The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set

by Heidi Catherine

  THE NOW

  River pushed open the door to Pip’s bedchamber, disappointed to find the room empty. She’d been hoping Tate was here. His side of the bed had been cold when she’d woken and she’d waited all morning for him to return from the cornfields, disappointed he hadn’t asked her to go with him.

  She’d thought after the closeness they’d shared over the last couple of days that things between them might be different. But it seemed it wasn’t so. Not only did Tate not ask her to come with him, but he hadn’t returned. River had eventually convinced herself that he’d taken Pip her breakfast and ended up staying to talk to her about Edison.

  However, he wasn’t here and nor was Pip for her to ask about his whereabouts. Maybe she’d gone to help Ariel, like she’d said she wanted to. It was strange to think of Pip leaving her room, but River was proud of her newfound courage. If only it hadn’t been Edison who’d been her incentive.

  River left Pip’s room and headed out of the palace. She’d go to the tavern and see if Pip was there. Maybe she’d find Tate on the way.

  As she took the path toward the Guardians’ village, a sick feeling built in her stomach. Something wasn’t right. As soon as she stepped through the hedge, her fears were confirmed. It wasn’t the strewn belongings piled up outside the huts that gave it away, it was more the feeling hanging in the air. There was a quiet sadness hovering over the village like a dark cloud.

  Rushing to her parents’ hut she stepped inside, gasping to find four male Guardians seated around the table. The hut looked entirely different. Her mother’s quilt was missing from her bed and the angel that Daphne had made from straw was missing from the shelf above her bed.

  The men stood and bowed when they saw River.

  “Where are my parents?” she asked.

  The men looked to each other, clearly not wanting to answer.

  “Are my parents all right?” Her heart rate picked up. What had Edison done to them?

  “They’re safe,” one of the men said. “For now.”

  “Then what’s happened here?” River’s hand dragged through her hair as she tried to make sense of what her eyes were telling her.

  “Edison,” another of the men said. “Edison happened. The King has put him in charge of the Guardians. Says he’s our master now.”

  “But what has he done to you?” she asked.

  “Dragged us from our beds in the middle of the night and made us empty our huts,” said the tallest of the men. “He’s divided the village in two. Men to the south. Women and children to the north. He forbids contact between families. We’re not allowed to see our wives or children.”

  River’s heart lurched to see the beginnings of tears in his eyes. Guardians may have been bred to be brave, but they still had hearts. You can’t tear a man from his home and family and expect him to be okay, no matter what tonics he’s been fed.

  “I’m going to fix this,” said River. “I don’t know how, but I’m going to put this right. I’ve been talking to my husband and we’re going to figure this out.”

  “Oh,” all four Guardians said at once, looking to the floor.

  “What?” she asked. “You don’t believe I can fix this?”

  “No, it’s not that,” one of the men said. “It’s just that… well, haven’t you heard? About the Prince, I mean.”

  River took a step back, unsure what she was about to hear, but certain that she wasn’t going to like it.

  “Heard what?” she asked, when nobody seemed to want to explain further. “Please, speak freely. I may be dressed like a Princess, but I assure you that I’m still very much a Guardian. I’m one of you. You can talk to me.”

  “Your husband,” a Guardian said. “He… well, he…”

  “Please, spit it out,” she said, too impatient to care for manners.

  “There was an incident in the cornfields,” the tall Guardian said, taking over once more. “Edison was making us march, for no reason other than to make us march. He was humiliating us, lifting up the tunics of the women and throwing out jibes at the men. Your husband heard the marching and came to stop Edison. But Edison only turned his anger on Prince Tate, taunting him and boasting of how he was going to invade Wintergreen.”

  “Is my husband alive?” she asked, needing to have her worst fears answered immediately.

  “He is. But the King heard the altercation and had Prince Tate sent to the dungeon.”

  River pulled out a chair and sat down, her legs shaking so hard she thought she might collapse.

  “The dungeon?” she asked, despite being certain she’d heard correctly. “The King sided with Edison over his own son?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “This can’t be happening.” River buried her face in her hands, not wanting these men to see how deeply affected she was.

  “Your husband’s a good man,” said the Guardian. “We always thought it, but after what he did today, now we know it. He’s brave and selfless.”

  “He is.” River swallowed back her grief. Surely the dungeon was only a temporary punishment to keep Tate out of the way. The King wouldn’t lock him up forever. He was desperate for her to produce an heir, something that would be impossible with her husband in a dungeon.

  “I’m sorry, Princess.” The Guardians shuffled their feet, not seeming to know what to do with themselves.

  “I need to find Princess Pip,” she said, standing up and brushing down her dress.

  Pip may be angry with Tate right now, but she loved him. He was her brother. She wouldn’t want to see him locked in a dungeon. And if she’d been able to convince the King to spare Edison’s life then surely, she could convince him to let Tate go free.

  “The Princess is with the herbalist,” said the Guardian.

  “Thank you. And thank you for being so frank with me just now. I meant it when I said I was going to fix this. And I needed the truth for that.”

