Chapter 4

Evangeline recalls her mother Liana’s belief that happy endings must be chased. Leaving LaLa’s flat, she doubts her vow never to open the Valory Arch, weighing LaLa’s urging against the danger and Tiberius’s past attempts to keep it sealed.

In a carriage with Havelock, Evangeline considers telling incoming heir Lucien about Apollo’s condition to buy time, but Havelock warns Lucien could imprison or kill Apollo and perhaps Evangeline. At Wolf Hall, mourning decor has been replaced by celebratory holly as the court anticipates Lucien, tightening Evangeline’s urgency.

She descends to Apollo’s hidden chamber, improved for his comfort, and kisses him, hoping for any sign of life. Jacks arrives, having puppeted the nearby guards, taunting her and insisting she can save Apollo by agreeing to open the Arch.

Jacks sets a deadline—she has until nightfall to accept—and a distant clock strikes seven. As Evangeline turns to go, Apollo’s hand clamps onto her wrist; his eyes glow red, and his grip threatens to break her bones. Jacks denies causing it and slashes Apollo’s hand with a black-bladed dagger to free her.

Evangeline’s wrist bruises, and blood appears across the back of her other hand, mirroring Apollo’s cut. Jacks hastily binds her wound and warns her to stay away from Apollo and not kiss him again. He concludes that someone has cast a new curse binding Evangeline to Apollo, escalating the peril and her dilemma.