The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set

by Heidi Catherine

  Azrael and Micah both laughed and a realization struck Raphael.

  He was no longer lonely. He was about to travel to The Bay of Laurel with these two intriguing and strong women beside him so they could rescue the girl who’d captured his heart in much the same way she’d been captured, in that it’d happened without his consent.

  “Come on,” said Azrael, motioning from the door.

  He swung his legs out of the bed and went to her, wondering why people tried so hard to shape their own destiny. It seemed to him that destiny was powerful enough to unfold all by itself.

  MICAH

  THE BEFORE

  Micah paced the passageways of the Colony feeling more than a little claustrophobic. She could never live underneath the ground. There wasn’t enough room for her to move and breathe. The only thing that had ever come close to making her feel like this was when she’d been a Whisperer and forced to shave her head, dress in an orange robe and live in total silence.

  Although, at least down here in the Colony, she wasn’t in fear of her life. Nobody was going to cut off her head for talking when she wasn’t supposed to. Which was lucky as talking was her most favorite thing to do. After fidgeting, which she knew she did all the time, including when she was asleep. Or eating. Or spending time with Tallis.

  Oh, Tallis! The thought of him sent her legs pacing faster and she decided to see if she could find the passageway that led to the entrance of this strange underground world. She knew it would be hot outside but she desperately wanted to see the sun again. And maybe it would distract her from thinking about her husband, who she was missing a whole lot more than she’d thought she would.

  Perhaps she should’ve let Tallis come with her. He’d certainly wanted to and she’d had a tough time explaining to him that this was something she needed to do without him. Thankfully, Tallis wasn’t a jealous man. She didn’t know many husbands who’d allow their wife to walk into the desert with another man. But Tallis knew their relationship was stronger than ever. They’d been through so much together, from the days they were starving children running wild, to the sensible grown-ups they were today.

  She turned a corner and felt the slightest of inclines. That had to be a good sign. As long as her footsteps kept going up, she had to reach ground level eventually. Or sand level might be a better way to put it.

  It was good to have her energy back. She’d heard the healers were good at what they did, but she hadn’t realized just how effective their treatments were. To think that they were able to do all that work just with the palms of their hands.

  “Want some company?” asked Azrael, appearing beside her.

  “You have a habit of doing that!” Micah put her hand to her heart and laughed.

  “Doing what?” Azrael tilted her head.

  “Sneaking up on people.”

  “I didn’t sneak.” Azrael laughed and Micah noticed how pretty she was with a smile on her face. “You were just deep in thought.”

  “I’m trying to find the way out of this maze you live in.”

  “Ah, then you’re on the right track. It’s just up there.” Azrael pointed. “Need some fresh air?”

  Micah nodded, falling into step beside her.

  “Took me a while to get used to it down here, too,” said Azrael.

  “You mean you weren’t born down here?” she asked, yet again surprised to learn this about Azrael.

  “No, I was sixteen when I arrived. I grew up in the Capital.”

  Micah had heard all about the circular city in the middle of the desert known as the Round, connected to the Colony by an underground tunnel.

  “I’m told it’s beautiful there,” said Micah.

  “It is now.” Azrael’s voice was hard. “But I don’t like going there. Too many bad memories.”

  “Freya’s your mother, isn’t she?” asked Micah.

  “She is,” said Azrael. “But I didn’t meet her until I came here. It’s kind of a long story.”

  “My mother’s dead,” said Micah, flatly. “And my father. And the baby that was in my mother’s belly.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Azrael nodded at her with solemn eyes.

  “Me, too.” Micah swallowed down her pain. “But at least I got my brother back. And now I have Tallis. He’s my husband. Do you have a husband?”

  “I don’t want a husband,” said Azrael, the hard edge creeping back into her voice.

  “I didn’t really, either.” Micah bit down on her lip as she said this. “It took Tallis a long time to convince me to marry him. I like to be free and he promised to always respect that. I guess he wore me down with that kind heart of his.”

