Chapter 31

Evangeline collapses after fatally stabbing Petra, horrified by the blood and by choosing her own life. Jacks arrives, steadies her, and insists she acted in self-defense, holding her until she can breathe. He urges her to pack quickly while he handles the body.

Before leaving, Evangeline searches Petra, revealing a golden wrist cuff set with a vivid blue stone—the youth stone Petra had claimed to possess. The sight renews Evangeline’s dread about the deadly stakes of the arch quest and the lives the stones are already costing.

Back in her room, as Evangeline tries to decide what to pack, Luc enters, alarmed by the blood. Suddenly, searing pain rips across Evangeline’s back; she realizes Apollo is being tortured and the mirror curse is inflicting his wounds on her.

Jacks storms in, finds Luc hovering and hungry, and identifies Apollo as the cause. Jacks commands Luc to locate Chaos immediately, rescue Apollo, and ensure he is healed, warning that Evangeline will die otherwise. Luc flees to comply.

With Evangeline wracked by pain, Jacks gathers her into his arms and promises to take her somewhere safe, leaving the urgent rescue of Apollo to Chaos as the consequences of the curse and the stone hunt escalate.