The Ever King

Erik Bloodsinger is one of the main characters and one of the novel’s two first-person narrators. He is the son of Thorvald (the former king of the Ever) and Oline Mistmaker, and he is also Lady Narza’s grandson. He is also cousins with Tait Heartwalker, and (unbeknownst to him until the end of the narrative) he is Larsson Bonekeeper’s half-brother. As a child, Erik was brutalized by his father, who sought to mold him into the stereotypical ideal of the Ever king: a heartless, ruthless, emotionless entity who leads with the greedy goal of expanding his power. Erik’s magical power, or “song,” is to either heal or poison individuals through his blood, and when this fact was discovered, the young Erik quickly became nothing more than an experiment to the brutal Thorvald. Thorvald tricked both Erik and his mother by poisoning himself and Oline and making Erik choose which to save. Oline begged Erik to save his father at the cost of her own life, and Erik therefore lost his mother—the only parent who truly cared for him. His hesitance in this critical moment also earned him Thorvald’s unrelenting disdain.

As heir to the throne, the young Erik was then kidnapped by earth fae clans and endured brutal torture as they collected and experimented on his blood. Stieg, Valen’s captain of the guards, was also imprisoned with him, and Stieg protected him. Thorvald allegedly made little effort to save Erik and considered having another son instead of saving him. Erik was eventually brought into Valen’s custody, and when Valen faced off against his father, Thorvald was repulsed by the scars left on Erik’s body. The two kings eventually battled one another, and Valen killed Thorvald, igniting Erik’s deep hatred for Valen. (Erik’s hatred stemmed from the fact that after Thorvald’s death, it is impossible for Erik to ever regain his father’s approval.) During his time in Valen’s custody, Erik met Livia when she came to read to him, and he also saved her uncle Tor when Tor was nearly slain in battle. Erik used his blood powers to heal Tor as a way of thanking Stieg. (All of this history predates the main plotline of The Ever King.)

The adult Erik describes himself as having “the same bronze-brown skin [as Tait],” and he also notes that “the scars on the back of [his] neck reddened with irritation when [his] hair grew too long” (53). Because of the numerous scars on his body, Erik is sensitive to comments about his physical appearance, and he is specifically triggered by the word “mangled” or any other indications that describe him as being broken. Although he initially plans to use Livia to reignite a war with Valen and take his revenge for the death of his father, Erik eventually falls in love with Livia and names her his equal as the first Ever queen. When Larsson kidnaps Livia, Erik seeks help from her father and is captured by her friends and family in turn.

Larsson Bonekeeper is the hidden villain of the narrative. He has been masquerading as Erik’s ally and crew member. As the son of Thorvald and an unnamed earth fae woman, he is Erik’s half-brother and Tait’s cousin. Much is yet unknown about his origins, but he is described as being handsome and having no “song,” or power. Larsson has worked as Erik’s second mate on the Ever ship, and like other members of the crew, he swore an unbreakable oath never to harm Erik. Unbeknownst to Erik or to any of the other crew members, however, Larsson has found a way to evade this constraint and actively plots against Erik, seeking to overthrow him. Larsson adamantly believes that he should be king of the Ever. His goal leads him to experiment with a sea witch, and this association results in the darkening: a rotting plague on the lands of Ever. The narrative heavily implies that Larsson has organized some of the assassination attempts on Erik’s life over the years, including the one that forces Livia kill a man with her powers. Under his role as Erik’s second mate, Larsson remained inconspicuous until he reveals himself at the end of the narrative, kidnapping Livia and stabbing Tait.

