Chapter 25

Evangeline collides with a handsome stranger, Merrick Redthorne, and notices a striking black ring. Before she can assess it, Jacks arrives, taunts Merrick about two dead wives, and drives him off, claiming he’s protecting Evangeline. The exchange ignites palpable tension as Jacks fixates on her and then on a moonlit-haired guest.

Spotting LaLa with her fiancé, Lord Robin Slaughterwood, Evangeline insists on greeting them, hoping Robin might bear the mirth stone. Up close, Robin wears no gems, though his charisma enlivens the hall. Jacks pointedly references his ancient, dead House, unsettling LaLa, before the party proceeds to dinner.

Separated at table, Evangeline endures the Darling sister’s conspicuous flirting with Jacks. A sudden, overpowering jealousy reminds her of the luck stone’s effects, leading her to suspect the youth stone is nearby. Petra Youngblood, seated beside Evangeline, proves friendly yet shrewd and hints that Evangeline should watch Jacks.

When Jacks and the Darling girl, Giselle, vanish, Petra discreetly directs Evangeline to a portrait door. In a secret corridor emblazoned with Glory in Death, Evangeline finds Jacks about to kiss Giselle. She interrupts; Jacks mocks her concern, but when Evangeline refuses to leave, he dismisses Giselle instead.

Alone with Evangeline, Jacks presses close, turns rough, and warns that he is not human, nor her friend, husband, or lover. Evangeline pushes him away, invoking her marriage. Jacks, unmoved, says he doesn’t care and vanishes, leaving Evangeline with heightened suspicions about the youth stone and deeper doubts about Jacks’s intentions.