EVANGELINE
The second Marisol stepped into Evangeline's chambers, she grabbed her.
She had spent the last several hours reading through, and then carefully burning, all the articles that Kristoff Knightlinger had given her. Many of them were so salacious and unlikely that she still wasn't sure she believed all of it, but regardless it was clear that there was much more to the story of her missing year than what her husband and stepsister had told her.
"What do you think you're doing?" Marisol seemed too surprised to struggle properly, so Evangeline could easily shove her further into the room and place herself in front of the door. There were guards stationed in the hall, but the door was heavy and the walls were stone, and she had been experimenting with just how loud things could get without being heard.
"You've been lying to me, Marisol," she said, hoping she looked as intimidating as she was trying to be. "But now I know all about the reason we're in The Magnificent North. I know you're the Cursed Bride."
For a moment, Marisol's eyes widened and her mouth made a little "o" like she had been slapped. But before Evangeline could feel too guilty, her expression shifted into a glare of pure contempt.
"As if you're such an angel," she sneered. Despite her harsh words, her voice remained soft. It occurred to Evangeline that Marisol didn't want this conversation overheard either. " Princess Evangeline, the Sweetheart Saviour. You're the one who ruined my wedding in the first place. There's nothing I've done that you didn't do worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, so you don't know everything now?" Marisol snorted. "I thought you'd finally gotten your memories back, or else that you'd been faking this entire time just to get out of trouble."
Evangeline stepped closer, hands up to show she didn't mean any harm. "Marisol, please listen to me: I can't remember everything, but I found out about several of the rumours you and Apollo kept from me while we were out today. I just want to understand what happened. What I did, even if it's bad. I just want the truth." She had been preparing herself mentally for threats, even force. She had told herself repeatedly that the Evangeline Fox of the past would be unable to survive these new dangers, and a tougher, harsher person would have to take her place if she was ever to regain her lost time. But despite her resolve, she hoped more than anything that Marisol would cooperate if she simply asked nicely.
"Why should I tell you? Why shouldn't I just go and tell Apollo everything right now?"
She didn't really know Marisol, other than the evasive, nervous facade she must have been putting up in the last few weeks. But now that the facade was cracking, she thought she understood her a little more; perhaps more than she ever had.
"You won't tell Apollo, because he'll know you failed to keep me in the dark. That's your job, right? That's why I can't go anywhere without you."
If Marisol had said something like, "he was just worried about you!" she probably would have wanted to believe it. But she just gave her a baleful look, and Evangeline found that she was relieved.
"I don't know about you, Marisol, but I'm so sick of all the lies." She shook her head. "Clearly we don't like each other; maybe we never got along and I really don't have any living family left. But now we need each other. I need you to tell me the truth, and you need me to keep on lying. Because I don't really know who Apollo is or why I'm married to him, but he's the crown prince of The Magnificent North, so if he's the one who did this to me then we need to tread carefully."
"Did what to you, Princess?" Marisol spread her arms wide. "You live in a castle, surrounded by people who wait on you hand and foot. You used to work in a shop ."
I loved the shop, Evangeline thought sadly. "That's what I mean: why did the crown prince of the Magnificent North marry me ? What does he want from me?"
Marisol laughed unkindly. "First of all, you're the one who tricked him into this sham of a marriage. You used a spell to make him obsessed with you; which, by the way, makes you a complete hypocrite for how you treated me after Luc."
"After Luc what?" She had read that Luc Navarro was Marisol's ill-fated groom. He was someone Evangeline could remember knowing for a long time back in Valenda, but the details of their relationship were hazy.
"Left you for me." Marisol's smug grin wavered slightly. "With some assistance from a love spell."
"And that's why I asked the Prince of Hearts to stop the wedding?" Evangeline was slowly piecing it all together. "And then we both came here, and…I put a spell on Prince Apollo for some reason." It didn't sound like something she would do, but the articles from Knightlinger did make Apollo's love for her seem rather extreme. "And then…he died, or at least seemed to. Then I disappeared, and you got engaged to his brother Tiberius; I presume that was another love spell, based on how you treated each other this morning?"
Marisol nodded stiffly.
"Okay." She paced while she grappled with the order of events. "And then…Tiberius was arrested for Apollo's murder and I was acquitted. Then someone named Lucien Jareth Acadian turned up claiming to be third in line for the throne…"
"That was Luc," Marisol supplied. "I found out later."
"Really? What was he doing in the North?"
Marisol shrugged. "No idea. But all his scars were gone. He looked incredible, actually. All the ladies were making fools of themselves about him at the time."
"Scars?" Evangeline rubbed her shoulder surreptitiously. "What kind?"
"Face ones." Marisol made a clawing motion in front of her own face. "From a wolf. Just before our second wedding; around the time everyone decided to turn on me."
"Okay…" Evangeline added that to her mental timeline. "So he turns up at Wolf Hall but then quickly leaves again; possibly I recognised him? And then I left Wolf Hall, and was later seen at a party for a couple named Robin and Lala Slaughterwood. Any idea why?"
Marisol closed her eyes as if thinking. "The name Lala rings a bell, but to be honest, I wasn't invited to nearly as many parties as you were. Especially at that point."
Evangeline noted the tone of reproach and chose to sidestep that whole topic for now. "And then both Apollo and I turned up later: Apollo was alive, and I had forgotten everything." She turned to Marisol. "Does that cover everything?"
