Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2
The Ballad of Never After
by Stephanie Garber
Contents
Chapter 41
Overview
Evangeline removes the mirth stone, draining the Hollow’s enchantment and erasing Jacks’s tenderness. They return to Chaos’s castle in tense silence, where Jacks warns Apollo remains dangerous and pressures Evangeline to hide. Hurt and desperate for relief, Evangeline yields to temptation and opens the iron jar containing the mirth stone.
Summary
When Evangeline extracts the mirth stone from the clock, the Hollow’s life drains away—candles snuff, floors crack, and cold settles in. The little dragon scratches to escape, and Evangeline lets it go. Turning to Jacks, she finds his eyes no longer red and his manner curt, confirming the stone’s influence has faded from him.
Preparing to leave, Evangeline dresses warmly and packs Aurora Valor’s diary, unsettled by Petra’s earlier warning about the four stones’ combined power. Jacks refuses to discuss what the stones do beyond opening the Arch, and they depart on a frigid, silent sled ride to Valorfell, the emotional distance between them as stark as the cold.
At Chaos’s cemetery gates, Evangeline notices broken angel statues reminiscent of the Valory Arch. Inside the castle, Jacks sharply warns her not to seek Apollo, calling the cursed prince dangerous. He scolds her for using blood to open doors in a vampire stronghold and orders her to stay safe until night so Chaos can open the Arch and remove his helm, honoring Jacks’s promise not to use the stones before then.
Stung and heartsick, Evangeline retreats to her room, clutching the cast-iron jar that imprisons the mirth stone. Longing for relief from her pain and rejection, she finally yields to temptation and knocks the lid off the jar, inviting the stone’s numbing bliss.
Who Appears
- Evangeline FoxProtagonist; removes the mirth stone, feels heartbreaking distance from Jacks, returns to Chaos’s castle, and finally opens the iron jar.
- JacksFate turned cold after the mirth stone’s removal; brusquely leads return, warns about Apollo, insists Evangeline stay safe until night.
- ApolloCursed prince and Evangeline’s husband; unseen but emphasized as a danger she must avoid in the castle.
- ChaosVampire lord of the castle; absent this chapter but his promise with Jacks dictates timing for opening the Arch.
- Little dragonTiny companion from the Hollow; flees once its magic fades after the mirth stone’s removal.