The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set

by Heidi Catherine

  This was the one request of hers that he’d denied and she’d been furious with him. She still was.

  But they belonged to the palace. They weren’t his to give.

  A scream behind him reminded him of why he’d come to the throne room today.

  Angel.

  Had she been his to give?

  Going to his throne, he took a seat and ran his fingertips over the diamond-encrusted armrests as he waited for Norris to set down the squirming sack at his feet.

  “Undo it,” Sterling commanded.

  Norris did as he was told and unknotted the string that held the sack closed. As soon as it was partially open, Angel’s hands burst through as she tore the sack down over her head then shoulders. She was gasping for air, clutching at her stomach, her eyes full of tears and rage. Her orange hair was tangled into wild knots that stood on end and she had scratches and bruises on her forearms where the torn sleeves of her dress had been pushed up.

  “My daughter,” he said.

  “I’m not your daughter,” she spat back.

  His eyebrows shot up so quickly that his head jolted back and hit the back of his throne. Damn diamonds! They might look pretty, but they were sharp.

  “What did you say?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head. Angel had never defied him like this.

  “I’m not your daughter.” She crossed her arms and glared at him.

  Sterling clicked his fingers to get his guards’ attention and motioned for them to take Norris and leave the room.

  “Put him in a cell,” he said. “I’ll deal with him later.”

  “But…” Norris’s mouth flapped open to protest, until he realized that he had no grounds to complain. What had he expected for kidnapping the King’s daughter? A bag of jewels and a pat on the back?

  The guards dragged Norris from the room.

  “Close the door behind you,” Sterling instructed. “And take that sack with you. It smells like potatoes in here.”

  “I smell like potatoes.” Angel sniffed at her clothes and shook her head in disgust.

  “Well, you chose to get in there,” he said, keeping his voice level. He rarely raised his voice, priding himself on his ability to rule the kingdom with measured calm. “Unless you’re trying to tell me you were taken against your will?”

  Angel’s stony eyes were her response. Yes, he had this story right. This had been her idea.

  “Your mother will be very worried to find you missing,” he said.

  “She’s not my mother.” A look of hatred crossed her eyes and he wondered how he’d gotten everything so wrong. He’d thought she’d been happy in the lighthouse.

  “She raised you,” he said. “That makes her your mother.”

  “My mother is Queen Rose of Forte Cadence.” Angel crossed her arms and stared him down. “And my father is Prince Jeremiah.

  He bit down on his tongue, trying to regain his calm, then noticed she had a small bag around her shoulders.

  “What’s in the bag?” he asked. If the amethysts were in there surely he’d be able to feel their warmth from here.

  She lifted the bag from her shoulders and tipped it out, sending half a dozen large rubies scattering across the floor.

  “Is that all you have with you?”

  She nodded. “I want to go home. Please, Father.”

  He smiled. At last, she was being compliant.

  “I’ll take you back in the boat in the morning,” he said. “The seas are too rough right now.”

  Her face lit up. “You mean it? You’re going to let me go home?”

  “Of course. I told you that Mother will be worried.”

  Angel’s legs crumpled beneath her and she collapsed to the floor, burying her head in her hands.

  “I want to go home,” she said, looking up at him. “To Forte Cadence. That lighthouse isn’t my home.”

  His heart sank. Perhaps he was the fool that Norris had taken him for. Of course, she was talking about the home she’d been born to.

  “Please, Father.” She grabbed at the bottom of his long cloak and pulled at it, pleading with him. “Please, let me go home.”

  “Angel,” he said, as gently as he could. “Your home is the lighthouse.”

  “It is not my home,” she said. “And my name’s Lily.”

  He sighed deeply, realizing what he had to do. He’d been far too soft on this girl.

  She needed to learn to appreciate how good she had it in the lighthouse. Life was all about contrasts. Sometimes you had to experience the bad before you knew how good you really had it.

