Chapter no 26

Once Upon a Broken Heart

Little Fox,

If you were attempting to write a threatening or persuasive letter, your skills need work. I donโ€™t have time to tromp through the woods with you, but you can meet me at noon tomorrow in Capricorn Alley.

โ€”J

 

Dear Jacks,

I was only trying to be polite. Itโ€™s a shame youโ€™re so used to conniving and deception that you cannot even recognize courtesy. Not all of us rely on manipulation to get what we want.

Sincerely,

Evangeline Fox

 

Of course Evangeline couldnโ€™t send that message, but it had felt good to write it before sneaking out to meet Jacks on the following day.

Sheโ€™d been a little worried as to how sheโ€™d manage it. After the incendiary scandal sheet article about her safety, Apollo had given her a pair of guards to make sure no one hurt her. But he also gave her absolute

freedom to do as she wished, and she used that freedom to gain information about Wolf Hallโ€™s secret passages. There was one conveniently located in her room that sheโ€™d used to make her escape.

Evangeline didnโ€™t know if anyone would notice she was gone. But she hoped they wouldnโ€™t track her down to the narrow strip of fog and dark that was Capricorn Alley.

She huddled deeper into her fur-lined cape and rubbed her hands together, wishing sheโ€™d worn thicker gloves. Away from all the docks and shops, this alley felt like the sort of place a person would only find if they were lost. Snow had fallen across all of Valorfell overnight, but it seemed to have missed this uninviting spot, leaving its grim gray stones untouched. The only door had a ring of skulls emblazed upon it, which made her think the business done here was not the savory sort.

An unmarked black lacquered coach pulled up.

Her heart kicked out several extra beats. She wasnโ€™t doing anything illicit or wrong. She was trying to do something right, something noble. But her heart must have felt a threat, for it continued to race as the door swung open and she slipped inside the carriage.

Jacks looked like a debauched stable boy whoโ€™d stolen his masterโ€™s coach. He lounged across one side of the carriage, one scuffed leather boot propped carelessly up on the cushions. A smoke-gray doublet was crumpled on the soft leather seat beside him, leaving him in a linen shirt with rolled- up sleeves and half-done buttons. Evangeline caught a hint of a rough scar on his chest, right as he set his jeweled dagger to a silver apple and began to slice.

โ€œDo you stare at everyone like that, or just me?โ€ Jacks looked up. Vivid blue eyes met hers.

It shouldnโ€™t have made her blood rush the way that it did. It wasnโ€™t even that much of a gaze, more of an idle glance before he went back to slicing the metallic peel off his apple, filling the air with crisp sweetness.

Evangeline decided to get straight to the point. โ€œI need you to undo whatever youโ€™ve done to Prince Apollo.โ€

โ€œWhatโ€™s the matter?โ€ย Slice.ย โ€œHas he hurt you?โ€

โ€œNo, I donโ€™t think Apollo would harm me. He practically worships me

โ€”thatโ€™s the problem. Iโ€™m all he thinks about. He gives me bathtubs of jewels and tells me that Iโ€™m the only thing he needs.โ€

โ€œI fail to see how thatโ€™s an issue.โ€ Jacksโ€™s sullen mouth settled somewhere between a frown and a laugh. โ€œWhen you first came to my church, youโ€™d lost your love. Now Iโ€™ve given you a new one.โ€

โ€œSo this is your doing?โ€

Jacksโ€™s eyes met hers, returning to ice. โ€œLeave, Little Fox. Go back to your prince and your happily ever after, and donโ€™t ask me that question again.โ€

In other words:ย yes.

One by one, the tiny bubbles of hope inside of Evangeline broke.ย Pop.

Pop. Pop.

She had known it was all too much to be true. She sensed that she was living in an illusion and if she looked closely, sheโ€™d see that everything sheโ€™d thought was stardust was really just the burning embers of a wicked spell. Apollo didnโ€™t love her; for all she knew, he didnโ€™t even like her. Heโ€™d once said she was his dream come true, but she was really his curse.

โ€œIโ€™m not leaving this carriage until you fix Apollo.โ€ โ€œYou want him to fall out of love with you?โ€

โ€œApollo doesnโ€™t actually love me. What heโ€™s feeling isnโ€™t real.โ€

โ€œIt feels real to him,โ€ Jacks drawled. โ€œHeโ€™s probably happier than heโ€™s ever been in his life.โ€

โ€œBut life is about more than happiness, Jacks!โ€ She hadnโ€™t meant to yell, but the Fate was absolutely maddening. โ€œDonโ€™t pretend youโ€™ve done nothing wrong.โ€

โ€œWrong and right are so subjective.โ€ Jacks sighed. โ€œYou say what Iโ€™ve done to Apollo is wrong. I say Iโ€™ve done him a favor, and Iโ€™m doing one for you as well. I suggest you take itโ€”marry the prince and let him make you a princess, and then a queen.โ€

โ€œNo,โ€ Evangeline said. This was not as bad as when Jacks had turned an entire wedding party to stone, but Apolloโ€™s condition wasnโ€™t something she could live with. She wanted to be someoneโ€™s love, not their curse. And if

Apollo knew what had been done to him, she imagined he wouldnโ€™t want to live with it either.

