The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #2)

by Stephanie Garber

“You’re still bleeding.” He licked the center of her lips, soft and agonizingly slow. His tongue felt like heaven and hell. Like everything she wanted and all she couldn’t have.

Oh my GODS

“What’s wrong?” she said. She could see him shutting down again, wiping the emotion from his face—the anger, the lust, the fear, the pain, the longing.

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.

Dont LET HIM

“I have to go,” he said coldly. “No—” She shoved up from the bed. This time, she wasn’t going to let him get away with shutting her out. “What are you so afraid of?” A flicker of something like regret flashed in Jacks’s eyes.

*Insert clamp emoji here* YES BITCH

“When the four stones are combined, a person has the power to return to any moment in their past. It can only be done once. Once the stones have been used for this purpose, they’ll never have the power to be used like this again.”

Jacks looked at the apple in his hand as he answered. “I want to return to the moment I met Donatella.” “The princess who stabbed you?”

I knew this was all for Tella

All Evangeline cared about was that she was going to forget about him. Her breath was short, and her heart was pounding—she feared that at any moment it might just give out. And he was standing there eating an apple.

In my reread my chest is actively caving in

What was Jacks afraid of? What was his wound?

“I swear this is what I really want.” He spoke each word like a vow. “I want to erase every moment you and I have spent together, every word you’ve said to me, and every time I’ve touched you, because if I don’t, I’ll kill you, just like I killed the Fox.”

FUCKING OUCHIE

She hadn’t wanted that to be Jacks’s story—she wanted to be his story. A tear slid down her cheek as she tried to imagine Jacks as the Archer, fighting not to hurt the girl he loved and failing.

She wanted Jacks to simply be the Prince of Hearts again—the heartsick Fate looking for true love—rather than a fallen hero who’d found the love of his life and killed her.

She chased after me. She was convinced I really loved her and that I could fight the curse. And I did. I never laid a hand on her. I overcame the Archer’s curse. But it didn’t matter, because as soon as I kissed her, she died.” Jacks’s mouth twisted bitterly. “Since then, every girl I’ve kissed has died, except for one. And you are not that girl.”

MY belief is that Tella WAS dying and Julian’s blood healed her somehow and that because she passed up Jacks’s love on top of that, that Evie is his one true love i don't think his heart would beat as hard when Evie is around if that weren't the case

She would forget that he’d been Jacks of the Hollow, and the Archer, and, for the span of one night, hers.

Evangeline had always believed that every story had the potential for infinite endings, but this didn’t feel like the way their story was supposed to end. She hadn’t met Jacks just to forget him.

!!!!

The door to the room creaked open. Evangeline looked away from the clock to find Chaos standing in the doorway.

I stg if chaos gets in the way…

“He said you wouldn’t remember anyway,” Chaos added softly, as if he knew it was the opposite of consolation.

Wtfffff

The further back you go, the more Time fights against changes.

Chaos shook his head ruefully. “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.”

Nooooooo :( this makes me so sad, and we’ll see that play out soon

He was not going to change his mind. He was going to go through with his plan to change the past and both of their lives along with it.

Ok but why cant they kiss if going back in time might bring her back? Or am i wrong

According to Jacks, the Valory held a cure for the Archer’s curse that had been cast on Apollo, but it supposedly held no remedy for Jacks’s fatal kiss.

Honestly

“The Valors did create me.”

Literally tho lmao

I just want to unlock the Valory, and get this helm off.”

I would have so much acne

Jacks had said the stones could only be used once for that purpose. If she did it first, he would never have the chance.

DAMN

For a dazzling minute, she saw images of her parents alive again and smiling. She saw the curiosity shop open and Jacks holding her.

My poor sweet baby :(

She was still tempted, but as much as she hated the choice that Jacks was making, she didn’t want to take it away.

She is so good

“Is that really you?” Honora had a slight accent that spoke of times before and a voice just as delicate as her appearance. “Castor?”

