Evangeline turned into a thousand pieces of panic. She kicked Apollo between the legs, but he was too heavy on top of her for her kicks to be effective. She was pinned to the bed by his body.
She tried to scream as his fingers crushed painfully against her windpipe.
Then he was choking, tooโsputtering and coughing and losing his grip thanks to the mirror curse.
Evangeline could barely breathe, but as Apollo pulled away, she managed to grab the jar with the mirth stone and crawl out from under him.
Clumsily, she rolled off the bed. Everything was a blur. The dark room spun, candles flaring and smoking all at once. She was wheezing, stumbling on her legs. But somehow, she remembered the lever next to the bed.
She pulled on it with all her might. A cage immediately crashed down around Apollo. Bars clanked loudly into place, imprisoning him.
With a growl, he grabbed the bars. His face was feral, eyes still glowing red, but his words were a plea. โIโm sorry, Evangeline. I really donโt want to hurt you!โ
โI know.โ She staggered back. Intoโ
Jacks.
Veins pulsed in his neck; murder flared in his eyes as he glared at Apollo.
โGo,โ he ordered Evangeline.
โYou canโt hurt him,โ she panted, and she tugged on Jacksโs shirt to get him to leave. โIf you hurt him, it also hurts me. Remember?โ
Jacks groaned something like,ย โSomeday I will kill him.โ
He put an arm around Evangeline.
โGet your hands off my wife!โ Apollo cried.
Jacks pulled her closer and urged her toward the door.
Evangeline felt horribly torn. She couldnโt go back to Apolloโnot when he was like thisโbut leaving with Jacks felt like a different sort of agony. He was always there to rescue her, and then he always left.
He was rough as he took her from the room, only pausing to slam the door behind them before he turned to her again. โWhat did he do to you?โ Jacksโs jaw tensed when he saw
the blood staining her lips.
โIโm fineโI justโโย I just need you to hold me.ย She wasnโt able to say it. She wasnโt even sure she projected the thought.
But then Jacks picked her up. She clung to him and buried her head in his shoulder.
He held her so tightly it hurt, but this pain she didnโt mind. Sheโd let him crush her, let him break her, just as long as he never let her go. This was what she wanted, and she refused to believe that he didnโt want it, too.
She could feel his heart pound against her chest as he carried her into the room next door to hers. It was a mess. There were apples and cores all over the desk. The sheets on the bed were thrashed. The fire was burning more than just logs. Clearly, she wasnโt the only one upset after theyโd returned from the Hollow.
He kicked the door shut and brought her to the bed. โLittle Fox, when I saw you, I thoughtโโ
He broke off as he set her atop all the twisted sheets. Then he fisted her hair in his hand and tugged until she was looking up at him. His face had all the agony of a fallen star, broken and beautiful, with eyes so blue, the color of everything else looked dull.
Deliberately, his gaze fell to her lips.
Her breathing turned ragged, and she wished just once that he could kiss her.
He leaned closer and gently twisted her hair, angling her head as he brought their mouths incredibly close.
โYouโre still bleeding.โ He licked the center of her lips, soft and agonizingly slow. His tongue felt like heaven and hell. Like everything she wanted and all she couldnโt have. She had to stop herself from leaning closer, though she doubted Jacks would let her. She could feel his fingers against her scalp, holding her in place, keeping her lips just shy of his.
But maybe it was close enough. Maybe they didnโt have to touch. She could live like this as long as she could live with him.
Then he let her go. He dropped her hair and stepped away from the bed, making her skin go suddenly cold.
โWhatโs wrong?โ she said. She could see him shutting down again, wiping the emotion from his faceโthe anger, the lust, the fear, the pain, the longing. It was just like the Hollow. This was what heโd done when sheโd put the mirth stone in the pot. Heโd shuttered all his feelings. Heโd pretended everything had been because of the stone.
Sheโd suspected this was the case, but she hadnโt been certain until now.
โI have to go,โ he said coldly.
โNoโโ She shoved up from the bed. This time, she wasnโt going to let him get away with shutting her out. โWhat are you so afraid of?โ
A flicker of something like regret flashed in Jacksโs eyes. โWhat is it?โ she pressed.