She also didnโ€™t believe for a second that this was some sort of favor. Jacks wanted this wedding to happen. She still didnโ€™t know why, but heโ€™d gone to a lot of trouble for it.

โ€œFix Apollo, or Iโ€™ll call off the wedding.โ€

Jacks smirked. โ€œYouโ€™re not going to break an engagement with a prince.โ€

โ€œTry me. You didnโ€™t believe Iโ€™d drink from Poisonโ€™s goblet either, but I did it.โ€

Jacks clenched his jaw. She smiled, triumphant.

Then the coach started rumbling ahead.

Evangeline clutched the cushions to keep from falling forward into Jacksโ€™s lap. โ€œWaitโ€”where are we going?โ€

โ€œYour next assignment.โ€ Jacksโ€™s gaze landed on her wrist, and the two remaining broken heart scars started to burn.ย Prick. Prick.ย It was like hot teeth digging into her skin.

Evangeline gripped the cushions tighter, suddenly feeling queasy. She was still dealing with the consequences of her last kiss. She wasnโ€™t ready for another one. And she was engaged, at least for now.

Jacksโ€™s blue eyes twinkled as if he found her worry amusing. โ€œDonโ€™t fret, Little Fox. This will be a different sort of kiss. Iโ€™m not about to ask you to do something that could put this wedding in jeopardy.โ€

โ€œI already told you. Thereโ€™s not going to be a wedding if you donโ€™t fix Apollo.โ€

โ€œIf I fix Apollo, there also wonโ€™t be a wedding.โ€ โ€œThen I guess Iโ€™m canceling my engagement.โ€

โ€œDo that, and youโ€™ll be the one destroying him, not me.โ€ Jacks stabbed his apple with the knife. โ€œIf you donโ€™t marry Apollo, heโ€™ll be more heartbroken than you can imagine. And it will never heal with time, it will only grow and fester. Unless I will it, Apollo will never get over his unrequited love for you. He will spend the rest of his life consumed by it until it eventually destroys him.โ€

Jacks finished with a smile that bordered on downright cheerful, as if the idea of leaving someone forever brokenhearted put him in a better mood.

He was terrible. There was no other word to describe himโ€”except maybeย heartlessย orย depravedย orย rotten.ย The way Jacks seemed to enjoy pain was absolutely staggering. The apple in his hand probably possessed more sympathy than he did. This was not the same young man whoโ€™d practically bled heartbreak all over the knave of his church. Something inside of him was broken.

LaLa had said there was a rumor that Jacks had been heartbroken by the empressโ€™s younger sister. Evangeline hadnโ€™t believed it initially. Jacks hadnโ€™t appeared sad her first night in Valorfell, just crueler and colder. But maybe thatโ€™s what heartbreak did to Fates? Maybe it didnโ€™t leave them hurt and lonely and horribly unhappy. Maybe broken hearts just made Fates even more inhuman. Was that what had happened to Jacks?

โ€œAre you feeling sorry for me?โ€ Jacks laughed, harsh and mocking. โ€œDonโ€™t, Little Fox. It would be a mistake for you to tell yourself that Iโ€™m not a monster. Iโ€™m a Fate, and you are nothing but a tool to me.โ€ He brought the tip of his dagger to his mouth and toyed with his lips until he drew several drops of blood.

โ€œIf youโ€™re trying to scare meโ€”โ€

โ€œCareful with your threats.โ€ Jacks shot across the carriage and pressed the bloody tip of the dagger to the center of her mouth.

Evangeline might have gasped if sheโ€™d not feared heโ€™d slip the blade between her lips. His blue eyes were back to bright as he taunted her with the blade, pressing it to her closed mouth until she could taste the disturbing sweetness of his blood.

โ€œThe only reason Iโ€™m entertaining this conversation is because, as youโ€™ve realized, I need you to marry Apollo. So, I will give you a wedding gift. I promise to restore the prince and erase all his artificial feelings for you after you marry him.โ€

The coach rocked to a sudden halt. But Jacks didnโ€™t move, and neither did Evangeline. She didnโ€™t even look out the window to see where theyโ€™d stopped. She just kept her gaze on him.

Jacks had backed her into a corner. She had to marry Apollo to save him. And if she saved himโ€”if Jacks erased Apolloโ€™s feelings for herย afterย they were marriedโ€”Apollo would surely hate her almost as deeply as he thought he loved her right now.

The only person whoโ€™d truly win would be Jacks.

Cautiously, she leaned back until Jacksโ€™s knife was no longer at her lips. But she could still taste the sharp of his blade, the cold of the metal, and the sweet of his blood still staining her lips. She felt as if sheโ€™d taste it forever. โ€œAt least tell me why you want this wedding.โ€

โ€œJust accept the gift. What I want isnโ€™t going to hurt anyone.โ€

She eyed the jeweled dagger heโ€™d just pressed to her lips. โ€œI donโ€™t think you and I have the same definition of hurt.โ€

โ€œBe thankful for that, Little Fox.โ€ Jacks gave her a smile that was all sharp edges. A drop of blood fell from the corner of his mouth, and something godforsaken washed over his expression. โ€œHurt is what made me.โ€

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