  She left the hut feeling like there was no place left in the world she could call home now. That’s why she needed to find Tate. He was her home now.

  EDISON

  THE NOW

  Edison laughed as he watched his Guardians run around the field. He wanted them to be fast as well as strong. Endurance was important in a battle.

  “Faster,” he hissed as one of the females ran past him, slower than even his own mother could run.

  “Please, Master,” she puffed, coming to a stop in front of him. “I can hear my baby calling for me. I must feed him for him to grow strong.”

  The Guardian pointed to the cluster of Guardian children beside the field, all freaks in the making. The older children were caring for the younger ones, something Edison thought was a genius idea. Why waste the skills of a fully grown Guardian, doing something that really wasn’t all that difficult? Babies needed to be fed and changed and not much else. Feeding them from the breast made that a little more complex and was something he was going to need to give some consideration. Was it really necessary? Surely there was a tonic that could take care of that?

  “Five more laps of the field and you may feed your child,” he said, feeling rather generous this morning.

  The ungrateful Guardian didn’t seem all that pleased with his answer. She really didn’t know how lucky she was. He could have had her killed for questioning his training routine. Or she could join Tate in the dungeon. After all, he seemed to be very keen on the Guardian women, so he’d quite like that.

  The Guardian turned her back and continued her training and Edison shook his head once again at the slowness of her pace.

  He didn’t think it was possible to be any happier than he was right now. Although, he may need to reassess that when he became the King of The Bay of Laurel. His mother believed in the Evernow, saying she was perfectly happy to enjoy her life right now living in the moment, but he’d never heard a bigger load of rubbish. What a ridiculous concept! Why be content with what you had right now, if you knew it was possible to have more?

  To be
more.

  Everything was falling into place so beautifully. He could almost taste his victory. He had the Guardians, he had Pip, and now he had Tate conveniently out of the way. He sniggered to think of the precious Prince locked away in a dungeon. Hopefully, the King would leave him there for a while so he could have a good long think about his place in life.

  Edison should’ve been the King’s son, not Tate. He would’ve made him proud. Anybody could see how embarrassed the King was of his children. So embarrassed that he’d had his son marry a freak of nature in an attempt to redeem himself with strong and worthy grandchildren. But there was going to be no need for that. Pip would produce the true heir. An heir who carried the strength of Edison’s blood. And in the meantime, while the child grew, Edison would be able to lead this kingdom. He just had a few unpleasantries to get out of the way first.

  A flash of color caught his eye over near the tavern as he saw Pip emerge. She was wearing a pink dress with a matching bonnet that she had pulled down over her eyes. After his mother’s protests, he’d agreed to allow Pip to continue to learn in the kitchen. His mother had a point about Pip’s health. She was even thinner now than she’d been when he’d first started visiting her. He needed his mother to build her up a bit if she was going to live long enough to marry him and bear his child. The tonics he’d been giving her had given her a good start, but he was far too busy right now to think about that. Masters needed to delegate.

  He waved at Pip, but soon realized she was never going to see him.

  “Guardian,” he barked at the next soldier to run past. “Fetch me the Princess. Tell her I wish to speak with her.”

  The Guardian nodded twice and took off after Pip, leaving Edison smiling at how efficient it was to have an army of slaves.

  He watched as the Guardian spoke with Pip, then held out his arm as she took hold of him and allowed him to lead her back to Edison. This wiped the smile from Edison’s face.

  “Get your hands off her,” he said to the Guardian, who quickly removed his arm from Pip’s hold.

  Pip stopped where she was, a few feet away from Edison, her face pointed down underneath that stupid bonnet.

  “Look at me,” he said to her. Then turning his gaze to the Guardian. “And you, get back to your running.”

  Pip had tilted her head up just enough that he could see her peeking out at him from under her bonnet.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, shaking his head. She was behaving like some kind of lunatic. He hoped his children wouldn’t turn out like that. He’d need to make sure he kept them well away from her to stop her influencing them with her ridiculous behavior.

  “I’m still adjusting to being outside.” Pip dipped her gaze once more.

  He noticed she was shaking. “You have a whole army here who’d lay down their lives to protect you. You have nothing to be afraid of.”

  “They didn’t protect Tate.” Her words were so quiet he’d had to strain his ears to hear them.

  “Your brother told the Guardians to kill me!” He tried to suppress the rage building inside him, but it was impossible. “Are you not on my side? I thought you said you loved me.”

  “I do,” she said, just a little too quickly. Had her feelings for him changed? Despite being fairly certain her feelings were going to be irrelevant for his plans, it’d be easier if she was on side for now.

  “Pip, my love.” He reached out and took her hands, disappointed to feel her squirm, rather than eagerly grasp him back. “Let me walk you safely back to your bedchamber.”

  “But don’t you have work to do here?” she asked, giving his hands a pathetic squeeze.

  “They can take a break.”

  He looked toward his running Guardians, waving his hands and shouting for them to finish. Several of the women ran toward their children like they were attached with an invisible cord.

  “There,” he said to Pip. “They run when I say run and they stop when I say stop.”

