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

Luc gave her a crooked smile, still twirling the golden crown around his fingers as if it were a child’s toy. “Hello, Eva.”

Evangeline clenched her hands into fists.

Once, she might have run to him. Once, she might have wept for him. Now, she wanted to throw things at him. Sharp, hurtful things.

Luc had once been the boy she’d thought that she would marry, but the last time she’d seen him, he’d been locked in a cage as part of a ceremony to become a vampire. Jacks had warned her against saving him—but she had listened to her heart instead. She’d helped free Luc, and he’d thanked her by trying to rip out her throat with his teeth.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded.

Luc pouted. “Are you still angry about the other night?”

“You mean when you tried to eat me?”

“It wasn’t like that. Well, maybe it was a little like that.” He grinned, flashing his fangs as if they were the equivalent of a shiny new pocket watch, an accessory to match his doublet, which was black velvet with deep bloodred embroidery.

“This isn’t funny, Luc. What are you doing here?”

“Aw, come on. You’re clever, or you were. I’d have thought you’d have figured it out.” He twirled the crown again, round and round his fingers. It was just a simple circlet, but it was made of gold and it shone through the miasma, making it rather obvious what should have been apparent since the moment she’d walked in: Luc was Lucien.

“You started the ridiculous rumors about Lucien Acadian?” Evangeline had thought this Lucien was too good to be true, but she’d never actually imagined the young man who taught children to read and found homes for stray puppies could be Luc. Luc was a lot of things, but he wasn’t cunning enough to rule a kingdom, let alone steal one.

How had Luc pulled this off? She knew vampires possessed allure, an ability that allowed them to dazzle humans if a human looked them in the eye. But Luc would have needed more than that to turn himself into the heir. He wasn’t even from the Magnificent North.

If only she’d found a way to wake up Apollo, this would have never happened.

“I thought you’d be more impressed. I’m a prince now!” Luc jauntily tossed his crown into the air and caught it with the top of his head.

She cringed.

Luc scowled, the expression marring his handsome features.

“I don’t understand how or why you’re doing this, Luc, but it isn’t going to work. You can’t just make up a name and claim a throne.”

“Don’t worry so much, Eva. Only the name is a lie.” He started playing with his crown again, letting it slip from his head onto his fingers. “Chaos said altering my name would make it easier for people to accept the truth—turns out, I really am a long-lost distant relation of the dead prince.”

Evangeline winced at the words dead prince and resisted the urge to shake her head. She didn’t believe for a second that Luc was Apollo’s long-lost relation. But of course, Luc would believe it. He had always been a little entitled. It was a minor flaw she’d ignored in the past, but suddenly, it didn’t seem so harmless. As a human, Luc had thought he deserved every nice thing, and now that he was a vampire, he clearly thought himself worthy of much more.

The question was, why would Chaos give the throne to him? Evangeline had met Chaos on several occasions. The first two times they’d crossed paths, he’d pretended to be a royal guard, but it turned out he was the Vampire Lord of Spies and Assassins.

Perhaps he’d placed Luc on the throne because Chaos supposed that, as a new vampire, Luc would be easy to control. Although that was difficult for Evangeline to believe as well. Luc was too impulsive. Even if he did what Chaos desired in terms of laws and policies, Evangeline imagined Luc losing control of his vampire urges. If he’d attacked her—someone he’d supposedly cared about—she couldn’t picture him holding back with others.

Evangeline had a sudden terrifying flash of Wolf Hall full of courtiers and servants who were bleeding or dead or turned into vampires.

This would be a disaster. Evangeline wanted to say as much, but she doubted Luc would take it well. Instead, she wondered why Luc had called her here, alone. She would have never feared him as a human—she’d loved him—but that boy had disappeared as soon as Luc had been infected with vampire venom.

“Why don’t you come a little closer?” He cocked his head toward Evangeline, and she felt heat nip her earlobe and then sensed his burning gaze on her throat.

“Stop that, Luc.”

“Stop what?” Another smile, but it didn’t touch his eyes—they were dark and brown and hungry.

She needed to go—she needed to find that cure for Apollo more than ever, to get Luc off his throne—but if she left Luc alone, she feared what else he might do. Who else he might bite.

“Luc, please—” Evangeline paused at the sound of footsteps.

They were just outside the doors and as soft as the muffled feminine voice that followed. “I was summoned by Prince Lucien to join him for dinner.”

