Chapter 14

Evangeline dreams of Luc slipping into her bed and feeding on her, then of Apollo riding through fog to shoot her in the heart. As she collapses, Jacks cradles her with unexpected gentleness before dropping her, jolting her awake and underscoring her mingled fear and conflicted pull toward him.

She wakes to find Jacks perched nearby, teasing that she said his name in her sleep and reclaiming his jeweled dagger. He urges her to dress so they can search for the missing Valory Arch stones, blithely calling Apollo a friend and minimizing the harm of curses on princes.

Evangeline resists, demanding to know Jacks’s true motive. Jacks counters with the stakes: Apollo is under the Archer’s curse and will kill her, just as the Archer killed the Fox. When Evangeline clings to the possibility of a different ending, Jacks insists ballads end in blood and urges her to choose survival.

Torn between distrust of Jacks and fear of Apollo’s compulsion, Evangeline concedes that refusing has become stubbornness. She agrees to help open the Valory Arch to break the curse tying her to Apollo, while setting a boundary by refusing to dress in front of Jacks. He departs, leaving her flustered but resolved to begin the search.