Starfall and Clockwork Heart

In the beginning, a star, shattered by rivalry, is transformed by the Creator into the immortal sword of Avelyn, destined to shape worlds. Centuries later, Everley Donovan, a girl with a clockwork heart, sails the seas with a motley crew, seeking the lost sword and her own purpose. Haunted by her family's murder and her mechanical heart, Everley is driven by a mission from Father Time: recover the sword of Avelyn from the treacherous Prince Killian Markham, who threatens the balance of worlds. Her heart, a gift of love and sacrifice, ticks with borrowed time, setting the stage for a journey across worlds, through storms, betrayals, and the mysteries of fate.

Storms, Whales, and Betrayals

Everley's ship, the Cadeyrn of the Seas, is pursued by a mysterious vessel as it sails into a supernatural storm, the only gateway to the Land Under the Wave. The monstrous whale Dorcha, guardian of the portal, demands a price for passage. Everley bargains with pixie dust, but her crew, fearing magic, betrays her and attacks the whale. Chaos erupts: the ship is wrecked, the crew scattered, and Everley is forced to rescue her estranged husband Jamison from the flooding hold. As the ship founders, Everley and her companions are swallowed by Dorcha, plunging them into the unknown.

Swallowed by the Dorcha

Trapped in Dorcha's belly, Everley and her friends struggle to survive. Guided by Radella the pixie's light, they recover lost companions and are expelled into a strange new world. Everley's spirit is cast into visions of her past: her father's secret, her uncle's sacrifice, and the lies that kept her safe. She witnesses the forging of her clock heart—crafted from heartwood and animated by her uncle's years—realizing her life is a gift of love and time. Awakened on a desolate shore, Everley faces the Land Under the Wave, her heart's ticking fainter, her purpose more urgent.

Ghosts of the Past

As Everley wanders the Skeleton Coast, she is haunted by memories and spectral glimpses of her family. She learns her uncle's lies were protection, not betrayal, and that her own identity is a tapestry of loss and resilience. The shipwrecks littering the coast are grave markers of those lost to the Otherworlds. When Everley finds a ship's flag bearing an unknown crest, Radella's fear hints at deeper secrets. The past and present blur, and Everley's sense of self is tested by the weight of her clock heart and the destiny it demands.

Shipwrecks and Siren Songs

Everley reunites with Jamison and others, but the coast is haunted by merrows—siren-like creatures whose songs lure men to their deaths. Markham, ever the manipulator, reappears, claiming to have lost the sword to pirates. Tensions flare as alliances shift and betrayals are revealed. The group is captured by pirates led by the giant Captain Redmond, who covets Everley's clock heart for his collection. Exposed and humiliated, Everley's secret is now known to all, and her sense of brokenness deepens. The pirates set sail for Merrow Lagoon, where the sword's trail continues.

Markham's Deceptions Unveiled

On the pirate ship Undertow, Everley is separated from her friends and subjected to the scrutiny of Redmond and his first mate Osric, an elf with a bitter history with Markham. The pirates reveal Markham's true heritage: he is an exiled elven prince, not merely a human traitor. Osric's tale of love, loss, and Markham's betrayals reframes the quest for the sword as a struggle against a centuries-old manipulator. Everley's clock heart is examined by the gentle giant Neely, who confirms its failing state. The group plots escape, but Markham's machinations threaten to outpace them all.

Pirates, Giants, and Secrets

Markham engineers his own escape, using a magical pearl to summon finfolk allies and abandon Everley's group to the pirates. Osric, torn between old loyalties and new, helps Everley and her friends escape to the village of Eventide. There, the group learns of the underwater city Everblue, where the sword is now held by the merrow king. The only way to reach it is through magic or dangerous bargains. As Everley's time runs short, the group seeks the help of the enigmatic sea hag Muriel, whose powers come at a steep price.

The Clock Collector's Ship

Everley is imprisoned in the day cabin, surrounded by dead clocks—a grim foreshadowing of her own fate. The pirates' obsession with timepieces mirrors Everley's own struggle with mortality. Neely's attempts to repair her heart are futile; only the sword of Avelyn can renew her time. Osric's conflicted loyalty leads him to aid Everley's escape, setting the stage for a desperate race against Markham to recover the sword and return home before Everley's borrowed time expires.

The Giant's Lament

Captain Redmond recounts the ancient war of the triad—giants, elves, and humans—and the giants' exile from the Land of the Living. His bitterness at lost inheritance and the curse of time echoes Everley's own longing for belonging and wholeness. The sword of Avelyn, once a star, is revealed as a symbol of sacrifice and transformation. Everley's journey is not just a quest for a weapon, but a search for identity, love, and a place in the world.

