A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart, #3)

by Stephanie Garber

Evangeline Fox always believed she’d find herself inside of a fairytale one day.

“Your memories were stolen by someone who’s been trying to tear us apart.”

Her head hurt and her chest felt hollowed out, as if she’d lost more than just her memories. For a second the agony was so deep and so brutal, she clutched her heart, half expecting to find a jagged hole. But there was no wound. Her heart was still there; she could feel it beating. Yet for a devastating moment, Evangeline imagined that it shouldn’t have been, that her heart was supposed to be as broken as she felt. Then it hit her, not a feeling but a thought—a sharp, fragmented one. She had something important to tell someone.

But she would have traded it all to remember just how she’d gotten here, how she’d fallen in love and married this man and lost what felt like part of her heart.

Nothing came without a cost; peasants who turned into princesses always had to pay. And suddenly Evangeline wondered if her lost memories were the price she had paid for all of this.

She felt like the idea of a princess, with the dress and the prince and the castle, and yet she also felt without.

Her heart still hurt, as if it had been broken and only jagged bits remained.

she was struck with the inescapable feeling that among everything she’d forgotten was one thing more important than all the rest, more important than anything.

The rest of the memory was blurry around the edges, like a dirty pane of glass that gave the impression of an image without actually showing what it was.

He would carry her through more than just freezing waters. He would pull her through fire if he had to, haul her from the clutches of war, from falling cities and breaking worlds …

“The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: The True and Unabridged History of Evangeline Fox and the Prince of Hearts.”

Once upon a time, a girl who believed in fairytales stole the heart of a prince who had sworn to never love.

Jacks had always considered himself more of a sadist than a masochist. He enjoyed inflicting pain, not receiving it. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave the shadows of Evangeline’s bedroom. It wasn’t an obsession. One visit wasn’t an obsession. Jacks just needed to make sure she was still alive. That she wasn’t bleeding. In danger. Unhappy. Cold. She was safe in her bed. She’d be even safer when he left her. But he was too selfish to leave just yet. He leaned against the bedpost and watched as she slept. He’d never understood why someone would watch another person sleep … until her.

“Wait!” Evangeline called. “What’s your name?” You already know, Little Fox. But once again, his thoughts weren’t projected loudly enough for her to hear. Instead, he gave her the name he’d planned on. He knew she wouldn’t remember it, and he needed to make sure he didn’t forget it. “You can call me Archer.”

She could still remember the powerful way they’d wrapped tightly around her, how good it had felt to have him hold her. And for a prickling second, she was jealous of anyone else he might ever hold. This was definitely not a good idea.

“May all those in this room who seek true love find it, and may those who stand in its way be cursed!” The crowd all clinked their goblets and cheered with Apollo. “To love and to curses!”

She gave Evangeline the impression that she was used to walking through battlefields instead of ballrooms.

Evangeline hadn’t even noticed him enter the room, but suddenly he was there—golden and glowering and possibly the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

Jacks had so badly wanted to tell her that he couldn’t even remember what Donatella looked like, that Evangeline’s face was the only one he saw whenever he closed his eyes, that he would go with her anywhere … if he could.

Ye Olde Brick Inn at the End of the Forest: for Wayward Travelers and Adventurers. Beneath this sign was another swaying sign that contained the word: Vacancy. And then hooked beneath that was an even smaller sign that read: One Bed.

“Go search for your princess, and if you value your life, forget all about the Tree of Souls.”

The only magic in the room was that of touch and heartbeats and Jacks. And for a moment it was perfect. He felt like hers and she felt as if she was his.

And at long last … she did. She remembered.

Evangeline could still hope, but it hadn’t felt quite the same since that night. She wondered now if it was because that was the night she’d lost Jacks, despite believing and hoping and chasing.

If they were truly meant for each other, shouldn’t it have been easier? Shouldn’t there have been less bloodshed and heartbreak and people trying to tear them apart? Shouldn’t love have won already?

“I think it’s a bit of both.” LaLa gave her another half hearted smile. “I know you like to do the right thing, but the right thing doesn’t always win with our kind. I think that was part of the reason Jacks became a Fate. He’d always tried to do the right thing as a human, but it didn’t seem to matter, and the people he loved the most kept dying.”

I am Jacks’s true love. I believe it with the same confidence that I believe that water fills the oceans and morning follows the night. I believe it with all my heart and soul. And there has to be some sort of magic in that.”

“I know my faith in love might appear foolish. I also know it might not be enough. But I’m not doing this because I believe I’ll win. I’m actually a little afraid I’m going to lose. I no longer think love is a guarantee of victory or of happily ever after. But I think it’s a reason to fight for those things. I know my attempt to save Jacks could end in a fiery explosion, but I’d rather go up in flames with him than watch while he burns.”

“Do you want to know what it costs to drink from the Tree of Souls? There is always a price to magic, and to gain eternal life, another life must be sacrificed. In this case, you would lose the life of the one you love the most. That’s the reason I was given the seed to plant this tree.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” said LaLa. “Aurora took Jacks’s heart. I think that falls under the rule of If I can’t have him, then no one else can.”

“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—including you. You are my choice. You are my love. You are mine. And you are not going to be the end of me, Jacks.”

“I already told you. You are the love of my life. You are mine, Jacks of the Hollow. And you’re not going to be the end of me.” “But you were dying.” “No,” she said, a little embarrassed. “I just forgot to breathe.”

The Tree of Souls was exactly as it had been before. Only now there was a new horrified face trapped inside the trunk.

“Where are we going?” she asked. A dimple appeared just below a cut on his cheek. “We can go wherever you want, Little Fox.”

The Magnificent North’s infamous story curse watched the star-crossed lovers, who were star-crossed no more, walk out of the ancient cavern.

And the story curse decided to stop watching. It was time to leave these two alone and let them have their ever after. Other stories were brewing in the Magnificent North.