Page 93 of A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart)

The laughter died on his lips, and the fire in his eyes went out. For a second, Jacks didn’t look like a Fate or a human, he looked like a ghost, a shell that had been emptied out and tossed in the waves too many times. And once again, Evangeline thought about how his heart had been broken over and over, so many times that it couldn’t hope, it could only fear.

“This is something that gets one chance to be right or wrong, and if you’re wrong, there’s no trying again. There is nothing.”

Silence filled the space between them. Not even a leaf on the tree dared to rustle.

Then so softly she almost didn’t hear it, Jacks said, “You were there, you saw what the cuff did to me when I tried to kiss you.”

Something like shame filled his eyes and Evangeline didn’t know how it was possible, but he looked even more fragile than before. As if it would take less than a touch to break him, as if the wrong word might shatter him into a thousand pieces.

“This is as close as we get,” Jacks said.

He stroked her throat, and she knew that in a second, he was going to let her go. He was going to release her, pluck a leaf, and set his heart on fire.

Evangeline felt terrified to move, petrified of speaking for fear of saying the wrong thing. Her hands were shaking and her chest felt hollow, as if there was a hole and the hope wasdraining out of her as well, disappearing into the same place that had stolen all of his hope.

But she knew where that place led and she refused to go there.

“I love you, Jacks.”

He closed his eyes as she said the wordlove.

She hoped a little harder. She wanted to ask him to look at her, but all that mattered was that he didn’t let her go.

“I used to wonder if fate was real,” she said gently. “I used to fear it meant that I had no real choices. Then I secretly hoped fate was real and that you and I were fated, that by some miraculous chance I was your true love. But now I don’t care if fate is real—because I don’t need it to decide for me. I don’t need it to make this choice. I’ve made my decision, Jacks. It’s you. It will always be you, until the end of time. And I’ll fight fate or anyone else who tries to tear us apart—includingyou. You are my choice. You are my love. You are mine. And you are not going to be the end of me, Jacks.”

“I think I already am.” He opened his eyes and they dripped red tears. “Let me go, Evangeline.”

“Tell me you won’t set fire to your heart, and I will let you go.”

“Don’t ask me to do that.”

“Then don’t ask me to let you go!”

His eyes bled more tears, but his hand held tight to the jar. “I’m broken. I like to break things. Sometimes I want to break you.”

“Then break me, Jacks.”

His fingers tensed against her neck. “For once I want to do the right thing. I can’t do this. I can’t watch you die again.”

The wordagainscraped against her like a thorn. “What do you mean,again?”

“You died, Evangeline.” Jacks pulled her closer until she could feel the ragged rise and fall of his chest as he rasped, “I held you in my arms as it happened.”

“Jacks… I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never died.”

“Yes, you did. The night you opened the Valory. The first time you did it, I didn’t go with you.” He went silent for a moment and then she heard him think,I couldn’t say goodbye.

“It was only you and Chaos,” he whispered. “As soon as his helm was off, he killed you. I tried to stop him—I tried to save you—but—”

Jacks opened and shut his mouth as if he could barely get the words out. “I couldn’t. When I got there, he had already bitten you—and he’d already taken too much blood. You died as soon as you were in my arms. The only thing I could do was use the stones to turn back time. I was warned that it would cost me something. But I thought it would costme.I didn’t imagine it would take fromyou.”

I’m sorry, he thought.

“You don’t need to be sorry, Jacks.”

“It’s my fault,” he gritted out.

“No it’s not. I didn’t lose my memories because you turned back time. I lost them because Apollo took them from me.”

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