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  The Kinsman Chronicles

  King’s Folly

  Darkness Reigns: Part One

  The Heir War: Part Two

  The End of All Things: Part Three

  © 2016 by Jill Williamson

  Published by Bethany House Publishers

  11400 Hampshire Avenue South

  Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

  www.bethanyhouse.com

  Bethany House Publishers is a division of

  Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

  www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

  Ebook edition created 2016

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

  ISBN 978-1-4412-2972-4

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by LOOK Design Studio

  Author is represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc.

  Contents

  Cover

  The Kinsman Chronicles

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Key Players

  Map

  Epigraph

  Part One: Darkness Reigns

  Prologue

  Wilek

  Mielle

  Charlon

  Trevn

  Wilek

  Mielle

  Wilek

  Trevn

  Wilek

  Charlon

  Mielle

  Wilek

  Charlon

  Wilek

  Trevn

  Wilek

  Trevn

  Wilek

  Part Two: The Heir War

  Trevn

  Kalenek

  Wilek

  Trevn

  Mielle

  Kalenek

  Inolah

  Trevn

  Hinck

  Charlon

  Kalenek

  Trevn

  Mielle

  Hinck

  Qoatch

  Trevn

  Kalenek

  Wilek

  Trevn

  Kalenek

  Qoatch

  Inolah

  Hinck

  Inolah

  Trevn

  Charlon

  Kalenek

  Qoatch

  Kalenek

  Qoatch

  Kalenek

  Trevn

  Kalenek

  Hinck

  Wilek

  Part Three: The End of All Things

  Charlon

  Wilek

  Trevn

  Kalenek

  Wilek

  Trevn

  Kalenek

  Hinck

  Wilek

  Charlon

  Trevn

  Mielle

  Hinck

  Kalenek

  Qoatch

  Inolah

  Wilek

  Charlon

  Trevn

  Wilek

  Mielle

  Trevn

  Charlon

  Kalenek

  Wilek

  Charlon

  Trevn

  Grayson

  Wilek

  Trevn

  A Note From the Author

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Back Ad

  Back Cover

  Key Players

  ARMANIA

  House Hadar

  Echad [EE-kad]-Rosâr Hadar, king of Armania

  Schwyl, Echad’s onesent

  Captain Lebbe Alpress, captain of the King’s Guard

  Filkin Yohthehreth, prophet to Rosâr Echad

  Avenelle/Mother Rosârah, mother of Echad

  Brelenah-Rosârah, Echad’s first wife, Wilek and Inolah’s mother

  Sir Rayim Veralla, captain of the Queen’s Guard

  Hawley, Brelenah’s onesent

  Wilek [WILL-ek]-Sâr Hadar, son of Echad and Brelenah

  Sir Kalenek Veroth, Wilek’s High Shield

  Novan, Kalenek’s backman

  Agmado Harton, Wilek’s backman

  Dendrick, Wilek’s onesent

  Lebetta, Wilek’s concubine

  Laviel-Rosârah, Echad’s second wife, Janek’s mother

  Janek-Sâr Hadar, son of Echad and Laviel

  Sir Jayron, Janek’s High Shield

  Oli [OH-lee] Agoros, Duke of Canden, Janek’s backman

  Timmons, Janek’s onesent

  Mattenelle, Janek’s concubine

  Pia [PEE-ah], Janek’s concubine

  Thallah-Rosârah, Echad’s third wife, Trevn’s mother

  Trevn-Sâr Hadar, son of Echad and Thallah

  Sir Cadoc Wyser, Trevn’s High Shield

  Hinckdan Faluk, Earl of Dacre, Trevn’s backman

  Beal, Trevn’s onesent

  Valena-Rosârah, Echad’s fourth wife

  Hrettah-Sârah Hadar, daughter of Echad and Valena

  Rashah-Sârah Hadar, daughter of Echad and Valena

  Ojeda-Rosârah, Echad’s fifth wife

  Others in Everton

  Father Tomek, high priest of Arman, tutor to Trevn

