Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2
The Ballad of Never After
by Stephanie Garber
Contents
Chapter 28
Overview
Evangeline prepares for the couples-themed ball, choosing to wear the mirth stone in secret. Concerned Jacks hasn’t come for her, she seeks him out and finds him armed and holding a white apple. Realizing he isn’t alone, Evangeline senses new danger and complications for the night’s plans.
Summary
Evangeline dresses for the themed ball as the Fox, wearing a cheerful yellow eyelet dress LaLa left for her. Though the choice feels morbid given Apollo’s curse, it steels her resolve to find the youth and truth stones. She ties on rose-gold slippers and tucks the mirth stone into her bodice, deciding not to tell Jacks yet.
Evangeline reflects that the mirth stone feels harmless compared to the luck and youth stones, aside from her possessiveness when Luc tried to take it. As the clock nears eight and Jacks fails to arrive, she worries he might attend with someone else or be asleep, recalling how deeply he sleeps.
She goes to Jacks’s room and peers through a cracked door. Jacks is awake and battle-ready—armed with swords and daggers, standing before the fire, clutching a white apple and clenching his other fist. As Evangeline watches, she realizes Jacks is not alone, signaling immediate tension and a potential threat to her plans for the night.
Who Appears
- Evangeline FoxPrepares for the themed ball as the Fox, secretly wears the mirth stone, and seeks out Jacks.
- JacksFound armed with swords and daggers, holding a white apple, and not alone in his room.
- Unidentified companionUnseen presence with Jacks when Evangeline peers into his room.