Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2
The Ballad of Never After
by Stephanie Garber
Contents
Chapter 8
Overview
Apollo returns awake but conflicted, confessing he heard Evangeline’s voice through his curse and wants forgiveness, yet fears he will hurt her. The curse overtakes him, his eyes turn red, and he shoots her with golden arrows. Jacks shields Evangeline and apologizes as she blacks out, escalating the stakes.
Summary
Evangeline confronts the returning rider and realizes it is Apollo, now seemingly fully awake and in control. Hope surges as Apollo admits he heard her daily pleas while cursed, and he appears torn between wanting forgiveness and fearing he will harm her.
Jacks urges Evangeline to leave, sensing danger. Apollo, struggling, warns her away. As Evangeline steps closer, Apollo’s eyes flash red, the ominous sign of the magic that has gripped him before, and he draws a golden arrow.
On Jacks’s shout, Evangeline runs. An arrow strikes her thigh; another goes wide, yet she feels a burning wound in her shoulder, and blood quickly soaks her dress. She staggers into Wolf Hall, collapsing on a bench as her vision dims.
As Evangeline fades, Jacks reaches her, unusually calling her by name and whispering, “I’m sorry,” before she loses consciousness, leaving the nature of Apollo’s condition and the peril of the mirror-bound curse still unresolved.
Who Appears
- Evangeline FoxHopes Apollo is cured; approaches despite warnings; is shot in thigh and shoulder; collapses inside Wolf Hall.
- ApolloAwake and torn; admits hearing Evangeline during his curse; urges her to leave before his eyes turn red and he shoots her.
- JacksSenses danger; orders Evangeline to run; shields her and softly apologizes as she loses consciousness.