  Eudora Agoros, Oli’s sister

  Pontiff Barthel Rogedoth, head of the Rôb Church

  Admiral Hanray Vendal, admiral of the king’s fleet

  Captain Aldair Livina, captain of the Half Moon and the Arzah

  The Omatta Clan

  Rand, leader of the Omatta

  Meelo, Rand’s son

  Teaka, Rand’s mother

  SARIKAR

  House Pitney

  King Jorger Pitney, king of Sarikar, the God’s King

  Princess Nabelle Barta, Jorger’s daughter, widowed mother to Zeroah

  Zeroah Barta, Nabelle’s daughter, betrothed to Wilek Hadar

  Mielle Allard, Kalenek’s ward, honor maiden to Lady Zeroah

  Prince Loran Pitney, King Jorger’s second-born son and heir

  Princess Saria Pitney, Prince Loran’s daughter

  RUREKAU

  House Orsona

  Nazer Orsona, emperor of Rurekau

  Inolah [IN-oh-la]-Sârah Orsona-Hadar, Nazer’s wife, daughter of Echad and Brelenah

  Ree, Inolah’s nurse

  Prince Ulrik Orsona, son to Nazer and Inolah, heir to the throne of Rurekau

  Prince Ferro Orsona, son to Nazer and Inolah

  Princess Vallah Orsona, daughter to Nazer and Inolah

  MAGONIA

  Ruling Clan

  Mreegan, Magonian Chieftess

  Kateen, First of Mreegan’s Five Maidens

  Astaa, Second of Mreegan’s Five Maidens

  Roya, Third of Mreegan’s Five Maidens

  Eedee, Fourth of Mreegan’s Five Maidens

  Rone, number One of Mreegan’s Five Men

  Nuel, number Two of Mreegan’s Five Men

  Vald, number Three of Mreegan’s Five Men

  Morten, number Four of Mreegan’s Five Men

  Torol/Thirsty, number Five of Mreegan’s Five Men

  Magon, a great shadir, bonded to Mreegan and Charlon

  Also in Magonia

  Charlon, a kidnapped woman

  Onika [ON-ik-ah], a blind girl

  Rustian, Onika’s dune cat

  Grayson, a boy with a gray rash

  Jhorn, a prisoner

  Bur
k, a thief

  TENMA

  Priestess Jazlyn, the Sixth Great Lady of Tenma

  Qoatch [KO-ach], Jazlyn’s eunuch slav, a seer

  Gozan, a great shadir, bonded to Jazlyn

  The Gods of the Five Realms

  Arman, the father god

  Athos, god of justice and law

  Avenis/Avennia, god/goddess of beauty

  Barthos, god of the earth/soil

  Cethra/Cetheria, god/goddess of protection

  Dendron, god of nature

  Gâzar, ruler of the Lowerworld, bringer of death

  Iamos, god/goddess of healing

  Lâhat, god of fire

  Magon, goddess of magic

  Mikreh, god of fate and fortune

  Nivanreh, god of travel

  Rurek, god of war

  Sarik, god of wisdom

  Tenma, the mother god

  Thalassa, virgin goddess of the sea

  Yobat/Yobatha, god/goddess of pleasure and celebration

  Zitheos, god of animals

  The king did evil in the eyes of Arman. He erected altars to Barthos, consulted black spirits, and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the priests of Rôb.

  —Prophetess Onika, House Hadar 871

  Prologue

  Aldair Livina sat at the table in the great cabin of his privately owned ship, the Half Moon, looking over his most recent chart of the Eversea. After an eleven-night voyage north-northwest from the Port of Everton, he had discovered a new island. He had named the isle Bakurah in honor of the first ripe fruit of the season. Aldair hoped that this island would be the first of many.

  Father Tomek believed that the Five Woes had come upon them at last. Aldair wasn’t convinced that the world was ending, but he appreciated the challenge set before him. And the pay.

