The Reluctant King (The Star-Crossed Series) by Rachel Higginson

only one who understood her and it was only because of our twin connection.
                  “What was that, Love?” Kiran asked, putting a hand on her lower back.
                  “Terletov,” I ground out for her. “I should have thought of him immediately.”
                  “But I thought he died?” Seraphina asked in a small voice.
                  “He did, I mean, Eden took his magic and Lucan had him and his men killed after the Titan Guard brought him back here,” I explained, wondering where Eden’s thought train was headed.
                  “I, um, I didn’t take everyone’s magic,” Eden explained weakly. I felt regret and ice cold fear ignite her magic. Kiran instinctively put his arms around her. “There were a few men that escaped. I let them go…. I couldn’t…. I didn’t want to be the reason any more Immortals lost their lives. I haven’t really thought about the kidnapping since it happened. I mean…. I’ve really tried not to think about it.”
                  I wanted to put a comforting arm on my sister, knowing the very thought of how vulnerable Terletov had made her feel when he shot her and dragged her from Lucan’s imprisonment unnerved her. Hell, it unnerved me. And I realized that I too had tried to put that entire incident behind me.
                  I should have thought of him immediately.
                  “But there were probably more Immortals involved than what were with you, Eden,” Talbott reasoned rationally. And he was right.
                  “Were you part of the rescue team?” I asked him, having a hard time remembering.
                  “No, I wasn’t. But I was debriefed later. Lucan sent a team of Titans to see if they could sniff anything else out, but our hands were tied with Eden and you and I don’t think they were able to dig very deep. They followed a trail from Latvia through Hungary, but then it went dead. Other Titans had followed Delia and Justice to our neck of the woods and so they left the mission in Hungary and returned here.” Talbott spouted out the details slowly as if he was struggling to remember them too.
                  “Gabriel and I will pick up where they left off,” Silas stood abruptly. And with his movement I could feel the magical current of the room snap and pop with anxious, determined energy. I wasn’t the only Immortal restless and bored apparently.
                  “I’ll go with you,” Sebastian volunteered.
                  I shot a quick glance to Seraphina, wondering if she would give him her permission but she just rolled her eyes and then avoided looking at him completely.
                  “Alright, and you’ll leave first thing in the morning,” I conceded, ignoring the devastating pang of disappointment at being left behind. There was a time when I would have been sent first to investigate and control a situation. Now I was chained to a golden throne I couldn’t even sit in until it was doused with some seriously strong disinfectant. “We can stop this before anything gets out of hand. Be diligent and thorough and call for back up at the first sign of trouble. I will assemble a team that will be able to meet you at a moment’s notice, but for now let’s keep this investigation discreet. We don’t need to cause any unnecessary attention and spook these guys.”
                  “Or scare the people,” Eden offered in a voice barely above a whisper.
                  I barely contained a growl of anxious energy. It felt good to plan and delegate again, and for plans more important than political parties.
                  With those final orders the meeting dispersed. I watched as Talbott walked to Lilly and pulled her into his arms. Kiran whispered soothing words into Eden’s ear and even Seraphina