The Ever King

“[Erik] had fought against [Livia’s] people; he hated them. Like the serpent from the story hated the birds in the trees for their freedom in the skies.”

Here, L.J. Andrews reinforces the status of the serpent-and-songbird tale as a fable, outlining envy as the source of the serpent’s insidious schemes to devour the bird. Within the analogy of Livia and Erik’s eventual relationship, this passage explains the misdirected anger that Erik carries against Livia and her father, for in reality, Erik’s misguided fury arises from his unresolved feelings toward the now-deceased Thorvald, his abusive father.

“Like my parents, all the kings and queens of our realms fought wars for their titles. Not all were born into the life of a royal, and the twins’ father much preferred being remembered for his life as a schemer and thief than a king.”

In this excerpt, Andrews directly references her previous series, The Broken Kingdoms, in order to establish a timeline between her books. By including these details, she embeds the history of her earlier series within the narrative, relying upon past tensions and character relationships to flesh out her world-building for The Ever King.

“I [Livia] didn’t just want a match because that was expected. I wanted passion, the burn that if my love didn’t touch me soon, I’d burst. I wanted heat, and mess, and obsession.”

In this passage, Andrews foreshadows the quality of Livia’s relationship with Erik, indicating that if Livia privileges passion over practicality, logic will lose out to desire in her dealings with him. Though her romantic hopes indicate the presence of innocence in her emotional makeup, her sentiments also find an echo in Erik’s equally inexperienced approach to matters of the heart.

“When our king leaves us to destruction, the desperate will do anything. Perhaps a new king might finally return the Ever to its former glory.”

This excerpt foreshadows the conclusion of the novel, in which Andrews will finally reveal the showdown between Erik and Larsson in their battle for the throne. The passage also delivers a more abstract form of critique on the nature of high politics and warfare, indicating that the mere act of holding a position as king is not enough to ensure that one’s subjects remain content.

“A simple song from me [Erik] would save Murdo. But with silence, my blood would fester and destroy his insides until his heart gave out.”

This passage ostensibly explains the double-edged sword of Erik’s blood magic, but it also reflects his style of leadership. Erik’s power has a duality that, within the right context, either portrays him as a destroyer or a hero. While such a magical ability could have made him the greatest healer of the Ever kingdom, Andrews implies that social circumstances have robbed Erik of this more benevolent possibility and have instead reforged him as a figure to be feared.

“I [Erik] have opened my gates to every realm, every land where the darkening is fiercest. Yet, you stay, and seek out your own ways to take my throne, my crown, by thieving from your king.”

Here, Erik directly addresses Murdo’s insinuation that he is an inactive king who allows his people to suffer. Andrews uses this instance as a first whisper of Erik’s cunning kindness, and the narrative will eventually reveal that although Erik maintains a façade of ruthlessness, he steadfastly finds ways to help his people survive the curse of the darkening.

“I [Erik] stepped out into the road once more, watching [Livia]. Studying her. She was never theirs anyway. Not really. From the moment the songbird tried to appeal to a serpent, she was mine.”

In Erik’s first encounter with Livia as an adult, his inner monologue reveals his genuine desire for her, even though he later denies this attraction and recases his actions as a way to cause her father harm. Thus, Andrews uses this early scene to indicate that Erik can be an unreliable narrator.

“In the Ever kingdom, they thrived within our realm better than sea folk could live in theirs. Many of the Ever Folk were descendants of kinder times between land and sea.”

In this quote, Andrews implies the possibility of a resolution between earth and sea fae. Although recent history between the two peoples is fraught with war, the joining of their two cultures has been proven possible, and this concept sets the stage for Livia’s migration to the Ever kingdom.

“If what Erik said was true, then as a tiny child, he’d been tortured. It couldn’t be true. The kings and queens, my people, they’d never do such a thing to a little.”

Here, Andrews outlines one of Livia’s main moral dilemmas throughout the narrative. Though she adamantly believes that her family is without moral fault (which, in the case of Erik’s treatment, proves to be true), history nevertheless records the deaths that the earth fae have caused in their wars. Such actions have consequences, and Livia struggles to reconcile them with her family experiences.

“I [Livia] did not want to witness humanity, not a shred of decency, among the sea folk. I wanted to see them for what I’d made them in my mind—cold, cruel, and monstrous.”

Livia’s narration in this quote reveals the sheltered nature of her life amongst her own people. Though her people were at war when she was young and she did witness some of war’s horrors through her power, she nevertheless maintains an oversimplified view of the world. In the end, she must learn that no one is inherently good or evil; most people—no matter the dividing line that separates them—are just people.

“When you sail on the Ever Ship, you’re given a duty, be it king or crew. We work as one, or we don’t live long.”

Though crews on sailing ships typically have a chain of command, Erik’s more egalitarian approach to duty-sharing on the Ever ship speaks to his progressive ideas on leadership. Though he might direct the ship and its crew, he is well aware of each member’s worth and values them for their contributions.

“Broke the way of things. […] Like a fox among tides.”