Evangeline tensed at the last word. “Tell me she means actual food.”

“I’m sure that’s what she means,” Luc said.

Evangeline’s stomach started to roil.

“If you’re jealous, I’ll happily have you for dinner instead.” Luc flashed Evangeline a smile that was probably meant to be playful but was made of too much teeth.

Her blood rushed, uncomfortably hot. “That’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.” His nostrils flared.

The solarium door opened.

Evangeline braced to see the girl who’d come for dinner. But it wasn’t a girl. It was Havelock.

“Who are you?” Luc’s lips curved into a snarl.

Havelock ignored him, looking only at Evangeline. “Princess, there’s something you need to see straightaway.”

“I’m not sure that this is the best time.” Evangeline shot a worried look toward Luc. She couldn’t leave him alone to feed on some poor girl. But of course, Havelock didn’t know what Luc really was. She didn’t even know if Havelock was aware vampires existed, and in this moment, he might not care.

Havelock’s face was a series of strained lines, and when he spoke again, his voice was a rough thing that bordered on frightened. “This is urgent.”

Evangeline felt it then, damp on the back of her hand. One drop of blood leaked through the bandaged wound she shared with Apollo.

Luc inhaled from across the dark room. A sound like a growl came from his throat. And then in a flash, Luc was in motion.

She’d forgotten how fast a vampire could move. He was a powerful blur as he crossed the dim room and took hold of her with two brutal hands. Before she could run, one hand clamped around her waist, digging in, as the other fisted her hair and wrenched her neck toward his parted mouth.

Evangeline screamed.

But Luc’s lips never touched her skin. One instant he was there, all sharp teeth and primal hunger. Then he was being torn away, and she was being held. Gentle hands instead of harsh ones wrapped protectively around her, pulling her toward a cold, hard chest. He smelled of apples and cruelty, but Evangeline was shaking too hard to push Jacks away as he led her out of the dark solarium.

“I’m going to kill that boy,” he fumed.

Around them, the hallway lights were blinding, dizzying to Evangeline, who already felt a little faint. Luc had not managed to bite her, but the wound on her hand was dripping again and her mind was spinning.

“Havelock—”

“Is fine,” Jacks said.

Then the guard was there, a few feet to the side, looking dazed—possibly under Jacks’s control—but, thankfully, not appearing to be bleeding or injured.

“But Luc—”

“Is being subdued.” Jacks’s arm tightened around her, pulling her farther down the too-bright hall away from the solarium.

“Wait—” Evangeline dug her heels in and wrenched herself free. “Who is subduing Luc?”

“Someone who won’t hold him back forever.” Jacks’s mouth formed a flat line. He tried to tug her away again, but Evangeline darted back.

She was thankful Jacks had stopped her from becoming Luc’s next snack, but saving her once didn’t make Jacks a savior. He was still her villain, not her hero. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“It’s not safe for you here,” Jacks said calmly, as if she were a stray kitten he was trying to herd. And yet she noticed his knuckles were clenched and a muscle throbbed angrily in his neck.

“Excuse me.” The diminutive voice carried up the hall from the solarium doors. “Is Prince Lucien ready to see me for dinner yet?”

Evangeline turned, alarmed once again as her gaze snagged on the petite girl just a few feet away. Her face was delicate, her dress petal pink, and the sight of her filled Evangeline with fresh dread. It was Marisol. Her stepsister.

Evangeline had not seen her since the morning after Marisol had gotten Evangeline arrested for Apollo’s murder. Marisol had known Evangeline was innocent, but underneath her sugar-sweet exterior lived a heart corroded by jealousy, which had prompted Marisol to turn Evangeline in for a crime she hadn’t committed.

Seeing her now, looking princess-pretty, was like a knife to Evangeline’s memories, reopening all the wounds that Marisol had inflicted with her betrayal.

Marisol’s misdeeds initially hurt so much that Evangeline had considered using her royal position to ban her stepsister from Wolf Hall—possibly the Magnificent North entirely. But no matter how much Evangeline had wanted Marisol gone, she hadn’t been able to send her away. Evangeline’s feelings for her stepsister were complicated. She wanted to forgive Marisol. She wanted to be better than Marisol had been to her. But maybe Evangeline wasn’t better. Because as much as she was loath to admit it, she was prepared to let Marisol walk through the solarium doors, come face-to-face with Luc, and reap the pain that she had sown.