  “Guards!” he called.

  Two guards burst through the door, ready to do his bidding.

  “Take my daughter to the Terrace,” he said.

  The guards looked at him, unable to hide their shock. Only the worst criminals were sent to the Terrace. He hadn’t even sent Norris there.

  “You heard me!” He bit down on his lip, realizing he’d almost raised his voice. “Leave her there until I tell you otherwise.”

  “What’s the Terrace?” asked Angel as the guards seized her by the arms.

  “It’s where you’re going to think,” he said. “When you’re ready to tell me your real name and where your home is, you can call for me.”

  “My name is Princess Lily of Forte Cadence!” she shouted as her feet lifted from the floor as the guards hoisted her into the air.

  “You are Angel of the Lighthouse!”

  Damn it! He’d definitely raised his voice that time. But somehow, she hadn’t seemed to have heard. A few nights on the Terrace should sort her hearing out…

  PIP

  THE NOW

  Pip shuffled a little closer to Griffen on the boat. If he was right and there was someone out there, they were in grave danger.

  “Wait here,” he said, landing a light kiss on her forehead and rushing silently off the boat, sliding into the water. Her heart ached at the loss of having him by her side. He wasn’t just her protector, he was her best friend. She knew her other traveling companions found her irritating, even though they were happy to eat the food she brought them. Micah would’ve died on day one if Pip hadn’t stopped her putting that poisonous berry in her mouth. But Griffen didn’t find her irritating. She could feel the protection he offered her came from a place of love as well as duty.

  If they somehow managed to make it back to The Bay of Laurel alive, she intended to ask Tate for permission to marry him. It was strange to have to ask for his stamp of approval but the King needed to approve all royal unions. She expected he’d say yes. After all, he himself had married a Guardian and look at how successful that union had been. River had turned out to be the perfect match for him. Besides, he probably wasn’t in much of a position to say no to anything she wanted, given she was the true ruler of the kingdom. But she didn’t want to think about that any more than she wanted it to be true.

  She wrapped her arms around her middle and waited, using every ounce of her being to send Griffen silent wishes of protection. If only she could ask the others to whisper for his safety. But they couldn’t make a sound right now. Perhaps sending good thoughts to Griffen was the same as whispering? Maybe it was the intent that the universe picked up on instead of the words themselves.

  Gabe made a small whimpering sound and Micah hushed him. That poor child had been plucked from danger only to be directly deposited into even more. But at least he had loving arms around him now. Pip was fond of children too and would’ve been happy to care for Gabe, but something about the look in Micah’s eyes had made her back off. It was a look of longing and hope as if Gabe was the child she’d been waiting for all her life. Pip wasn’t going to interfere with that.

  A gentle breeze pushed a dark cloud across the sky and the moon broke through, casting soft light across the boat and Pip saw Gabe on Micah’s lap with his arms wrapped around her neck. Azrael sat quietly in front of them and Raphael was sliding into the water, his eyes scanning the shoreline for Griffen.

&
nbsp; She watched as Raphael waded through the cold water and scrambled up onto the sand, disappearing behind a line of what looked like dead trees. Then, almost as if the clouds had decided they’d seen enough, they raced across the sky and covered the moon, once more shrouding them in darkness.

  They waited. Waited some more. And then waited for what felt like eternity.

  It was Micah who eventually broke the silence.

  “Should we go after them?” she whispered, her voice so soft it sounded more like the flutter of wings than an actual voice.

  “No,” said Azrael.

  “We have a better chance if we stick together,” said Micah, daring to raise the volume of her voice a little this time.

  “Not always,” said Azrael. “Sometimes it’s better to divide in order to conquer.”

  There was certainly in Azrael’s voice, making Pip wonder what conquering she’d done in her past.

  “Gabe,” said Micah. “I need you to stay with Pip for a moment. I’m just going to check on the others.”

  “No!” His voice was high pitched and panicked.