  “Kind is good,” said Azrael.

  “It is,” she agreed.

  “Here.” Azrael pointed to a steep slope with a doorway at the top. “Brace yourself for the heat. You might want to adjust your veil first.”

  Micah tried to copy what Azrael was doing with her veil as she lifted it from her neck and draped it over her head and looped it over her shoulders. But Micah got herself tangled in such a knot, all she could do was stand there and laugh.

  “Here, let me.” Azrael lifted the veil from Micah’s shoulders and fixed it. Her movements were swift and gentle and she did it all without making any contact with Micah.

  “I’ve noticed you don’t usually touch people unless you’re healing them,” said Micah.

  “It’s just a habit.” Azrael smiled but offered no explanation. “Come on.”

  She opened the door and held it for Micah who stepped through, wincing as a blast of heat hit her in the face.

  “Intense!” she said through her veil.

  “Follow me.” Azrael walked away from the Colony and up a steep dune.

  Micah dug her feet into the hot sand and followed. It was no wonder she and Raphael had nearly perished out here. How had Lily survived?

  They walked to the top of the dune and Micah’s mouth fell open at the spectacular view before them. The red sand dunes rolled across the landscape in every direction. It looked like the world had been turned upside down and the sky had turned red.

  “It’s so…” She found herself unable to find a word that would do this kind of view justice.

  “I know.” Azrael laughed with her eyes and led Micah across the top of the dune to a place where the sand was being shaded by a giant sail. She sat down and patted the sand next to her.

  Micah cautiously sat down, afraid the sand might burn her, only to find that although it was hot, it lacked the ferocity of the sand they’d just trudged across.

  “This is where the wedding was,” said Azrael. “Under this sail. We were all looking down over this dune when Lily vanished.”

  Micah scanned the vast desert, understanding for the first time why it’d been so hard to search for a missing child out here. The way the steep dunes dropped away without warning and the brightness of the sun meant it was impossible to get a full picture of the landscape. And that was without sand blowing in her eyes.

  “It seems so empty, but there are a thousand places to hide,” said Micah, trying to imagine what it must have been like for Lily out here all by herself.

  “Especially given we didn’t know what direction to start looking for her.” Azrael swept her hand out across the dunes. “She was here one moment and gone the next.”

  “It will be good for Raphael to see this.” Micah hoped he’d be able to sense more than she could, which at this stage was nothing. She had no idea where Lily could have gone. Coming here had been of no help at all. Except for meeting Azrael and convincing her to join them. She still wasn’t sure how they’d even managed that.

  “The desert’s a beautiful place as long as you respect it,” said Azrael.

  “I don’t think I could live here,” said Micah. “But I can see why you love it.”

  Azrael pulled a face. “I love it here as much as I can love it anywhere.”

  “Life was cruel to you before you came here, wasn’t it?” asked M
icah, a few things clicking into place.

  Azrael nodded. “No crueler than it was to you, I’m sure.”

  “Is that why you agreed so easily to come with us?” she asked, certain she’d almost figured things out. “We thought we’d have a tough time convincing you.”

  “Partly. But it was true what I told you. Our kingdom let your niece down. And when I saw her in that vision, she looked so sad. I know what it’s like to be taken from your mother and spend your life feeling trapped. If I can save one person from experiencing that, then I will.”

  “You’re so calm. So wise.” Micah kicked at the sand in front of them and instantly regretted it when it flicked back at her.

  Azrael laughed. “I wasn’t always like this. I used to be quite feisty as a girl. A bit like you, actually. But healing people has taught me to temper that energy and use it only when it’s needed most.”

  “I wish I could learn to do that,” said Micah, struggling to imagine Azrael as a feisty young girl. “Everyone’s always telling me to keep still. I need to be more like you.”

  Azrael shook her head furiously at this. “No, don’t. Be like you. Exactly like you. That’s who you’re meant to be. Never compare yourself to anyone. Lily doesn’t want two of me rescuing her. She wants her Aunt Micah.”