  He’d thought she might be more impressed than she seemed. Women were so difficult to please.

  Looping her hand through the crook of his arm, they set off to the palace.

  “Did you learn much today with my mother?” he asked.

  “I did,” she said, the eagerness he knew so well returning to her voice, as her expression filled with confidence. “She knows so much. She has a tonic for everything.”

  He sighed and stopped to look at Pip. “Pip, my darling. She doesn’t know everything. You’ve seen the Guardians are dying. I told you that I just want you to learn the basics from her. I’ll teach you what you need to know. Have you been drinking the tonics she’s been giving you?”

  “Yes. I do feel a little stronger.”

  “Excellent,” he said. “Just don’t overdo it. You don’t want to get fat for real.”

  The stricken look on Pip’s face was just what he’d hoped for. Far preferable to the confidence she’d displayed only moments ago. Besides, he genuinely didn’t want her to get fat. He liked how scrawny she was. It made her vulnerable, a quality which was the most attractive of any trait a woman could possess. If he’d wanted a woman who was big and strong, he could have married a Guardian. All he needed her to be was strong enough to bear him a child.

  “My mother can be dangerous,” he said. “Don’t trust her. I’m the only one who truly loves you. Always remember that.”

  “Yes, Edison.” She gave him a hollow smile.

  Great. His mother may not have been poisoning the Guardians, but she was most definitely poisoning Pip. Only it wasn’t with her tonics, it was by poisoning her mind.

  “I don’t want you to go back to the tavern,” he said. “It was a bad idea. I want to teach you myself. That way we can spend more time together. I can bring your tonics to your room.”

  “But you’re busy,” she said.

  “Not too busy for the woman I love.” He smiled to cover his lie. Not only was he too busy, but there was no way that he loved his woman. He just couldn’t see his way out of this. She was too important right now for him to risk their relationship. Whatever poison his mother had been feeding her mind with, he needed to find the antidote and win her back. It couldn’t be that hard.

  He paused to tilt her chin up toward him, stooping to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Only instead of it making her quiver in the way it usually did, it made the shaking in her hands increase.

  “I have some wonderful news for you,” he said. “I spoke to your father just now and he’s granted me permission to marry you. And he’s keen for it to happen as soon as possible.”

  “But… but he said he wanted you to prove yourself first.” She reeled back from him and he had to squeeze her hands tighter to keep hold of them.

  “He was angry about what your brother did out there in the fields, but I told him that I knew how he could make it up to me. Aren’t you happy? This is what we’ve been wanting! You’re going to be my wife.”

  “I’m thrilled.” She smiled at him, blinking in an effort to hold back tears. “This wonderful news has made me a little emotional, that’s all.”

  “I love you, Pip. We don’t need anyone else. Not my mother, not Tate, not anybody. Just you and me, okay? You and me.”

  “You and me,” she repeated.

  He let go of her hand to push some hair out of her eyes. “You’re so beautiful.”

  But even these words that he’d first used to steal her heart, weren’t enough.

  His mother had so much to answer for. She was ruining everything. It was time to add her to his list of people he was going to ruin in return.

  PIP

  THE NOW

  Pip lay down on her bed and shuddered. Thankfully she’d managed to avoid having Edison come into her room by convincing him that the wonderful news of their marriage had made her tired.

  Pip knew that sometimes in relationships people fell out of love, but that was usually after the wedding, not before. Or in her parents’ case, she wondered if they’d ever
been in love at all. But how many people could pinpoint the exact moment they fell out of love? And how many of those people fell out of love due to the realization that their future husband wanted them dead.

  She picked up Prin and held her soft woolen body to her chest.

  “I’ve been foolish,” she said.

  Prin stared back at her, unblinking as always, forever the patient listener.

  “You knew he was using me, didn’t you?” asked Pip. “You saw it all.”

  She put Prin down on the bed and went to her windowsill. She really had been a fool. She’d fallen for Edison’s charms. She should’ve known better than that. He hadn’t liked her when they were kids and he didn’t like her now. Nothing had changed.

  Actually, that wasn’t right. Everything apart from his feelings had changed. Tate was locked in the dungeon and Edison was destroying the lives of the Guardians, treating them like he owned them. And his poor mother! Ariel had been so kind to Pip, teaching her all about the different foods and how she used them to make her tonics, including the special one she’d made for Pip, to build up her body with lean muscle and make her strong. Not only that, but Ariel had been the one to open Pip’s eyes and see clearly what she’d become. A skeleton. A waif. A walking corpse.

  It was hard to think of herself like that. She was so used to thinking of herself as fat. She pushed at her middle, watching as the tip of her finger made an indent in her stomach. She was going to try to do her best to build up her strength with Ariel’s tonics, but it wasn’t going to be easy to see her girth expand. Especially if Edison insisted on calling her fat. Her problem was that she still wasn’t convinced she deserved the food she was being given.

  A knock at her door disturbed her thoughts. She went to it and held it closed, not bothering with her spy hole when she knew who it was. She’d had enough of her future husband’s face for one day.

  “Please, let me be, Edison,” she called through the door. “I need to rest.”