Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2
The Ballad of Never After
by Stephanie Garber
Contents
Chapter 34
Overview
In the Hollow, Evangeline and Jacks share a charged morning that exposes old ties and new secrets. Jacks discovers Evangeline’s truth stone, uses it to force confessions, then takes it. He explains the Hollow’s protections and time dilation, confirming the mirror curse is paused. Finally, Jacks reveals he does not want the Valory Arch opened, shifting Evangeline’s understanding of his motives.
Summary
Evangeline, flustered by Jacks’s shirtless arrival and the sight of her bite marks on his skin, tries to hide her reaction and the truth stone hanging at her neck. Jacks teases, notices the necklace, and pulls out the glowing stone, initially mistaking it for a trinket from Luc. Jealousy prickles when they see “Aurora + Jacks” etched nearby, but Jacks denies loving Aurora and claims he didn’t know about the inscription.
Seeking to avoid revealing the stone’s power, Evangeline redirects them to the Hollow’s tavern. They eat a waiting feast while Jacks explains the Hollow’s origin: an ancient enchantment shields it from curses and keeps it unchanged by time, causing accelerated healing and time dilation. Evangeline confirms her mirror-curse slashes paused upon arrival, and Jacks admits he brought her here to protect her and hasten her recovery, though he avoids the Hollow because it was once his home and he has painful history there.
When Jacks mentions becoming a Fate, his mood hardens. Fixating on the necklace, he accuses Evangeline of hiding the truth stone. Under its compulsion, she confesses she took it from Glendora’s grave and kept it to prevent Jacks from locking it away. Another involuntary truth slips out: she wants to understand him.
Jacks rips the stone from her chain and storms out. Evangeline, still weak, follows to the doorway and demands to know why he wants the Valory Arch opened. He stops and, in a low voice, reveals he doesn’t want to open it at all, upending her assumptions about his agenda.
Who Appears
- Evangeline FoxRecovers in the Hollow, hides the truth stone, confesses under its power, and presses Jacks about the Valory Arch.
- JacksFinds and seizes the truth stone, forces Evangeline’s confessions, explains the Hollow’s protections, and admits he doesn’t want the Valory Arch opened.