Sewell’s cryptic comment after seeing the mark of the House of Kings on Livia’s arm indicates that Livia will come to redefine the Ever kingdom. While her very presence disturbs the homogeneity of the sea fae, her relationship with Erik will “break the way of things” as the pair works to revolutionize the kingdom’s conventions and traditions.

“I wanted [Lucien] to suffer. For a moment, I wanted him to suffer more than I did Bloodsinger. I didn’t know this side of myself. Truth be told, she frightened me.”

This excerpt illustrates Livia’s inner development as she begins to feel a form of approval for Erik’s brutal dispensation of justice. Though his practices clash with her own sense of morality, she nevertheless cannot deny the satisfaction of seeing Lucien pay for the harm that he has caused.

“Few people knew how much trouble the wounds from my childhood caused, and I didn’t need reminders that to most of my people the visible scars were marks of a broken king. A weak king.”

In this passage, Erik hints at the impossible social expectations that he has faced all his life as the heir to the throne and then as the king of the Ever kingdom. He is meant to be cold and cruel, infallible and unbeatable—a feat that even his own father could not accomplish, given that Thorvald was killed by Valen. Such expectations underline the idea that compassion and sympathy have been completely erased from Erik’s upbringing.

“No one tried to help the dying heap of a sea singer, most watched as though it were a delightsome part of the evening.”

This quote attests to the fact that the lack of compassion noted in Erik’s upbringing also extends to the general population. Though Livia is able to find caring individuals within the Ever kingdom, she is disturbed by the people’s casual appreciation for gruesome violence and death.

“A sharp anger drove into my [Livia’s] chest. My people often spoke of peace, yet never tried to speak to the sea fae after the war. Almost like we feared any effort to do so might upend the hard-won comforts we enjoyed back home.”

As Livia is exposed to more of the Ever kingdom, this passage attests to her growing understanding of her people’s hypocrisy. With the illusion of their moral superiority crumbling, Livia demonstrates that she can now recognize the finer nuances of the relationship between the two kingdoms, and she no longer unthinkingly believes that her people could only be the “good guys” during the wars.

“I’d [Livia] absorbed the magic from the Ever King’s talisman. I didn’t understand it all, but the truth burned in my breast—I was his mantle, the amplified power of the Ever.”

Livia’s objectification of herself as Erik’s mantle showcases the unresolved tensions and desires that stand between them. While neither of them can deny their mutual attraction, even Livia proves herself to be in denial about what she means to Erik beyond her ability to heal the Ever kingdom.

“Hate me all you want, but don’t regret me. Promise me that.”

In this passage, Erik addresses Livia, and his words highlight the fated—and perhaps doomed—nature of their relationship. Although their chemistry is clearly delineated, their circumstances and respective stations hamper the expression of the more tender, romantic feelings that they begin to have for one another.

“All eyes turned to Erik and his procession. While [the nobles] looked as if their hands had never touched a grain of dirt, the king was travel worn, tousled, and wild, like his Ever Sea.”

Here, Andrews deliberately draws a stark visual parallel in order to explain the political tensions within the Ever kingdom. While Erik is depicted as a man on the front lines, his advisors and the lords of the five Houses remain unblemished and thus intentionally removed from the issues facing the kingdom.

“To see the tormented flesh, my mind could not reconcile with the notion that it might be true. My family had humanity. They were just and fair. Loving. The thought of them seeing an innocent as nothing more than a tool was nauseating.”

Though Livia’s assessment of her family would prove correct in the sense that they never tortured Erik, her remark does bear on the actions taken by Erik’s father and uncle. While Valen and the others would never think to harm or abuse a child, Thorvald and Harald never had such qualms and normalized their own abusive behavior toward Erik.

“When I was snatched by earth fae clans during their small wars to be harvested for healing blood as a tiny boy, there were a great many details I kept to myself about my father’s attempts to retrieve me, both during and after. Had I not been a son, I would’ve been forgotten.”

In this passage, Erik explores the levels of misogyny embedded in the Ever kingdom’s social institutions. Though royalty is often prized above all other forms of social status, his remarks confirm that even a woman’s noble birth wouldn’t allow her to hold value within Ever society. The only exception is within the House of Mist, but even there, such recognition is limited.

“Men back home looked at me, but most saw me as Valen Ferus’s daughter, a royal ambition to earn the eye of the earth bender king.”

Livia’s words in this passage reveal much about her people. Although the earth fae clans do sport a more egalitarian society, Livia’s inner monologue shows that the objectification of women remains a prominent factor. Her value, despite her station, is judged only in the context of her relationship with her father. Though Erik may have initially intended to harm Valen by kidnapping Livia, she later admits that Erik is the only man to recognize her worth outside of her parents’ influence.

“Erik let me shoulder it, let me know the truth [of the dangers in the Ever kingdom] to find a way to live with it, instead of the fear.”

This excerpt echoes Livia’s assessment of her parents’ style of ruling, wherein “when one bent under the weight of their crown, the other would take it for them both” (284). This passage thus implies that Erik trusts Livia just as Livia’s parents trust the other with the burdens of reality. Ultimately, Erik trusts Livia to bear and share the burdens of the Ever kingdom with him.