiving end.

  It kind of sucked.

  And I hope my people knew me better.

  “You are sheep,” the first man spat.

  A heavy silence hung in the air for only a second before Titus stepped forward to defend me. “We are sheep? We saw one of your men kill another, simply because he was captured. You murder your own brothers to ensure silence, and you accuse our King of being cruel? I will be a sheep; I will gladly follow Avalon even if the course is still uncharted. But I refuse to be disposable for a deranged cause like you are. Give up your futile fight and surrender. Not only will you not win tonight, but you will not succeed at all. Walk away from whatever you have been promised, because I swear to you that you will never get it. You underestimate Avalon, and you underestimate how devoted his people are to him.”

  I wanted to hug Titus. It was girly and beyond out of control, but in that moment I wanted to hug him.

  I decided to fight instead.

  “He’s right; you’re fighting a losing battle. You may still have secrets from us, but they will not matter after we destroy you all. Give up now, come willingly and you will receive something lighter than death. Fight now and you will give us no other option than to stop you.” I offered benevolently in my most Kinglike voice. See? I could be benevolent.

  No practice necessary.

  “Not a chance,” the second man growled. “Our cause is worth fighting for.”

  There was absolute certainty in his voice, complete conviction. And it actually hurt my heart because I had been where he stood. Hell, I was still there. I just knew my cause was the right one, and that I stood on the side of goodness. He was convinced of something evil and cruel. No matter what his greater hope was, murdering innocents was and always would be the worst kind of evil.

  “Your cause is killing your own people?” I questioned, disguising the complete disgust in my voice, hoping they would still change their minds. “Hurting? Torturing? Kidnapping? That’s
not a cause, that’s murder. And it’s a path straight to the pits of Hell even if you can defeat me. Don’t lose your life or your soul believing another man’s lies.”

  “Dimitri Terletov is not a liar,” the first man ground out.

  “Then where is he so that he can defend himself?” I demanded, hating that he wasn’t the one talking to me. These men should know better, they should realize he was sending them to be slaughtered.

  “With your sister,” the first man laughed before sending a burst of his magic directly towards my head.

  I ducked out of the way while my mind reeled and spun with the realization that Eden, at this very moment could be in extreme danger. I turned around, sending my magic spiraling towards my enemies while I willed myself to focus on this fight first.

  The first punch was thrown so to speak and the battle began.

  Men descended on us from every direction, ready for a fight, ready to end my reign and my bloodline. I fought back immediately, but only half-heartedly as my mind spun with dangerous possibilities for my sister and her unborn child. And at the same time I fought to save my own life, with only the soft promise that I could feel her still alive. We were connected and she wasn’t crying out to me. That had to be a good sign. The only option was to finish this fight and then find Eden. Until then, my willingness for mercy had run out and each one of these men would be made to ultimately pay for treason.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Rocks and ground exploded around me as the two sides of this battle converged into one destructive entity. I sent up a prayer asking for forgiveness as I watched the ancient ruins shatter in the night. I moved forward, meeting the two men that spoke for their absent leader while the rest of my team each connected with another fighter.

  I turned so that Amelia would stay in my peripheral, but I had to be honest with myself and admit that I was very proud of how she handled herself. I noticed not only Sebastian but Jericho stay close to her too and this time I could let whatever jealousy remained go and realize he protected her for me.