Merrow Lagoon and Market

In Eventide, Everley and her friends navigate a world of exiles, traders, and magical creatures. The merrow king's court is a place of peril and intrigue, where the sword is both prize and pawn. The group's only hope lies with Muriel, the sea hag, whose ability to see through time comes at the cost of years from her clients' lives. Everley faces the truth: to survive, she must risk everything, including her own time, for a chance at redemption and reunion.

The Sea Hag's Bargain

Muriel proposes a desperate plan: Everley, Osric, and Laverick will exchange spirits with merrows to infiltrate Everblue and recover the sword. The transference is risky, and Everley's time is nearly spent. In a borrowed body, she experiences the thrill of a living heart and the terror of losing herself forever. The group's infiltration is complicated by Markham's schemes and the merrow king's own agenda. The sword is within reach, but the cost of victory may be too high.

Spirit Exchange and Undersea Quest

As merrows, Everley and her friends navigate the dazzling, perilous city of Everblue. Markham, aided by finfolk, manipulates the merrow king into trading the sword for the name of Father Time's helmsman—Everley's uncle Holden. The truth shatters Everley: Markham's true goal is the infinity sandglass, the artifact that controls time itself. With the sword in hand, Everley and her friends race to the surface, pursued by pirates and the vengeful Captain Redmond.

The Sword of Avelyn

Back in the Land of the Living, Everley confronts Markham in her uncle's workshop. Markham seizes the infinity sandglass, and a struggle ensues that propels their spirits to the moon—the pixies' treasure trove—where Markham seeks sky seeds, the key to his ultimate plan. In a final confrontation, Everley wounds Markham with the sword, breaking his immortality. Returning to her body, she finds her uncle dying, having sacrificed the last of his years to renew her clock heart. Grief and gratitude war within her as she is arrested for murder.

The Infinity Sandglass

Imprisoned and condemned to burn, Everley faces execution as a sorceress. The queen's tyranny and Markham's escape with the sandglass threaten all worlds. In a daring rescue orchestrated by her friends, Everley escapes the pyre, her secret now public. The group flees north, seeking refuge and a new beginning. Everley's journey has cost her family, innocence, and time, but she has gained love, purpose, and the strength to face whatever comes next.

Time's Sacrifice

In the aftermath, Everley and her friends find sanctuary in Jamison's ancestral manor. The wounds of the past linger, but hope endures. Everley and Jamison, freed from the constraints of law and fate, choose each other anew. The sword of Avelyn remains a symbol of sacrifice and transformation, its power tempered by love and loss. As the worlds teeter on the brink of war, Everley embraces her role as Time Bearer, ready to face the future—whatever it may hold.

Characters

Everley Donovan

Everley is a young woman marked by tragedy: her family was murdered, and she was left with a clockwork heart, crafted from heartwood and animated by her uncle's sacrifice. Haunted by loss and driven by duty, she is both vulnerable and fiercely determined. Her journey is one of self-discovery, as she grapples with her mechanical heart, the burden of borrowed time, and the expectations of others. Everley's relationships—with Jamison, her uncle, and her friends—reveal her capacity for love, loyalty, and sacrifice. Her arc is one of transformation: from a girl defined by her wounds to a woman who claims her agency, purpose, and the right to love and be loved.

Jamison Callahan

Jamison is Everley's husband by circumstance, a former earl and naval officer whose loyalty and integrity anchor the group. His relationship with Everley evolves from reluctant partnership to deep affection, marked by moments of tenderness, frustration, and sacrifice. Jamison's own losses—estrangement from his family, the death of his sister—mirror Everley's grief, forging a bond of empathy and understanding. He is both protector and equal, challenging Everley to trust, hope, and accept love. His arc is one of reconciliation: with his past, his family, and his own heart.

Killian Markham

Markham is a master manipulator, his charm and beauty masking centuries of betrayal and ambition. Once an elven prince, he is exiled for forbidden love and becomes a wanderer between worlds, leaving ruin in his wake. His relationship with Everley is fraught with history, violence, and twisted kinship—he made her what she is, and their fates are entwined. Markham's quest for the sword and the infinity sandglass is driven by a desperate need for power, belonging, and redemption, but his inability to love or change dooms him to repeat his mistakes. He is both villain and victim, a cautionary figure of unchecked desire.

Osric

Osric is Markham's former friend and the brother of Brea, whose death at Markham's hands haunts him. His bitterness is tempered by a sense of duty and a willingness to help Everley's group, even at great personal risk. Osric's knowledge of the worlds, his skill as a smuggler, and his moral complexity make him a vital, if unpredictable, ally. His arc is one of painful growth: learning to let go of vengeance and embrace new loyalties.

