Page 18 of A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart)

Apollo stood with an unfamiliar figure near the far mantel. This person was as tall as the prince but was entirely concealed by a dark hood and a long, heavy cloak.

Evangeline felt a fresh flicker of unease as she recalled the wordsNo one needs a cloak in there.They echoed in her head as she stepped deeper into the room. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Apollo’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw her. “No, you’re just in time, darling.”

The hooded figure continued to gaze into the fire.

Evangeline knew it was probably breaking some sort of rule to take a closer glance at the stranger beneath his hood, but shecouldn’t help herself. Not that it did much good. She discovered that the person beneath the cloak was male, but little else. A thick beard concealed the bottom half of his face, while a black mask covered the upper half, leaving her to gaze at nothing but a pair of slightly narrowed eyes.

Apollo gestured toward the man. “Evangeline, I’d like to introduce you to Garrick of the Greenwood, leader of the Guild of Heroes.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” Garrick’s voice was rasping and low, and did nothing to quell Evangeline’s growing sense of foreboding.

She’d never heard of Garrick or the Greenwood, but she had read about the Guild of Heroes yesterday morning.

Quickly she tried to remember what the scandal sheet had said. She thought it had started with something about the impostor heir who’d been on the throne when Apollo had been proclaimed dead. Apparently, this impostor was more concerned with parties and flirtations than with ruling the kingdom, and thus a band of warriors had taken it upon themselves to keep order in some areas of the North. They called themselves the Guild of Heroes. However, according to Mr. Knightlinger, it was debatable as to whether these warriors were heroes or mercenaries profiting off a series of unfortunate circumstances.

“Garrick is leading an effort that will take the hunt for Lord Jacks outside of Valorfell,” said Apollo.

The hero cracked his knuckles and flashed a chilling smile at Evangeline. “My men and I are excellent hunters. Lord Jackswill be dead within a fortnight. Possibly sooner, if you’re willing to help us.”

“What could I possibly do to help you?” Evangeline asked. For a moment she had a flash of being tied to a tree and used as bait.

“Don’t be alarmed, sweetheart.” Apollo took her hand. “This will only hurt for a moment.”

“What will hurt?” She pulled her hand free and tripped on the full skirt of her dress.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Evangeline.”

“Unless you don’t like blood,” muttered Garrick.

Apollo glared at him. “You’re not helping.”

“Neither are you, Your Highness. Not to be rude,” Garrick said in a clearly rude tone. “But this will take an eternity if you mollycoddle her. Just tell her about the damn mark.”

“What mark?” Evangeline asked.

Apollo’s lips pressed into a tight line. Then his eyes dropped to her wrist.

Evangeline didn’t even need to follow his gaze. As soon as he looked toward her sheer gloves, she could feel the broken heart scar on her wrist begin to burn. Her heart started to race as well.

She remembered then the seamstress who’d covertly left the room after seeing the scar yesterday, and Evangeline had a terrible feeling that she now knew where the woman had gone. She’d left to see Apollo.

“Lord Jacks made that scar on your wrist. It’s his mark. It signifies a debt you owe him.”

“What kind of debt?” she asked.

“I don’t know what you owe,” Apollo said. “All we can do is try to stop him from collecting it.” He looked at her grimly now. His skin—normally a lovely olive—had gone a little gray.

“How?”

“By finding him before he finds you. The mark he gave you links you to him, making it possible for Jacks to locate you anywhere.”

“But it can also help us findhim,” Garrick added. “The same link that allows him to track you should allow us to hunt him. But we need your blood.”

Somewhere in the room, a bird cawed, loud and unnerving as Garrick flashed his teeth.Bloodthirstywas the word that came to mind.

Evangeline didn’t like the idea that she owed Jacks a debt, but she also didn’t want to give this stranger her blood. In fact, she had a powerful urge to run from the room and keep running until her legs gave out. But she had the impression that Garrick of the Greenwood was the sort of man who would chase anything that fled him.

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