Jacks raked a hand through his hair. โDo you still want to know what the stones do when theyโre together?โ
โYes,โ she said. But suddenly, she felt nervous. This was the answer sheโd been waiting for. The one sheโd been begging for. All this time, sheโd been dying to know what Jacks really wanted. For a while, sheโd been afraid of it, because she didnโt want him to hurt anyone. But now from the way he looked at her, she suddenly feared the only person his answer would hurt was her.
Jacks crossed over to his desk and picked up a white apple. He tossed it as he said, โWhen the four stones are combined, a person has the power to return to any moment in their past. It can only be done once. Once the stones have been used for this purpose, theyโll never have the power to be used like this again.โ
For a second, it didnโt sound so bad. Lots of people had moments they wanted to change. That day alone there were several things Evangeline would have done differently. โWhat moment do you want to go back to?โ
Jacks looked at the apple in his hand as he answered. โI want to return to the moment I met Donatella.โ
โThe princess who stabbed you?โ He nodded tightly.
For a second, Evangeline was speechless. Of all the answers, she did not expect this. She quickly flashed back to the night that she and Jacks had spent together in the crypt, when heโd finally told her the story of Princess Donatellaโhow heโd kissed her and it should have killed her, but instead, it made his heart beat. She should have
been his one true love, but Donatella chose another and stabbed Jacks in the heart.
โWhy would you want to go back for her?โ
Jacks worked his jaw. โShe was supposed to be my one true loveโI want another chance at that.โ
โBut this doesnโt make sense,โ Evangeline said. โWhy go to all this trouble for a girl whoย youย donโt love?โ Because Evangeline knew Jacks didnโt love Donatella. She might have believed it before, when sheโd first heard the story, but Evangeline couldnโt fathom it now.
Jacks never talked about her, and on the rare occasions he did mention her, he didnโt sound as if he loved her.
โIs this just because you didnโt kill her? Or do you really want to be with her?โ
Jacksโs nostrils flared. โThis is a pointless argument.โ He bit down hard on his apple. โAnd you wonโt remember this anyway.โ
Fresh panic gripped Evangeline. This was the second time heโd said that. The first time, in the Hollow, heโd made it sound as if he hadnโt really meant it, but now, Jacksโs voice was clear and hard.
โWhy are you saying I wonโt remember?โ she asked. Although she feared she already knew. If Jacks went back in time, it wouldnโt just change his life, it would also alter Evangelineโs. Thatโs why he was saying sheโd forget, because if Jacks created a new reality, none of this would happen. They would never even have this argument.
Everything that had occurred between Jacks and Evangeline since sheโd come North had been a result of Jacksโs search for the arch stones. But if he managed to use them and rewrite his history, then he wouldnโt need to find them againโhe wouldnโt need her.
Suddenly, Evangeline felt sick.
Jacks looked as if he didnโt care at all.
โIf you go back in time, how much of my life will change?โ she asked.
Jacks took another bite of his apple. โYour life wonโt be entirely different. Time doesnโt wish to be changedโmost things will reset themselves, unless someone actively fights to alter them. From what Iโve gathered, youโll still find your way hereโit just wonโt be due to me. I imagine Chaos will accomplish bringing you here on his own. So, donโt worry, pet, youโll still be a princess, and youโll still have Apollo.โ
โWhat about you? Will we ever meet?โ
โNo.โ And if Jacks felt anything about it, the emotion didnโt show.
โWill you still remember me?โ
โYes,โ he said with equal indifference. โBut Iโll make sure our paths never cross.โ
โBut you just said my life wouldnโt change.โ
โIt wonโt.โ He took another bite of his apple. โYouโll find another way to stop Lucโs wedding. Poison, I imagine.โ
โThat wasnโt what I was talking about.โ Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. She couldnโt believe that Jacks didnโt care that she would forget him. That this moment and every other moment between them would be erased. That Chaos or Poison would simply replace himโthat is, if hisย theoryย about her life staying mostly the same was correct. If he was wrong, there were so many other directions her life could take.
Although she wasnโt worried about that just then. All Evangeline cared about was that she was going to forget aboutย him.ย Her breath was short, and her heart was poundingโshe feared that at any moment it might just give out. And he was standing there eating an apple.
