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

Had Chaos taken the book, or had it simply disappeared? Evangeline didn’t remember vanishing books being part of the story curse. But it made more sense than Chaos stealing one of her books.

She gingerly picked up the paper on the ground, wondering if it had fallen from the vanished volume.

The page was old and yellowed. The handwriting looked unfamiliar, but the words were ones she’d memorized.

Evangeline studied the page. A little dragon was pictured under the words One for Luck, which had been crossed out—possibly because the luck stone had been found. One for Truth had a picture of a skull and crossbones. One for Mirth had a garden of spring flowers dusted with little stars. One for Youth had a shield with flames licking the bottom.

Evangeline wondered if the last key had written this. The symbols must have been clues to where she thought the stones were.

But what did the symbols mean?

The following week dripped by slowly, like melting candle wax. Evangeline spent every day in the library, trying to make sense of the symbols she’d found on the last key’s list. Both the crossbones and the flowers were too common, and while the shield with the flames was more singular, she couldn’t find a single reference to it in any books. Chaos didn’t recognize the image, either. He checked on her progress every day, but he was always quick to leave. And Jacks …

She tried not to think about Jacks. Evangeline didn’t like the way it hurt when she thought about how he’d just left her here.

The highlight of her day was the daily scandal sheet, which was delivered with her breakfast. At first, she’d started reading it to see if it mentioned anything about Apollo, and maybe she was curious to see if it mentioned Jacks as well. But now she enjoyed the sheets because they were the one thing that made her feel connected to the world outside of Chaos’s underground castle.

Today, the title was a little smudged. Evangeline couldn’t make out the first word of it, but the other two were all the article really seemed to need.

The Daily Rumor

MERRIMENT & MARRIAGE

By Kristof Knightlinger

Everyone loves a theme party, but not as much as soon-to-be Lady LaLa Slaughterwood and her fiancé, young Lord Robin Slaughterwood. To celebrate their recent, and very sudden, engagement, the pair is hosting a party of historic proportions. Rumor has it, members of all the Great Houses will be in attendance.

I think my invitation must have been lost in the post, for I have yet to receive it, but I have learned that the party will last a full week and that costumes are required.

Evangeline imagined there was an invitation waiting for her at Wolf Hall, and she felt a longing to accept it, to go to this party and celebrate with everyone. It was a smallish feeling, but her heart was already so splintered with loneliness that for a second she thought this sharp little pang might shatter her apart.

She immediately felt frivolous for being sad about missing a party. But she would have wished to see LaLa even if she weren’t having a party. If her friend were mourning instead, Evangeline would have wanted to be there. She just wanted to be anywhere. With anyone.

Even Jacks would have been welcome company.

She felt another hurtful wrench at the thought that he still hadn’t returned. But she pushed the feeling away as her eyes wandered to the next article.

FORMER PRINCE TIBERIUS ACADIAN

APPREHENDED AFTER

DARING ESCAPE ATTEMPT

By Kristof Knightlinger

This article was thin, more speculation about the escape than actual information. Yet the hairs on Evangeline’s arms rose as she read about Tiberius.

It wasn’t fear. It should have been. Tiberius had tried to kill her, twice. As a member of the Protectorate, Tiberius had believed she needed to die because she was capable of opening the Valory Arch, and like the rest of the Protectorate, he was committed to making sure the arch would never open.

But suddenly, Evangeline wondered if perhaps being a part of the Protectorate didn’t just mean killing girls with pink hair. Maybe the Protectorate was also hiding the missing stones.

Of course, it was reckless to even think of visiting Tiberius in prison to ask what he knew about the stones. If Jacks were there, he’d undoubtedly say the idea was too dangerous. But Jacks was gone, and Evangeline’s hope had always burned brighter than her fear.