  “I liked being an Aunt,” said Micah, edging toward something she’d wanted to ask Azrael about when Raphael hadn’t been around.

  “You’d be a great aunt,” said Azrael. “Fun and brave. You would’ve taught Lily how to be the best kind of Princess.”

  “I wanted children of my own.” Micah pushed back the tears that stung at her eyes. “But it seems no child wanted me. I’ve lost two babies now. Neither of them lived long enough to be born alive.”

  “Oh, Micah!” Azrael moved closer to her, although she stopped short of taking her hand.

  “D-do you think you can heal me?” Micah stifled a sob, determined not to let it out. “I mean, that p-part of me?”

  “I can try. I promise you I’ll try,” she said. “You know that Raphael might have some oils to help you as well. And I’m sure The Bay of Laurel would have a tonic.”

  “Please don’t tell anyone.” Micah felt heat in her face and not from the hot desert sand. “I don’t want anyone to know. I haven’t even told Jeremiah or I’m sure he would’ve whispered for a baby for me. I don’t want the Whisperers making wishes for me when there are so many other people in worse situations. Like Lily.”

  “We’re going to get her back,” said Azrael. “And of course I won’t tell anyone.”

  Micah nodded. “Thank you.”

  “There you are!”

  They spun around to see Raphael approaching. “I was told I might be able to find you out here.”

  “This is the spot, Raph,” said Micah, jumping to her feet. “The wedding happened under this sail. See if you can feel anything.”

  Raphael paced around, scanning from left to right. Every now and then he’d stop and close his eyes.

  “Do you think he senses anything?” whispered Azrael.

  Micah shrugged. “I have no idea how his visions work. Maybe?”

  After some time, Raphael returned to them, shaking his head.

  “I was sure I’d feel something,” he said. “But…”

  “It’s okay, Raph!” said Micah, hating the crushed look on his face. “I couldn’t feel anything either. Nor could Azrael.”

  “I was sure I would,” he said.

  “Then it looks like we’re off to The Bay of Laurel as planned,” said Azrael.

  Micah clapped her hands. The kingdoms were uniting at last, not just by words and promises but by combining their powers to turn the bad into good.

  With any luck, the herbalist would have had a vision of Lily, too, and would be as easy to convince as Azrael had been. Or Princess Philippa.

  But for some reason, she found it impossible to imagine Princess Philippa without seeing an image of her shaking her head.

  PIP

  THE BEFORE

  Pip shook her head and firmly crossed her arms. “Absolutely not.”

  “Why not?” asked Ariel, pushing the tonic toward her.

  Pip sighed. She trusted Ariel more than anybody. She wasn’t just her teacher and mentor, but her friend. Although, just because she trusted her didn’t mean she had to drink everything she put in front of her.

  “It will make you strong,” said Ariel.

  “I’m strong enough!” Pip shook her head. It was Ariel’s mission in life to fatten her up after she’d become dangerously thin when she was younger.

  “Just drink it, Pip.” Ariel blinked at her with an expression of pure innocence.

  “Ariel, I love you and I know you care about me, but I make my own tonics now.” Pip pushed the tonic back to her. Being fat was just as unhealthy as being too thin.

  “You need your strength,” said Ariel.

  “Why?” Pip narrowed her eyes and stared at Ariel, certain she was up to something.

  “I’m not sure.” Ariel blinked and looked away. “I just have the feeling you’re going to need to be strong for whatever life throws at you next.”

  Ariel often said things like this and usually, Pip knew better than to ignore her. But this was different. She knew how to take care of herself.

  “I’ll make myself a strengthening tonic later, okay?” she said. “I promise.”

  Ariel huffed as she lifted her tonic to her lips and drank it herself.

  “I didn’t want to waste it!” she said, wiping her mouth with her apron. “I don’t mind getting fat.”

