Page 15 of A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart)

“I take it arches are special?” Evangeline said.

“Oh yes,” Madame Voss replied. “They were built by the Valors, our first king and queen, so that they could travel anywhere in North. But arches are also excellent for guarding things. The prince has one that guards the most magnificent phoenix tree. You should really get him to show it to you sometime. Ah, wait.” She looked down at the book. “I’ll bet there is a picture in here.”

The tutor turned the page, and indeed there was a stunning portrait of Apollo lounging across a tree branch in one of the most magnificent trees that Evangeline had ever seen. Every leaf seemed to sparkle. Half of them were a symphony of warm harvest colors—yellow and orange and russet—but the rest looked like real gold. Glittering, shimmering, dragon treasure gold.

“That’s the phoenix tree,” said Madame Voss. “Once it’s grown and in full bloom, it takes over a thousand years to mature as the leaves slowly turn into real gold. However, if one leaf is plucked before all the leaves have changed, the entire tree goes up in flames.Poof!”she said with a dramatic hand gesture before giving Evangeline a warning look.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of picking a leaf,” Evangeline said.

But Madame Voss had already turned the page.

It was Apollo again, but this time he rode a white horse and was dressed more ruggedly in wood-brown breeches, an open-collared shirt, and a fur vest with crisscrossing leather straps that fixed a golden bow and a quiver of arrows to his back.

“This was when he proposed to you,” said Madame Voss. “It was the first night of Nocte Neverending and he was dressed up like a character from a most beloved tale,The Ballad of the Archer and the Fox.”

“I know that story,” Evangeline said. “It’s my favorite…”

Or it always had been. As she said the words now, they didn’t feel quite so true.

“That’s wonderful,” Madame Voss replied. “Hopefully you can picture it then. Prince Apollo looked so dashing as he rode into the ball on a mighty white horse. He was dressed just like the Archer—”

Suddenly Evangeline couldn’t hear any more words. Her head hurt. Her chest hurt. Herhearthurt, every heartbeatseemed to pierce her like an arrow—a thought that also somehow pained her. She fought to remember why memories from her favorite fairytale would trigger so much misery. But all she found was…

nothing…

nothing…

nothing…

The harder she tried to remember, the more her heart ached. The sensation was similar to how she’d felt two days before, when Apollo had found her curled up on the ground in a strange and ancient room. Only now she didn’t want to cry. This pain felt raw, angry—like a scream living inside her that threatened to rip her in half if it wasn’t let out.

Once again, she remembered that there was somethingshe needed to tell someone, only now the thought of it was even more painful than before.

Madame Voss’s eyes went wide. “Your Highness, are you all right?”

No!Evangeline wanted to scream.There’s something I’ve forgotten and I need to remember.

Last night she’d convinced herself she could just let her memories go. But now it was clear that she’d been kidding herself. She knew Apollo had warned that regaining her memories would only hurt her, but some things were worth hurting for, and Evangeline believed this was one of those things.

Sheneededto remember.

“I’m sorry, Madame Voss,” Evangeline finally managed to say. “I’m suffering from a bit of a headache. May we postpone this lesson?”

“Of course, Your Highness. I’ll return tomorrow. I can tell you the rest of the story then. And we can have our first lesson on royal etiquette, if you’re feeling up for that.”

Madame Voss gave Evangeline a parting curtsy before quietly making her exit.

As soon as the tutor left, Evangeline started reading the book again, wondering if it might elicit any more feelings or memories. But the story inside—her and Apollo’s love story—was more of a picture book that read like a toothless fairytale, one without a villain.

Evangeline had always loved tales with love at first sight, but love at first sight was mentioned so many times that she half expected the story to end with an advertisement for bottles of Love at First Sight Perfume:Tired of Looking for Your Happy Ending? Stop Searching and Start Spritzing!

The book, of course, did not end that way. It also did not provoke any memories. Not even an itch of one.

Evangeline finally put the book down and paced in front of the fire. She racked her brain for any story her mother might have once told her about memory loss, hoping it might help her find a cure. While she couldn’t remember any, she did remember the stranger from the other day who had given her a little red calling card and said,If you’d ever like to talk, and perhaps answer some questions, I might be able to fill in a few blanks for you.

Evangeline searched for the little red card. It didn’t seem to be anywhere in her rooms. Fortunately, the man had a memorable name.

Just then Martine, the young maid who, like Evangeline, was from the Meridian Empire, entered the room with a tray of piping tea and fresh raspberry cookies.

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