Read Online The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series) by Rachel Higginson - Free Book Online Page A

chin in Jericho’s direction. “I’m a safer driver.” I turned on a little charm, hoping to catch her off guard like in the hallway.
    “That’s alright, Avalon,” she replied and I could swear she was laughing at me. “I don’t like safe.”
    I stared at her with a half open mouth as she picked out her own bike, wheeled it to the entrance, climbed on board and then kicked-started the red Ducati. She turned around and shot me a cocky smile before taking off through the open entrance while I was left staring at her taillights. Jericho picked up his jaw off the floor quicker than I could and took off after her. It took me seven full seconds before I managed to make myself move and in those seven seconds I decided something very important. Jericho and I had the kind of friendship that you didn’t risk over a girl.
    Except for Amelia.
    She was the kind of girl I needed to risk everything for.
     

Chapter Six
     
                  I stayed behind Amelia and Jericho on the trip to the gypsy village. I could handle a motorcycle easily, even without the help of my magic. But so could Amelia and I couldn’t help but love the sexy way she took the sharp bends of the mountain roads at a too fast speed, or how she played around with her speeds and bike when she got bored. She got bored a lot. Even though we didn’t have a long drive, it was like she could barely tolerate it. She fidgeted and wiggled constantly and more than once I had to tear my eyes from her curvy little figure perched on top of that and back to the road to avoid disaster.
                  Eventually we turned down the narrow dirt road that led away from the main highway and to the small cluster of huts and shacks that made up Ileana’s kingdom. Amory and Ileana had been close over time; he had taken care of her and even sought out her advice. She was known for her gift of prophecy. Although she didn’t see everything in the future, she had enough visions that her opinion and guidance were highly favored.
    Amory had also exposed Kiran and Sebastian to the village their entire childhood. While I was off with Angelica hiding in various places all throughout the world, they spent their childhoods getting to know my grandfather and experiencing his methods of childrearing.
                  Amory had done his best with Kiran in hopes of making him a great leader one day, in case all his other efforts with Lucan failed. Amory hated how Kiran turned out before Eden; despite all my grandfather’s efforts it seemed as if Kiran would be as awful as his father. Enter my sister, and the story changed.
                  I supposed it turned out for the better, since even I had grown fond of the spoiled bastard.
                  He, however, knew Ileana on such a deeper level than me; I hadn’t even met her until after Amory was dead. And not until we had secured the throne. Kiran, Eden and I had decided to keep an open, mutually beneficial relationship between our Kingdom and the gypsy village and Ileana genuinely seemed to like me. Granted she loved my sister like Eden was her own daughter, but I knew her affection for me would grow.
                  It didn’t usually take females very long to fall in love with me, but Ileana was a bit unusual. And she had no intentions of marrying me, so that made it a little bit more difficult to flirt my way into her good graces.
                  But I would wear her down.
                  Eventually…. Especially since it did not bode well for me that I hadn’t been to visit her in over a year. I was going to catch hell for that.
    Just as long as there was a decent meal at the end of her long lecture, I could sit through just about anything. I was well trained at spacing out, especially if I was in trouble.
    Amelia slowed down and rolled her motorcycle next to a very old, very thick tree. She shook out her lush head of hair and didn’t