  “So you admit it! You did add something in there for weight.”

  “I admit it,” said Ariel. “What are you going to do to me? Throw me in the dungeon?”

  Pip didn’t laugh. The idea of being thrown into the dungeon wasn’t funny ever since it happened to her brother, Tate. Not that he’d stayed there for long. When their father died, Tate had not only been released, but he’d been crowned King of The Bay of Laurel.

  “No dungeons,” said Pip. “I’m going to send you to the garden to pick me some more thyme instead. Please?”

  “Very happy to do that for you.” Ariel lifted her long skirt to her ankles and swept out of the kitchen to her beloved herb garden, while Pip got busy sorting through a basket of celery she’d picked that morning.

  Silence. That was better. Pip had spent years as a recluse closed away in her bedchamber. But things were different now. She’d been lured from her room by Edison—a man who’d told her that he loved her but turned out to love nobody but himself. However, he was dead now and the only part of that Pip was sorry for was that Ariel had lost her son. She’d deserved so much better than a selfish son like that. So had Pip.

  Despite the way things had gone, Pip was glad for the role Edison had played in her life. Without him, she was sure the only way she would’ve ever left her bedchamber would’ve been as a corpse.

  Pip smiled as she reached for a bunch of celery and sliced into it, her knife moving swiftly through the stalks like they were made from butter. She tasted one of them to check how bitter this crop was, pleased to find the flavor was mild.

  This kitchen was where she belonged, not in the palace wearing fancy dresses and fending off proposals from potential suitors more interested in her title than who she was as a person. She had her tonics, she had Ariel, and she had her nephew and nieces in the palace. Living amongst the Guardians in the village on the outskirts of the palace grounds was where she felt most comfortable.

  “Hey there.”

  She looked up from her chopping board to see a Guardian leaning on the doorframe. Not just any Guardian, but Griffen, a man who sent a whole rush of confusing feelings racing through her brain. He was tall and blond, like all the Guardians, but there was something about him that’d always stood out to Pip. Perhaps one day she’d work out what it was.

  “Hey,” she said, focusing fiercely on the celery, hoping he hadn’t seen the blush she
knew had spread to her cheeks. He must think she was permanently the shade of the beetroot tonic she served the Guardians once a week.

  “Need any help with that?” he asked.

  “I’m fine thanks.” She winced at the way her voice had squeaked when she talked.

  “Wise,” he said. “I’d probably chop off one of my fingers if you gave me that knife.”

  He held up his enormous hands and she laughed. As a Guardian, he was built for strength and power, not dexterity.

  “Do you need me to bring anything in or out for you?” He seemed to be looking for a job. With peace spreading across the kingdoms, the Guardians weren’t needed as much to protect the kingdom. Instead, they got involved in distributing the tonics to the wider population to ensure everyone had the opportunity to grow to be strong.

  “Not today, thank you.” She breathed in, pleased her voice had returned to a more regular tone.

  “You know I’m always happy to help.”

  “I know that.” She smiled and went back to her chopping. Griffen was such a kind man. Always helping Pip and Ariel by carrying heavy supplies or going to the Bay to collect some of the rarer ingredients they needed. They had Ariel’s husband, Jacob, to help them too, but often he was busy weaving belts or making dolls for the children in the village or spending time with Tate. It was a strange connection that Jacob had with Tate, but Pip never questioned it, knowing Tate saw Jacob as the father he’d never had. And perhaps for Jacob, Tate was like the son he’d lost.

  “The tonic was delicious this morning,” said Griffen, not seeming to want to move from her doorway. “It had a bit of a kick to it.”

  “Wonderful.” She picked up the celery pieces and added them to the large pot on her stove. “I tried adding a pinch of chili powder this time. I was worried it might be too much.”

  “It was perfect.” He grinned at her in a way she couldn’t interpret.

  “Did I say something funny?” She tilted her head and willed her cheeks to return to their normal pale complexion.