Laverick (The Fox)

Laverick is a cunning, inventive member of Everley's crew, known for her skill with black powder and her fox-like cleverness. Her deep bond with Claret (The Cat) is a source of strength and vulnerability, culminating in a tender romance. Laverick's journey is one of self-acceptance, as she learns to trust, love, and fight for her chosen family.

Claret (The Cat)

Claret's quick wit and cat-like agility mask a deep well of courage and longing. Her ordeal in Everblue leaves her fragile but unbroken, and her love for Laverick is a beacon of hope. Claret's arc is one of healing: reclaiming agency, joy, and the right to be loved.

Captain Redmond

Redmond is a giant marooned in the Land Under the Wave, obsessed with timepieces and haunted by lost inheritance. His fascination with Everley's clock heart is both predatory and poignant, reflecting his own longing for home and meaning. Redmond's actions are driven by bitterness, but his moments of gentleness—especially with Neely and his crocodile—hint at a more complex soul.

Neely

Neely is Redmond's cabin boy, a century-old giant with a talent for repair and a kind heart. His attempts to fix Everley's clock heart are well-intentioned but futile. Torn between loyalty to Redmond and empathy for Everley, Neely's arc is one of quiet tragedy.

Radella

Radella is Everley's secret stowaway and ambassador from the Everwoods. Her magical dust, musical talents, and fierce loyalty make her both comic relief and a crucial ally. Radella's relationship with Everley is one of mutual exasperation and deep affection, and her actions often tip the balance between disaster and survival.

Muriel (The Sea Hag)

Muriel is a human sorceress with the power to see through time, trading years of life for visions. Her bargains are double-edged, offering hope at a terrible cost. Muriel's history with Markham and her own longing for love and youth drive her to betray and aid Everley in equal measure. Her death is a sacrifice that changes the course of the future.

Plot Devices

The Clock Heart

Everley's clockwork heart is both literal and metaphorical: a mechanism powered by her uncle's years, a symbol of love, loss, and the passage of time. Its ticking is a constant reminder of mortality, purpose, and the cost of survival. The heart's failing state drives the plot, forcing Everley to confront her past, seek the sword, and accept help. It is also a source of stigma, wonder, and identity, shaping her relationships and choices.

The Sword of Avelyn

The sword is the central MacGuffin, desired by all for its power to shape, protect, or destroy worlds. Its origins as a broken star, its connection to the Creator, and its role in the ancient wars imbue it with mythic significance. The sword is also a mirror for Everley: both are broken, repurposed, and searching for meaning. Only by reclaiming the sword can Everley renew her time and fulfill her destiny.

The Infinity Sandglass

The sandglass controls the flow of time across worlds, its helmsman responsible for turning it and maintaining order. Markham's quest for the sandglass is a quest for godhood, while Everley's struggle is to protect it—and her uncle—from misuse. The sandglass is also a portal, a means of spirit travel, and a symbol of the dangers of unchecked ambition.

Spirit Transference

The sea hag's magic allows characters to exchange spirits with merrows, enabling infiltration of Everblue. This device explores themes of identity, empathy, and the boundaries of self. It also raises the stakes, as the risk of losing oneself—or failing to return—becomes literal.

Foreshadowing and Visions

Everley's visions—of her past, the battlefield, and the future—are both guidance and torment. Muriel's seer abilities, Father Time's cryptic messages, and the recurring motif of daisies and clocks all foreshadow key revelations and choices. The narrative structure weaves past and present, memory and action, to create a sense of inevitability and fate.

Found Family and Chosen Love

The relationships among Everley, Jamison, Laverick, Claret, and others are the emotional core of the story. Their loyalty, sacrifice, and willingness to risk everything for each other contrast with the betrayals and losses of the past. Love—romantic, platonic, and familial—is both motivation and reward, a force that endures beyond time and death.

Analysis

Into the Hourglass is a lush, emotionally resonant fantasy that explores the nature of time, sacrifice, and identity through the lens of a heroine literally kept alive by borrowed years. Emily R. King weaves a narrative that is both epic in scope and intimate in feeling, using the ticking of Everley's clock heart as a metaphor for mortality, trauma, and the relentless march of fate. The novel interrogates the costs of survival—what we owe to those who save us, and what we risk when we refuse to let go of the past. Through a tapestry of mythic plot devices—immortal swords, magical sandglasses, spirit exchanges—King examines the dangers of unchecked ambition (embodied by Markham), the redemptive power of love and found family, and the necessity of embracing change. The story's modern resonance lies in its depiction of resilience: Everley's journey from broken survivor to self-accepting Time Bearer is a testament to the possibility of healing, agency, and hope, even when time seems to be running out. The lesson is clear: we are more than our wounds, and the future is shaped not by the time we have, but by how we choose to spend it.

Last updated: September 21, 2025