  The Half Moon was a lateen-rigged ship built for exploring. Smaller, lighter, and faster than the merchant tubs that frequented the Eversea, or the king’s galley ships, it took only fifteen men to sail her and no oarsmen. It had taken three days to circle the new island, which Aldair believed to be slightly smaller than Odarka. Strangely, the water on its northern side was a great deal warmer and bluer than the aqua waters of the Eversea. Aldair succumbed to boldness and scratched the word Northsea on the chart above the newly discovered isle.

  After rounding the isle, the Half Moon had started the long journey home for supplies. Any moment now they would reach the Everton Harbor. Since dusk grew nearer, Aldair had given the order to sail between the cliffs and the reefs. It wasn’t the safest route, but his men had taken the journey countless times. And if they didn’t reach the harbor before dark, they’d have to anchor out for one more night. Everyone was eager to get home. Tonight Aldair would sleep in his own bed in his own house. He would give his crew five days’ leave before returning with haste to Bakurah with a second ship to explore the isle while Aldair sailed the Half Moon farther into the unknown.

  The ship suddenly quivered as if the anchor chain were running out of the hawser pipe. Aldair straightened and stilled, feeling the movement. Bottles of wine rattled on the sideboard. His inkwell shook its way across the table. That hadn’t felt like a reef. And there were no shallows here that they could be up against, yet the trembling continued as if the vessel were dragging over soft ground.

  It had to be another earthquake. Ground shakers were common in the Five Realms, ever more so in the past year. Dozens of ships had been lost, capsized by massive waves. Surely this minor tremble was nothing to worry over.

  Yet shouts rose outside his cabin. Aldair left his chart and went to the door, opened it, and ran smack into the ship’s boy.

  “Captain!” Ottee said. “Your presence is requested on deck, sir.”

  Aldair pulled the door closed and followed the boy. Thunder cracked overhead, though the graying dusk sky was clear. A glance over the rail revealed very little surf. The water was instead marred by endless rings, similar to those produced when one jarred the side of a washtub.

  Thunder rolled again, though not from the sky. From land—and this time it did not stop. Aldair spotted movement at the rock wall of the cape. Silt and rocks raining down. Boulders. The surf churned white and foamy against the cliffs. That landslide would push a wall of water toward them in a matter of minutes.

  “Landslide!” Aldair yelled, jogging onto the main deck. They’d dropped sail to slow into port, and there was no time to raise them and get up enough speed to turn.

  Ottee yelled, “Captain on deck!”

  “I have the deck,” Aldair said to Carlus Breck, the first mate. “Hard a port.”

  Breck yelled the order down the hatch to the helmsman, who was manning the whipstaff in steerage.

  “Drop the port anchor,” Aldair added. “We’ve got to turn now.”

  Breck echoed the order to two sailors and added, “Go, go!”

  The men scurried across the deck toward the bow as Aldair watched the water. If they didn’t turn, the wave might roll them. The dropped anchor line would hopefully swing them around in time.

  “It’s going down!” Breck yelled, staring at the cape.

  Chunks of rock the size of houses fell and plunged into the sea, creating a swell that rippled out toward them. Aldair waited, tense, for the anchor to dig into the sea bed. He didn’t have his charts handy to know how deep—

  There! The ship trembled as the anchor struck bottom. A tug and the bow swung around just in time to meet the water, which rolled monstrously large toward them. Some of the sailors cheered. One stumbled at the sudden movement.

  “Hang on!” The order ripped from Aldair’s mouth. He grabbed the port rail and hunched down to protect himself as the mountain of water raised them up. He could hear the strain on the timber as the anchor line held taught.

  Ottee yelped and slid toward him. Aldair reached out and grabbed the boy, helping him get a grip on the rail while watching the movement of ship and water. Mikreh’s teeth! They were going to clear it!

  He hadn’t realized he’d been smiling until the sound of timber splintering off the port bow made him frown. No, no!