  Pip winced. If their enemies hadn’t known their location before, then they were certain to now.

  “I’ll take care of you,” said Pip, not bothering to lower her voice after that. “Come to me, Gabe.”

  She held out her hands and Micah placed the squirming boy on her lap. She held onto him tightly, resisting his attempts to get away from her.

  The boat rocked as Micah slid into the water, the sound of her retreat fading with each moment that passed.

  “Hush,” she said to Gabe, doing her best to soothe him. “It’s okay. She’ll be back soon.”

  “That’s what Mother said about Father.” Gabe buried his face in Pip’s shoulder. “And he never came back.”

  Pip rubbed his back. This poor boy had been through too much. She’d lost her own mother at a similar age and although the years had dulled the pain, it had never gone away. At least she no longer felt responsible for her mother’s death, having worked hard to let that go.

  Coming to terms with what she’d learned before setting out on this quest was proving a little more difficult. The brother she’d loved and respected all her life was of no relation to her at all. And the man she’d despised for his evil heart, was linked to her by blood. What kind of person did that make her? A little bit of both? She was trying to be a good person. Maybe if she could help rescue Lily and bring her home, she’d be able to believe that she was worthwhile.

  “What do you think’s happening?” asked Azrael. “It’s been ages.”

  “I think we should go and check,” said Pip, feeling her heart rate pick up. “We don’t want to be sitting out here when the sun comes up. We’d be better off to hide in the bushes while we wait.”

  “Come on then,” said Azrael, not needing any further convincing.

  “Micah,” Gabe whispered in her ear. “Let’s go find Micah.”

  Pip squeezed Gabe a little tighter.

  “Hold on,” she told him as she climbed over the edge of the boat.

  The water was cold and she held Gabe up high to keep him dry. Griffen had told her to wait on the boat, but surely, he hadn’t meant for her to wait all night, not knowing what had happened to him.

  She could hear Azrael ahead of her in the water and she followed behind, not wanting to lose her.

  “Are there bad men out there?” asked Gabe.

  “I don’t know,” said Pip, being as honest as she could. If the men they’d met on the beach earlier were anything to judge the inhabitants of Feldspar by, then they were in for trouble.

  Stepping onto the sand was a welcome relief and Pip set Gabe down, her aching shoulders thanking her. She wasn’t as strong as Micah to be able to carry him across the sand. Gabe gripped her hand tightly and she squeezed him in return.

  If only the clouds would move a little and allow them some light, but they stubbornly curtained the moon, with no sign of shifting.

  Pip jumped as someone grabbed her on the arm.

  “It’s only me,” hissed Azrael, sliding her hand into Pip’s. At least they wouldn’t lose each other now.

  The ground sloped upwards and they trudged through it until they felt bracken breaking underneath their wet shoes. Stepping as quietly as they could, they made their way forward.

  Pip let go of Azrael’s hand, needing to wave it in front of her as she walked, certain she was about to crash into one of those dead trees she’d seen earlier. Azrael clung onto the back of her dress instead.

  Pip squinted ahead, not sure if she was imagining a white light in the distance.

  “Do you see that?” she asked as quietly as she could.

  “Yes,” Azrael whispered back.

  The light grew brighter and Pip felt herself being pulled toward it. There was something about it that made her want to touch it.

  So fascinated was she with it, that she didn’t notice at first when Gabe let go of her hand.

  They were only separated for maybe three or four beats of her heart before Pip’s hand reached out for him. Then she was reaching with her other hand, taking frenzied steps in a circle as she tried to find him.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Azrael, still clinging to the back of her dress.

  “Gabe,” she said. “I can’t find him. He let go of my hand.”

  Now Azrael was turning in circles.

  “We have to find him,” said Azrael, no longer caring about keeping her voice down as they scrambled about in the dark, their empty hands finding nothing but frigid air.

  “Gabe,” Pip dared to call out. “Gabe!”

