A Curse for True Love

Evangeline puts on the clothes Jacks gives her—an impractical skirt, thin shirt, and vest. When she meets him in the hall, he rakes his gaze over her body and smiles in a way that makes her feel like there’s something “almost uncomfortable about how beautiful he was” (105). Outside, Jacks bends Evangeline over the side of a bridge, threatening to push her over if she doesn’t fight back. When she does, the two of them fall and land in a heap tangled around each other. Their closeness sparks memories for Evangeline, and though something about him feels dangerous, Evangeline doesn’t pull away until Jacks gives her his dagger for protection and leaves.

Apollo reveals that he engineered Evangeline’s accident at the well to convince her she is in danger, feeling that he has to protect her “from everyone, including herself” (116). Though he doesn’t want to, he pins the blame on Evangeline’s guards.

Though Evangeline still doesn’t know Archer is Jacks, she’s determined to find him since he’s the only thing that has triggered her memories. That night, there will be a grand banquet, which Evangeline is expected to attend. Every guard in the castle should be there, and Evangeline is sure she’ll find Jacks and get a moment for a “private chat.”

Apollo regrets his choice of banquet halls because this one has too many columns Jacks can hide behind to sneak up on Evangeline. When Evangeline enters the room, she draws every gaze, including most of the men, which sets Apollo on edge and convinces him he must “make it clear that she belonged to him” (123). Evangeline seems comfortable at Apollo’s side until a lord tells her the guards were killed for letting her get hurt in the garden.

Evangeline is stunned that her guards were killed. Apollo calls for a toast to true love and a curse on those who get in its way. Evangeline can’t bring herself to drink to cursing people, and she’s suddenly struck with the idea that “if this was happily ever after, she was no longer sure she wanted it” (128). Evangeline meets the Valors, including Aurora, who’s about her age. The Valors are rebuilding the Merrywood House, which a jealous lord’s son burned down when his betrothed fell in love with one of the Merrywoods. Aurora invites Evangeline to visit, hugging her and finding Jacks’s knife tucked into her belt. Apollo is about to take the dagger when a guard arrives with news he must hear immediately.

With Apollo gone, Evangeline uses the distraction of a lengthy toast to slip from the hall. Aurora follows her, delaying her long enough for the guards to catch up. Back in her room, Evangeline goes to bed, only to wake up to an assassin looming over her. Jacks arrives and yanks the assassin away and as Evangeline scrambles to safety, she thinks Jacks is “golden and glowering and possibly the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen” (141). The assassin swears he doesn’t know who hired him, and Jacks stabs him through the heart.

Covered in blood, Jacks stalks to Evangeline, saying she’s reckless and incapable of protecting herself. The look in his eyes is feral and dangerous, but Evangeline doesn’t care and has “never wanted anyone more” (145). She touches his hand and has a clear memory of him pulling her from the water and vowing not to let her die. When the memory fades, Jacks is leaving the room. Evangeline runs after him.

Apollo was called away from the banquet because all the members of one of the great houses have been slaughtered. There is only one survivor—a young boy who is sure the killer is some kind of demon. Apollo knows this is true, but he has the boy draw a picture of Jacks and then kills him. Apollo hands off the picture to his guards, ordering them to tell reporters to put it in the article about the massacre.

Evangeline catches up to Jacks, and he swiftly closes the distance between them until she feels like the little space between them is on fire. It takes effort to remind herself she’s married and turn her back on him, but she does, feeling like she’s made a mistake. Back in her room, the mess from the assassin is gone as if it never happened. Evangeline climbs into bed, thinking of Jacks and how, for just a moment, he seemed “almost shy, almost scared, and almost hers” (161).

Later, a haggard Apollo comes to her room. They kiss intensely until Evangeline says Archer, which makes Apollo look more jealous than she has ever seen him. Evangeline claims she is referring to the night they were engaged when he was dressed as the archer at the ball, but instead of clearing the air, Apollo looks frightened.