But she knew he felt something. She no longer believed anything that had happened between them in the Hollow was because of the mirth stone. The mirth stone didnโt
create bliss; all it had done was mend wounds and take away fear.
What was Jacks afraid of? What was his wound?
She was supposed to be my one true loveโI want another chance at that.ย Thatโs what heโd said when Evangeline had asked why he wanted to go back to be with Donatella. He hadnโt said he loved her. He just wanted her because he believed she was his only chance at love. It really was because she was the one girl he hadnโt killed with his kiss.
โWhat if youโre wrong? What if Princess Donatella isnโt your only chance at love? You said that if I opened the Valory Arch, there was something inside that could cure the curse on Apollo. What if thereโs something in there to help you, too? Maybe thereโs a way that you can findย anotherย true love.โ
Jacks ground his jaw and dropped his apple into the fire. โThatโs not how it works.โ
โWhy wonโt you at least try? Why is your only solution to go back in time for a girl who doesnโt love you?โ
Jacksโs eyes turned into a storm.
Evangeline probably should have stopped there, but this was her last chance. If he went through with his terrible plan, she wouldnโt even know theyโd ever met. Slowly, she walked toward where he stood and tilted her head to look up at him.
โIf you really believe this is what you want, then youโre lying to yourself.โ
โIโm not lying to myself,โ Jacks snarled.
โThen tell me this is what you truly want. Swear you want this more than anything else and Iโll never mention it again.โ
Jacks grabbed her by the shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. For a minute, he didnโt speak. He just looked
at her, at the remaining blood still on her lips and the dried tears staining her cheeks. โI swear this is what I really want.โ He spoke each word like a vow. โI want to erase every moment you and I have spent together, every word youโve said to me, and every time Iโve touched you, because if I donโt, Iโll kill you, just like I killed the Fox.โ
Evangelineโs heart stopped.
She searched Jacksโs eyes, but all she saw was darkness, and all she felt was the press of his hands. He held on to her the way a person might grasp the edge of a cliff, knowing once they let go, there was no taking hold again.
And Evangeline could no longer avoid the truth she hadnโt wanted to see. Jacks was the Archer fromย The Ballad of the Archer and the Fox.ย That was the reason why heโd known so much about the Archerโs curse and why heโd been so insistent there was no way to break it, why heโd said he wasnโtย friendsย with the Archer. Heย wasย the Archer.
Evangeline had feared it was true as soon as the Handsome Stranger had mentioned the first fox. But sheโd dismissed it because she hadnโt wanted to be right. She hadnโt wantedย thatย to be Jacksโs storyโsheย wanted to be his story.
A tear slid down her cheek as she tried to imagine Jacks as the Archer, fighting not to hurt the girl he loved and failing. No wonder he was so damaged and cruel. No wonder heโd perfected the art of not caring.
โSorry to break your fairytale, Little Fox, but ballads donโt end happily, and neither do the two of us.โ
His hands dropped from her shoulders, and he started for the door.
โIโm not that fox!โ Evangeline cried.
โYou donโt understand.โ He tossed a dark look over his shoulder. โEvery girl is another fox. You want to know how
the story really ends? You want to know the part of the tale that everyone forgets?โ
Evangeline told herself to shake her head. For so long, sheโd wanted to know the end of this story, but now she wanted to forget it all. She wanted Jacks to simply be the Prince of Hearts againโthe heartsick Fate looking for true loveโrather than a fallen hero whoโd found the love of his life and killed her.
โI thought you just told me how the story ended,โ she said.
โI told you that I killed her, but I didnโt say how.โ A dangerous intensity slipped into Jacksโs voice. โI didnโt tell you that I ran away, that I tried to leave her so I wouldnโt hurt her. I didnโt know if I really loved her, or if my feelings were all from the curse, because it wouldnโt let me stop thinking about her. But she had more faith in me than I did. She chased after me. She was convinced I really loved her and that I could fight the curse. And I did. I never laid a hand on her. I overcame the Archerโs curse. But it didnโt matter, because as soon as I kissed her, she died.โ Jacksโs mouth twisted bitterly. โSince then, every girl Iโve kissed has died, except for one. And you are not that girl.โ