  But no sooner had she shouted the words as she was grabbed around the waist. A large hand clamped itself over her mouth and as she struggled to break free, Azrael let out a bloodcurdling screen.

  Struggling now to breathe, Pip kicked at her captor, only to feel her feet lift off the ground as she was thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried through the trees, deeper into the night.

  RAPHAEL

  THE NOW

  Raphael sat forward, straining his ears. There’d been a scream. Was that Pip? Or maybe it’d been Azrael? It couldn’t have been Micah, given that she was next to him. So was Griffen, although he’d never suspect him of letting out such a high pitched sound. Men like him didn’t scream. They bellowed. And it was hard to either scream or bellow when your mouth was gagged.

  The sun was starting to come up now and in the faint light, he could make out where they were being held captive.

  The three of them had been imprisoned inside some kind of large cage made out of gnarled tree branches. Their hands were tied behind their backs and their ankles strapped together.

  He pushed at the gag with his tongue trying to dislodge it, but it was too tight. If only he could talk to Micah or Griffen, maybe they’d be able to figure out some kind of plan to get out of here.

  There was the sound of a struggle in the trees just beyond and Raphael squinted, willing the sun to rise faster so he could see what was going on.

  The shadows of two men were coming toward them with Azrael and Pip in their arms. Neither of the women were being compliant. Pip, in particular, was thrashing her tiny frame about trying to shout something, her words muffled by the hand across her mouth.

  Griffen grunted and threw himself at the cage. It buckled and threatened to snap under his force.

  “Break that and I’ll break her,” warned the man carrying Pip.

  Griffen’s face filled with anguish as he tried to work out his next best move. Raphael knew he’d come on this journey to protect Pip, but that was a little difficult when he was tied up in a cage. There was a bloody gash down the side of Griffen’s face. Raphael hadn’t seen how he’d been overpowered, but it must have been one almighty struggle.

  He watched now as the men threw Pip and Azrael on the ground with no care for their welfare. Two more men appeared with several lengths of rope. One of them had a torn shirt and a black eye, most likely the res
ult of being on the other end of Griffen’s struggle.

  Micah squirmed beside Raphael, making muffled screams through her gag. Raphael gave her a look to try to warn her to be quiet, before realizing that her distress was no doubt due to Gabe’s absence. Didn’t she realize this was a good thing? If he wasn’t here, then he at least had a chance, whereas it seemed the rest of them were doomed.

  The men gagged Azrael and Pip, then trussed up their wrists and ankles. Opening the door of the cage, they threw them inside. Raphael rolled forward trying to break Azrael’s fall, remembering how much it’d hurt when he’d been hurled inside, seeing that Griffen had done the same for Pip.

  The door was re-tied with heavy rope and the men took several steps away.

  It was cramped in here with five of them now, but at least they were together. Except for Gabe, although hopefully, he was somewhere safe. Micah’s tear-filled eyes darted around the dead forest in the morning light, looking for him.

  Pip shook her head at Micah, but it was impossible to tell if that meant Gabe was safe, or… otherwise.

  Griffen shuffled over to get closer to Pip and pressed his forehead against hers. Pip blinked up at him, taking in his injuries, even more visible now that the sun had risen a little higher.

  Raphael considered trying to provide Micah with some reassurance, but knew she was too distressed to pay him any attention.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing. Because when she was upset, a fire lit inside her. And right now, they all needed to draw on their inner rage if they were going to get out of here alive.

  Griffen made a grunting noise and Raphael looked across to see him motioning with his head for them to sit between him and the huddle of guards. The women repositioned themselves and Raphael remained next to Griffen, with no space left to get in front of him.

  He watched as subtly as he could to see Griffen straining his arms, his wrists acting as opposing forces to the rope that bound them. Surely, he didn’t think he was going to be able to break open the ropes? Guardians were strong but this would take something else. Strength that no man possessed.