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October 27 - November 2, 2025
“Was that really necessary?” “No, but everyone should have their clothes ripped off at some point.” She imagined Jacks was mostly trying to distract her from all the pain, yet she blushed all the way from her cheeks to her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him smile. And for a second, nothing hurt.
He was gentle with the bandage, but a little careless with his hands—every time he wrapped the fabric around, she felt his cool fingertips brushing her stomach or ribs and occasionally her breasts.
“Life is not a kind storyteller. And I’m not meant to be a savior.”
“Are you jealous of Luc?” “I thought we already covered that yesterday. I’m always jealous. And so are you,” he added with a smirk.
He’d put on a clean shirt—soft blue, with sleeves shoved up to the elbows, and most of the buttons done except for the ones up top, which allowed a clear view of the fading bite marks she’d left on his neck.
She looked up at his unreadable eyes as he lowered her into the bed. “Do you still think of me as just a tool?” Jacks frowned. “I try not to think of you at all.”
“You’re wasting your time, Little Fox.” Jacks leaned against the doorway, clutching his side. “It’s just a knife to the ribs.” “I suppose it’s going to heal on its own?” “Yours did.” “After you tended to them.” His mouth twitched up at the corner. “Only because I wanted to take off your clothes.”
It felt strange to worry about Jacks, but she doubted anyone else did, including himself.
Jacks slowly ran a hand up and down her spine. “Have you decided to stay?” “I thought you already heard what I was thinking,” she whispered. “I want you to say it out loud.” His words were low and quiet; she wouldn’t have heard them if she hadn’t been so close. And it struck her how intimate words could be, how they could be spoken only once, for only one person, and they would never be heard again, they would disappear like a moment, gone almost as soon as you realized they were there. Evangeline’s heart was still racing, and she wondered now if it wasn’t scared or nervous but if it was just
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It was only supposed to be for the night, but the pretending hadn’t stopped. Light was bleeding through the windows, showering them in sunshine as they lay together, legs and arms entwined. One of his cool hands wrapped protectively around her waist, and the other had made its way up her skirt, holding her to him as if touching were a form of breathing. They had moved closer as they’d slept, as if drawn by some force that she suspected was simply each other.
“Whatever it is, Jacks, you won’t feel the same in a minute.” He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw. “You have no idea what I’m feeling now.”
“You can turn around, Little Fox.” His tone was brisk, and at the sound of it, her spark of hope burned out. “You don’t have to worry about any more unwanted declarations from me.”
Jacks groaned something like, “Someday I will kill him.”
He was always there to rescue her, and then he always left.
She could feel his heart pound against her chest as he carried her into the room next door to hers. It was a mess. There were apples and cores all over the desk. The sheets on the bed were thrashed. The fire was burning more than just logs. Clearly, she wasn’t the only one upset after they’d returned from the Hollow.
She could see him shutting down again, wiping the emotion from his face—the anger, the lust, the fear, the pain, the longing. It was just like the Hollow. This was what he’d done when she’d put the mirth stone in the pot. He’d shuttered all his feelings. He’d pretended everything had been because of the stone.
Soon it would be nightfall. Soon she would forget him. She would forget this version of her life. She might even have an entirely different life, and she wouldn’t know this life had ever existed. She would know he existed, but he would no longer be Jacks, he would just be a mythical figure: the Prince of Hearts. She would forget that he’d been Jacks of the Hollow, and the Archer, and, for the span of one night, hers.
“You’re not good for him, either, Princess. This is a better mistake for Jacks to make than you. If he were to stay for you, he would kill you, and your death would kill him. Trust me, Evangeline. If you care about Jacks, the best thing you can do for him is let him go.”
A tormented scream pierced the night like a blade. The sky bled, and darkness fell instead of stars, erasing lights across the Magnificent North.
“That is not a small mistake to fix. If you do this, Time will take something equally valuable from you.” The Fate gave the queen a look more vicious than any curse. “There is nothing of equal value to me.”
