The Ever King

Three men enter the bedchamber and try to capture her, but she escapes to the garden below and uses the soil and the plants that she has revived to kill one of the men. The other two assault her and promise that she won’t be healing the land for Erik. As they are about to brutalize her, Erik arrives and protects her, suffering a stab wound. The assassins try to run, but Livia uses her magic to trap them in vines. Livia tries to staunch Erik’s bleeding wound, but when Tait and others arrive, they mistake her for Erik’s assailant. They think to call the royal boneweaver, but the man is drunk from the revelry and unfit to heal Erik. Livia then thinks to take on some of Erik’s healing powers, just as he took on her earth powers earlier. She then heals him. She and Tait argue, and they eventually move Erik to his room and collect herbs for Livia to use.

Livia gives Erik her blood. When Erik sings, the blood slows the bleeding, but he is too weak to fully heal himself. Livia and Tait work together to make a poultice out of the medicinal herbs, then remove the blade from his body. After they stabilize him, Tait tells Livia to clean herself, but she refuses to leave, because she doesn’t trust anyone but herself with Erik’s safety. They compromise, and while Livia stays with Erik, Tait guards them from outside the bedchamber. Livia keeps watch as Erik sleeps.

Erik wakes to find Murdock the boneweaver checking his wound. They bicker, and Murdock tells Erik that he has been unconscious for two nights. Erik asks for Livia, who is off wandering. He finds her in the secluded cove by the water, and she berates him for getting out of bed. They talk of the man she killed and the emotional toll that this act has taken on her. He comforts her, and they lie in the sand together, discussing her hatred of what was done to Erik in the past. As they look at the stars, he tells her the tale of their star constellations. He points to Nightfire, the man chained to the skies in punishment for saving his love from an arranged marriage; Nightfire’s freedom depended on his lover finding him. His lover, in turn, made a deal with the goddess of hearts, trading her life to become a beacon for Nightfire to find her. Livia questions whether the lovers were ever reunited. While looking intently at her, Erik states his belief that they were.

Celine finds Erik and Livia in the cove and tells Erik that Gavyn is back. He leaves Livia behind to sleep and finds Gavyn severely injured. Gavyn explains that although he made it through the Chasm with his magic, Alek was there, waiting for him. Gavyn tried to return, but Alek followed him. When Erik looks at Alek, who is dying, Erik recognizes him from when he was a child. Erik debates whether to keep him alive, and Livia arrives and begs him to save her cousin Alek’s life. Erik uses his power to heal Alek. He orders Tait and Sewell to escort Livia out.

Feeling betrayed, Livia asks to be taken back to her cousin, but the others refuse, claiming that she was straining Erik’s song. When she returns, Alek is awake and lucid. He explains that he and the other earth fae have been trying to reach her for weeks, leading to many losses. Alek states that he worked a magical glamour on Gavyn in order to come through the Chasm along with him. Alek offers to take Livia’s place as a captive, invoking the penance that his family owes to Erik for saving his father. Erik tries to suppress this conversation, but Alek explains that Livia’s vision as a child had been accurate: Her uncle Tor had nearly been slain, and Erik had used his blood to save Tor. Alek then reveals that when Erik was a child, their family had saved him from a different earth fae clan and had brought Erik to his father. Livia demands to know how Erik knows Stieg, and Erik eventually capitulates.

In their bedchamber, Livia expresses her anger with Erik, who allowed her to believe that her family had been the ones to torture him while they held him captive. They have sex.

In bed, Livia once again asks Erik how he knows Stieg. He explains that, like himself, Stieg had been a captive and had tried to protect him. Erik had trusted him thereafter, and he acknowledges that Livia’s family had indeed saved him. Erik’s own father, Thorvald, had been disdainful of the scars left from his torture, and Livia’s father (Valen) had defended Erik and offered him a home in recompense for saving Livia’s uncle Tor. Erik had been convinced that he needed to gain favor with his father, and when Thorvald died, Erik swore to avenge him; for this reason, he refused Valen’s offer.

Erik also explains his relationship with Gavyn, who was the son of the previous lord of the House of Bones. Gavyn should have died for being born a seeker—one with a travel-based power that allows him to enter any space undeterred. However, Gavyn’s father kept Gavyn’s power a secret. Then, Thorvald decided that Gavyn’s father needed to kill his mate, a siren, in order to show his devotion to the Ever kingdom, so Gavyn’s father hid her instead. His trickery—and Celine’s birth—was eventually discovered by Erik’s uncle, who killed the siren and tortured Celine. By then, Erik had become king himself, and through a series of clever lies, he managed to hide Celine among the servants, then on his ship. Gavyn’s father allegedly disappeared not long afterward.

Later that night, while Livia is sleeping, Erik finds Alek, and they discuss whether Livia has a choice in their relationship. Erik explains that her wounds were caused by the assassins that they captured, and he offers Alek a chance to help him torture the assassins for information. Alek accepts.

Livia meets Alek and the others in the great hall. They promise to exchange news, but then Erik arrives in full regalia and the king’s crown. He addresses the nobles and speaks of the attack on Livia. The assassins are dragged into the main hall. One of them, dubbed Snake Eyes, questions Erik’s claim to the throne. As everyone watches, Erik tosses Livia onto that very throne, visually marking her as his equal. He claims that he will not bow to the legacies of his forefathers, and he then names Livia the first Ever Queen. He offers Livia the choice to stay with him if she wishes, and although she knows that she will miss her family, she believes that she needs Erik in her life and therefore chooses to stay. He then slaughters the assassins in front of everyone, as punishment for the men’s attack on her.

Erik confronts his noble council members, who disagree with his decision to name an Ever Queen. However, he has Gavyn and Narza’s support. Erik uses the damning information that Gavyn provided in order to pressure the other House lords into submission. Alistair finds Erik and discusses the possibility of peace talks with the earth fae, cautioning him against angering the House lords, who will need to be involved in the process. Narza then finds him and asks if he has given his heart. He confirms this and promises to burn his kingdom and start fresh if he cannot have Livia. He enters his room to find Livia, Tait, Alek, and Celine working on a missive to her father. He kicks everyone out and gifts Livia a necklace and matching earrings made from the bones of her assassins. They have sex.

Weeks later, Livia and Alek speak of her choice to remain with Erik, and they also discuss the debt that Alek has felt toward Erik since he was a child. Larsson arrives to inform Livia that the darkening is spreading to the Black Isles and that she is to meet Erik there. She goes to the dock with Larson but finds the area oddly empty. Tait arrives, and when Livia informs him of their destination, he tells her that Erik is still in the palace and has no idea what Larsson is talking about. Larsson stabs Tait in the stomach, and although Livia struggles to escape, Larsson contains her and tells her that it is time for her to be of use to him, the true Ever king, instead of to his brother. She accuses him of starting the darkening, and he confirms this, calling it an unfortunate accident. As he gives her over to his minions, she promises him that Erik will slaughter them all.

Erik hurries to the docks and finds Tait, then heals him with his blood. They quickly figure out that Larsson is Thorvald’s bastard son and Erik’s half-brother. Erik suspects that Larsson is bonded with a sea witch who helped him to inflict the darkening on the world. They desperately search for Livia, but Erik can no longer feel her through their bond. Gavyn uses his power to seek her out and bids farewell to Celine and his father, Sewell. Before leaving, Gavyn and Alek convince Erik to ask Valen, Livia’s father, for help. Although Tait cautions Erik against this path, Erik travels across the Chasm anyway. He and Alek disembark from the Ever ship onto a smaller boat and are immediately captured by Livia’s friend, Jason, and his illusions. Jason promises Erik that he will die at Valen’s hands.