  The ship lurched, twisted roughly, then jerked as the anchor line snapped. They hadn’t let out enough line! Without the anchor’s support, the wall of water pushed the ship backward. The incline was so steep that the men tumbled about, grabbing for anything to hold on to.

  “Gods help us!” Aldair yelled moments before the ship jolted from the stern.

  They’d hit something. The reef, he guessed, despair welling within him. The wave surged past, yet they remained in place, jerking back and forth, the reef chewing up the hull.

  “Check the bilge!” he yelled, starting for the stairs. “And the forward and stern bulkheads!” He needed to see for himself what he already sensed. Was there time to fother the leaks? The nearest beachhead was a good hour south, likely longer with the dinghy towing them. Could they make it?

  Halfway down the steep steps, his boots met water. Nortin, who worked the pumps, looked up at him. “It’s up to my knees, Captain”—which Aldair could plainly see—“but it’s past my waist at the bow.”

  Wolf waded through the water from the aft, eyes bright with fear. “She’s breaking apart at the stern, Captain.”

  “Abandon ship!” Aldair yelled, turning back up the stairs. “Launch the dinghy!”

  The men scrambled to the main deck and set to work. The cliff continued to crumble, sending more waves that caused the ship to thrash against the reef. The fate of the Half Moon was out of Aldair’s hands now, sitting helpless on the reef, grinding apart bit by bit.

  The freeboard was nearly under at the bow. They needed to get off before they were all in the water and the waves threw them between the ship and the reef. Most of his men couldn’t swim.

  It spoke well for his crew that they were able to launch the dinghy in a sea that had quickly become loppy. One by one they boarded the dinghy. Aldair was last to leave his doomed vessel for the smaller on
e.

  “Get us away from the ship,” he told the oarsmen, “then take us into port.”

  The men rowed hard. Gradually, stroke by stroke, they put open water between themselves and the wreckage. A leak sprouted through a hole knocked in the dinghy’s side when the men had launched, so those who weren’t rowing set to bailing with hands and hats. The rough sound of the Half Moon grating against the reef faded with each pull of the oars that carried them toward home.

  By now the sky had blackened. Night was upon them. The surging waves came in bunches, pushing the dinghy south, toward the harbor. They would indeed make it to land before the night bells tolled, but home? For Aldair?

  There was no longer any evidence of the Half Moon on the empty sea. No sign of the rocky peninsula. Cape Waldemar was gone. Completely. The entire cliff, which once had housed two score of upscale homes and over fifteen hundred people, had gone into the deep. Maybe Father Tomek was right about the Five Woes.

  Aldair’s family. His home. His boat. All gone.

  Wilek

  A procession of fifty men made their way through the cool desert night from the royal retreat in Canden toward The Gray. Fifty-one men, technically, though the king did not count the wailing convict riding in the cage since the man would soon be dead.

  Despite the glow of the full moon, twenty guards carried lit torches. For once they entered the thick fog of The Gray, the moonlight would be snuffed out.

  Prince Wilek Hadar rode on his father’s right, a few paces back from the carriage, as was customary. The only one allowed to ride ahead of King Echad—or Rosâr Echad, as he preferred to be called—was Pontiff Rogedoth, the high priest of the Rôb faith. Only on the night of an offering was this permitted.

  The first hint of warm mist tickled Wilek’s nose and he flinched. His heart pounded in his chest, warning him to rein his horse around and flee this cursed place.

  He could not do such a thing if he wanted to remain in the king’s favor, and he believed his father was close to naming him Heir. Therefore, he must remain strong.

  It was childish, really, for a man of four and twenty years to fear this place. Yet as drops of moisture beaded over Wilek’s sleeves and the torchlight fizzled in the damp air, he found it difficult to breathe. He fought to draw in the humid air without calling attention to himself. As far as he knew, only his grandmother and Kal were aware of his phobia.

  The moonlight suddenly vanished, bathing the desert in darkness but for the dwindling torches. Wilek clutched Foxaro’s reins, his chest tight.