A Curse for True Love

From Evangeline’s balcony, Jacks watches her and Apollo kiss. He wants to storm the room and tell her the truth, but he doesn’t. He believes that Evangeline is safer with Apollo. Leaping from the balcony, Jacks overhears guards talking about the great house slaughter. 

Immediately, Jacks knows who did it: the vampire Chaos—who is also Castor Valor. Centuries ago, the Valor family cast the story curse to protect Castor after they resurrected him, accidentally making him a vampire. Jacks had himself turned into a Fate so Castor wouldn’t be immortal alone and started the rumor that Castor was also a Fate to hide his true identity. Jacks goes to Merrywood to confront Castor about the killing. Castor shrugs it off but warns Jacks to be careful. He knows Jacks wants to use Evangeline and that she’ll never forgive him if he does, to which Jacks says, “[A]t least she’ll be alive to hate me” (173).

The next morning, an article in the paper blames Jacks for the slaughter of the great house. Evangeline recognizes Jacks’s picture as her Archer, thinking he looks “nothing like a murderer—and everything like what Evangeline secretly wanted” (175).