Celine Tidecaller and Gavyn Seeker are two secondary characters and serve as Erik and Livia’s allies. Although they are siblings who care for one another, neither of them can claim their relationship in public because of their family history. Their father, Sewell (the hardened but sweet-natured cook of the Ever ship) was once the lord of the House of Bones until he dared to defy an order from Thorvald, who demanded that Sewell’s wife, a siren, be murdered. Instead, Sewell hid his wife and their newborn siren daughter, Celine, while also hiding the truth of Gavyn’s power as a seeker—one who has a travel-based power that allows him to enter any space undeterred. Although Gavyn’s power was never discovered, Sewell’s wife and Celine were discovered by Harald (Erik’s uncle and Tait’s father), who promptly executed Sewell’s wife and tortured the young Celine. Cunningly, Erik tricked his uncle into giving him custody of Celine and hid her among his crew on the Ever ship. Sewell joined her after Gavyn sprung him from jail. Eventually, Gavyn took on his father’s role as lord of the House of Bones and has remained Erik’s steadfast confidant and ally ever since. Celine, meanwhile, has lost her ability as a siren but has developed another song that allows her to call the tide (hence her surname). Though hesitant, she quickly becomes friends with Livia after the Livia saves Sewell during the fight with Lucien in Skondell.

Tait Heartwalker is Erik’s staunch ally. He is also Harald’s son, Thorvald’s nephew, and Erik and Larsson’s cousin. Although royal by blood, Tait is devoted to serving Erik in all ways, even when he is forced to counsel Erik against his own judgment. Though he and Erik initially shared a close familial bond when they were children, Harald purposefully soured this relationship when Erik was named the new king of Ever. Tait’s power allows him to read a person’s true intentions and has used his ability to verify Livia’s trustworthiness on a handful of occasions.

Described as being “more than a little intimidating,” he bears a “black ink tattoo of a skull and crossed daggers over his chest” and has a “soft glow of red” (122) in his eyes. By the end of the narrative, he and Erik have begun to heal the damage that Harald inflicted on their relationship. When Tait intervenes in Livia’s kidnapping, Larsson stabs him and leaves him for dead. It is only through Erik’s healing song and blood that Tait is able to survive.

As Erik’s abusive father, Thorvald plays the part of a villain in the narrative. Now deceased, he was once the king of Ever and confronted Livia’s father, Valen, during the war between the earth fae and the sea fae. He is Erik and Larsson’s father and Harald’s brother. In Thorvald’s search for power, he told Oline that he was in love with her and convinced her to be claimed by him. As a gift of their union, Lady Narza had given Thorvald a golden talisman/mantle that would give him ultimate power over the seas—but only if he developed a genuine bond with Oline. Thorvald, however, was never made aware of this stipulation, and he never developed a healthy relationship with his wife. During Erik’s childhood, Thorvald abused his son repeatedly, and he eventually forced Erik to choose to save either him or his mother, as a loyalty test. Torn and confused, the young Erik heeded his mother’s entreaties to save Thorvald. Thorvald never held much love for Erik and Oline, and as a king, he was known for making ruthless and outrageous demands, such as asking Sewell to kill his own wife just as Thorvald had engineered Oline’s death. During the war, Thorvald dies by Valen’s hand, but even as an adult, Erik remains haunted by his inability to earn his abusive father’s approval.

Aleksi “Alek” Bror-Ferus is the son of Sol Ferus (the Sun Prince) and Torsten “Tor” Bror. He is also Livia’s cousin and confidant. As the youngest captain of the Rave warriors, Alek boasts strong physical abilities. He and Erik share an unresolved debt, because Erik once saved Tor’s life with his blood during the war. When Erik kidnaps Livia, Alek resolves to find her and eventually glamours or bewitches Gavyn into bringing him to the Ever kingdom. There, Alek witnesses Livia’s love for Erik and works with them to amend the relationship between their kingdoms. When Livia is kidnapped, Alek accompanies Erik to the earth fae clan to convince them to save her.

Lady Narza is the greatest sea witch in all of the Ever kingdom and heads the House of Mist. She is also Oline’s mother and Erik’s grandmother. Though she never fully trusted Thorvald, she, like Oline, was convinced by his charm that his love for Oline was genuine. After Oline and Thorvald’s death, however, Narza was exiled from the palace and was unable to meet Erik while his uncle humiliated and brutalized him. Her absence from Erik’s life made her appear negligent, and as a result, her relationship with Erik is now tense and filled with unresolved regrets.