The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series) Read Online Free Page B

them.
                  My heart relaxed at the sight of them all standing together. We hadn’t been together much since the night Lucan died, not like this. We had mourned the loss of parents and friends and we had celebrated Eden and Kiran’s wedding, but we had never been like this together, we had never just been normal.
                  It wasn’t just my heart that relaxed; it was like my whole body sighed at the peaceful nature of our reunion. Eden’s black eyes flickered up to mine and we shared an understanding look. It was harder to keep things so separated between us now that we were so close, and I felt her relief and excitement in the same way she felt mine.
                  “E,” I acknowledged her, tilting my chin.
                  She wasn’t having that though. She raced across the carpeted corridor, ripping out of Kiran’s hands and flying into my chest. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she hugged me until I could barely breathe.
                  “I’ve missed you, sis,” I whispered, trying to disguise the sudden surge of emotion in my throat.
                  “I’ve missed you so much!” She cried. Actually cried. I could feel her hot tears on my shoulder, soaking through my t-shirt. “It’s good to be home,” she breathed and detached herself from around my neck. She kept her arm around my waist though and I smiled down at her.
                  “Home,” I echoed. Maybe I wasn’t the only one that had grown attached to the Citadel.
                  Everyone had joined us by now and I took Kiran’s outstretched hand when he offered it to me and shook it firmly. I hoped he wasn’t going to hug me and cry too.
                  “Those things are a pain in the arse to wear, am I right?” Kiran gestured at the crown on my head and I rolled my eyes in response.
                  “I was accused of wearing it crooked as a fashion statement,” I grunted and then tried to push it back into the center position on my head.
                  “Ah,” Kiran nodded understandingly. “Nobody’s head is shaped quite right for that.”
                  Sebastian stuck his hand out next and I took it. “Where’s the girlfriend?” I asked, wondering if Seraphina had finally gotten under his skin enough to scare him back into bachelorhood. For some reason I had a hard time picturing Sebastian actually settling down, let alone with the likes of Seraphina who was as high maintenance as they came.
                  “She’s with my sister,” he explained, expelling the notion that all of my people were free. Apparently some of them stayed imprisoned by choice. “They’ll be along shortly, but Mimi wanted to visit some of the villages nearby.”
                  “Ah,” I offered noncommittally, I didn’t really know how to respond to that. I had forgotten that people called Sebastian’s sister Mimi, but in all honesty I couldn’t really remember her that well. I had only met her briefly at the wedding, and only because she was one of Eden’s bridesmaids. I did remember that she was really young though and had seemed a bit out of place and awkward next to all of the other bridesmaids that had been my age or older.
                  “It’s so good to be with you again, Avalon,” Eden gushed, filling the awkward silence. I smiled down at her; she was so adorable with her mass of hair flowing around her and her black eyes sparkling like onyx.
                  “Honestly, I’m glad you guys are back,” I admitted, trying to cover for my emotional reaction to having my only remaining family near me again. “There are probably one hundred decisions left to be made for this damned homecoming dinner you have me throwing for you and if I am asked to pick out a tablecloth color one more time I’m going to