Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2
The Ballad of Never After
by Stephanie Garber
Contents
Chapter 22
Overview
Evangeline and Jacks travel to Slaughterwood and cross the ashen ruins of Merrywood. Jacks rejects Protectorate lore, recounting how Lyric’s love for Aurora, betrothed to Vengeance, sparked the slaughter that killed Castor. Evangeline confesses visiting Tiberius, risking Apollo, and clashes with Jacks over lethal methods before they reach the castle.
Summary
In Jacks’s ominous black-and-gold carriage, Evangeline studies clues as they journey east to Slaughterwood. The winter landscape curdles into a gray wasteland, culminating in the wreckage of Merrywood Manor. A despairing chill pervades the coach as they pass the forlorn welcome sign and the staircase to nowhere.
Jacks denies Protectorate claims that the Valory Arch stones destroyed a Great House, insisting he knows the truth. At Evangeline’s prompting, he recounts how Lyric Merrywood fell in love with Aurora Valor, already betrothed to Vengeance Slaughterwood through a political pact. Aurora tried to break the match, then fled on her wedding day. Vengeance discovered the affair and unleashed vengeance, and Castor Valor died trying to warn Lyric.
Evangeline tests Jacks for ties to the Merrywood Three, but he offers little beyond cold dismissal of the Archer as “no one,” implying only the Fox cared for him. The story’s intimacy and Jacks’s muted tone hint at deeper personal wounds even as he deflects.
When Jacks demands her source for the “stones destroyed a Great House” claim, Evangeline admits she visited Tiberius in prison seeking leads. Jacks explodes, warning that revealing her life-link to Apollo could drive the Protectorate to kill Apollo to kill her. Evangeline argues Tiberius wouldn’t endanger his brother again.
Their clash sharpens over strategy: Jacks insists blood will be shed to obtain the stones; Evangeline forbids killing, determined to keep LaLa’s engagement gala magical and safe. As the carriage crosses Slaughterwood’s drawbridge, Jacks grimly concludes that someone will die—either a guest or one of them.
Who Appears
- EvangelineTravels with Jacks to Slaughterwood; probes his past; confesses visiting Tiberius; refuses to accept killing to get the stones.
- JacksShares the true Merrywood tragedy; denies stones caused it; grows volatile over Tiberius; insists death may be necessary.
- Lyric MerrywoodLord Merrywood’s son; loved Aurora Valor; his affair triggered Vengeance Slaughterwood’s retaliation and Merrywood’s fall.
- Aurora ValorPrincess betrothed to Vengeance; fled her wedding to be with Lyric, catalyzing the ensuing bloodshed.
- Vengeance SlaughterwoodAurora’s intended; retaliated when she fled, leading to the destruction at Merrywood.
- Castor ValorPrince and member of the Merrywood Three; died trying to warn Lyric of the attack.
- TiberiusImprisoned lord Evangeline visited; his stance and potential to inform the Protectorate alarm Jacks.
- ApolloEvangeline’s life-linked husband; his peril heightens stakes if the Protectorate learns the bond.