Evangeline finds Luc imprisoned among the vampire changelings and is overwhelmed by grief, hope, and confusion. Luc begs Evangeline to free him before dawn, claiming that he came to Chaos’s lair seeking vampire venom because he believed it could heal his scars after the wolf attack. Jacks warns Evangeline that Luc will say anything to escape and feed.

Luc reveals that he had been under a curse when he abandoned Evangeline for Marisol. Luc says the vampire venom cleared his mind, allowing him to remember that Marisol touched his neck the day he meant to see Evangeline, after which Marisol became his obsession. This confirms Evangeline’s long-held suspicion that Luc’s betrayal was magically forced, but shifts the blame toward Marisol rather than Evangeline’s stepmother.

Despite Jacks’s warnings, Evangeline decides she cannot leave Luc caged to die. Believing Luc is also a victim, Evangeline gives him a blue shortsword so he can break the lock. Luc escapes, immediately reveals growing fangs, apologizes, and lunges at Evangeline.

Jacks throws himself between Luc and Evangeline, and Luc bites Jacks in the neck. Jacks breaks Luc’s neck, but explains that Luc is now a full vampire and is not permanently dead unless beheaded or staked. When Jacks reaches for the sword to finish Luc, Evangeline refuses, insisting Luc should live and promising to leave without further delays if Jacks spares him.

As Evangeline and Jacks leave the cages, Evangeline questions whether Jacks helped Marisol curse Luc, but Jacks denies ever making a deal with Marisol. Jacks angrily says Evangeline has no sense where Luc is concerned, while Evangeline resents his cruelty even as she believes his denial. Near the exit, Evangeline notices Jacks has become eerily silent and physically transformed: his hair is gold again, his eyes brighter, his skin flushed, and his teeth fanglike. Evangeline realizes Luc infected Jacks with vampire venom.