Holy shit

he’d become the monster. Chaos was Castor Valor. This was why he really wanted to open the arch. Not just to take his helm off. He wanted to save his family. He missed them. He loved them.

Hes so precious :(

It was so simple, she cursed herself for not considering it before. Love was how she could save him. She didn’t just care about him or want him. She loved him. She just needed to tell him that.

I mean i guess she told us right here how the end of the story would be

If Jacks loved her the way she loved him, they could find a way to make it work.

Im so sad

He had a face that made her breath catch in her chest. Glittering eyes, clean-cut jaw, smooth olive skin, and a smile that made her heart flip. “The Handsome Stranger,” she gasped.

Omggggg wtf all these realizations tffff

Evangeline caught her mistake too late—she shouldn’t have looked into his eyes. Before she could scream, Chaos’s smile turned to fangs, and then those fangs were on her neck, tearing into her throat.

Jfc Chaos!!!!! i thought you had it under control

A tormented scream pierced the night like a blade. The sky bled, and darkness fell instead of stars, erasing lights across the Magnificent North.

This is so crazy

The Fate didn’t move. He didn’t let the girl go. He looked as if he never would. He continued holding her as if he could return her to life with the force of his will. His eyes were wet with blood. Red tears fell down his cheeks and onto hers. But the girl didn’t stir.

He better go back in time to save her life or i stg

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.”

Soon it would be nightfall. Soon she would forget him. She would forget this version of her life. The door creaked open. Evangeline looked away from the clock to find Chaos standing in the doorway.

Oh shit okay we're just going back already

“Actually, I changed my mind.” Jacks swaggered down the hall, a stunning young woman at his side. She had painted red lips, shimmering black hair, and a slip of a dress that didn’t even look like enough to be a nightgown.

Evangeline stole a look back at Jacks. Once she opened the arch, the stones would be his to use as he pleased. She wished that he’d change his mind,

He did my love unless he tries anyways regardless of the rules against using them twice

Reluctantly, she looked away, and one by one, Evangeline put the first three stones in the arch. They looked duller than she’d remembered. She hoped that maybe they’d already been used to change time.

Welcome back, it whispered.

Op

She told herself not to worry, but she suddenly felt as if something was very wrong. “Jacks, are you all right?”

“No.” In a flash, his red eyes narrowed. His mouth pulled tight, and his voice turned to venom. “I’m confused as to what you’re still doing here. Do you think you’re still needed?” “Jacks—”

know my name. There’s no need for you to keep repeating it.”

Dont push her away please

“What are you still doing here, Evangeline? Did you expect a teary goodbye?” He sneered. “I’ve told you before that you are nothing but a tool to me. Now your purpose has been fulfilled.” Embarrassment burned her cheeks.

:(

“You could have just said that. If you don’t want me to say goodbye or you want me to leave, you don’t have to hurt me to get me to do it.”

This is making me cry

“I’m not—I—” Jacks broke off abruptly. His eyes were no longer just red, they were blazing with fear. She’d never seen him look so terrified before. She’d been poisoned, shot, lashed across the back, and Jacks had always kept his calm until now.

Im sobbing now

With a great deal of effort, he took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft but uneven. “I’m sorry, Little Fox. I didn’t want to hurt you. I just—”

I hate this series so much :'(

He looked suddenly at a loss for words, as if whatever he said next might be the wrong thing. He’d never looked at her like this before.

wishing she knew how to change his mind. “I wish our story could have had another ending.” “I don’t want a different ending,” Jacks said flatly. “I just want you to leave.”

:(

She pressed her hands to her eyes as the tears flowed harder. She didn’t want to cry. But it truly felt over. And it hurt. It hurt so much. It hurt in her chest, and it hurt in her heart. Because he didn’t want her heart. The thought made her cry harder. She cried until she couldn’t see straight,

And suddenly, her chest was tight at the thought she might never hear that nickname again. And she didn’t want to forget. She didn’t want to forget at all.

It breaks my heart how desperately she wants to keep the memories and how theyre going to be ripped from her anyways