"Well, let's see." Marisol sat down on Evangeline's bed, counting off on her fingers. "Me, Luc, The Prince of Hearts, Prince Apollo, Lala and Robin Slaughterwood." She made a face, as if she had bitten down on something sour. "I guess if we're covering the major players, it should be noted that you were also seen quite a bit with Lord Jacks."
"Doing what?" she asked carefully, trying not to give away that she had already met this particular player.
"Making a fool of yourself, for the most part." Marisol seemed determined to remind her that her cooperation didn't not make them friends. "You told me to keep my distance after he flirted with me at Nocte Neverending, and then the second your husband was out of the picture you cosied up to him yourself." She gave Evangeline her most contemptuous look yet. "Basically, you were out to get your hands on every handsome man you saw, and still had the gall to act like Miss Pure and Perfect."
She did seem to have been romantically connected to three different men in the last year; and without knowing the details of each relationship, she had no idea of knowing which, if any, she had actually loved. Maybe seventeen year-old Evangeline was just a serial flirt. If so, she wished she'd picked safer targets than a prince and a Fate.
"It sounds like I made quite a mess of things," she admitted. "I hope I said it in the past, but I apologise for disrupting your wedding."
"You did apologise," Marisol admitted quietly. "After I apologised for bespelling Luc in the first place. You forgave me, but I didn't forgive you."
"Oh." She wasn't sure what to say about that. "And now?"
"I still think you're an annoying little priss," Marisol said, "and I doubt we'll ever be friends, let alone 'sisters.' But I…forgive you, for the things you did that ended up hurting me. I doubt that was actually your intention. Mother always said you were jealous of me, but I'm not sure you actually thought of me much at all."
The mood, once sour and hostile, suddenly became sombre. Marisol had been staring determinedly at her slippered feet, but now she looked at Evangeline as if daring her to show pity.
"I prefer you like this, you know," Evangeline said instead. "You're rude, and clearly have a problem with me. But at least you're honest."
"I prefer you like this, too," Marisol responded, and her lips twitched in what might have been an actual smile.
"Like what?"
"Tough. Not just fighting, but fighting smart." She leaned further back on the bed, kicking her feet gently against the carpeted floor. "You were always doing things that seemed brave and noble, but were actually just stupid and dangerous. Like praying to The Prince of Hearts to stop my wedding, or purposefully drinking a potion that turns you to stone. I'm surprised you're not still sitting in the back garden, all…" she lifted her hands in a frozen picture of pain and fear that made Evangeline's skin crawl. "But now you're being careful. Almost sneaky." Marisol's smile returned. "More like me."
"I choose to take that as a compliment, then."
"Oh, you should. After all, I almost got everything you did, and made half as much of a mess in the process."
"So what happens now?"
"You mean, am I still going to stab you in the back the second I leave this room?" Marisol stood, making her way toward the door. Evangeline still stood between her and it, and she realised it might have been a test of trust. She let her pass without any further attempts to stop or grab her, and was rewarded with a small nod of approval. "I agree that our best shot at surviving the Magnificent North is by working together," she said quietly. "We'll both play our roles perfectly from now on. You'll lie low until the hunt, and I'll report that there's nothing to report."
"The unicorn hunt…" Evangeline had forgotten about the Vales' hunt, but the date would be upon them as soon as the spring thaws began in earnest.
"You heard Miss Even More Annoying Than You," Marisol said. "It's not going to be a real unicorn."
"You don't like Aurora?"
"I don't like anyone," Marisol said. "But Aurora Vale and her freaky family have wormed their way into your husband's good books, and nobody seems to know what they have on him." Marisol pursed her lips. "Nobody beats me at my own game."
And with that, she heaved the heavy door open and stepped lightly into the hall as if they had been discussing nothing more important than the weather. It suited the pretty brunette far better than her cringing skulk. Evangeline agreed that they would probably never be friends, but it was quite the relief to learn that she no longer seemed to be Marisol Tourmaline's enemy.
The hunt was to be held in The Cursed Forest, which might once have appealed to Evangeline's sense of adventure and love of stories. Now, she could only wonder why they were all travelling purposefully toward a place that clearly didn't want them there.
The early spring thaws had been pleasant and sunny, but the second the hunting parties turned onto the road for the forest, iron-grey clouds rolled in from all sides and unleashed such a violent torrent of rain that more than once her carriage had to be stopped and dug out of the mud. Prince Apollo had chosen to take a horse and ride ahead, leaving Evangeline and Marisol to sit in bored silence until their guards could fight through the elements. This was still preferable to the atmosphere of before, when Evangeline had been forced to play the role of wife to an increasingly bold Apollo, and Marisol had been forced to watch.
After what felt like years but was probably only a few extra hours, their carriage entered the forest proper. All signs of clouds or rain disappeared, and the densely-packed trees opened up to a wide green field. Colossal tents bowed under the weight of banners of every shade and symbol, and everywhere she looked Evangeline saw servants, lords, ladies and even children wearing bright garlands of flowers.
The steaming horses led them down a makeshift lane to a cluster of tents with gold banners. Prince Apollo stepped out of the largest one. He had changed his wet travel clothes for fresh ones and donned a crown shaped like a tangle of antlers, so that he looked every bit the dashing prince as he helped Evangeline step down from the carriage.
"Darling," he greeted her warmly, leaning in for a kiss that Evangeline returned a second late. Marisol seemed certain Apollo's love had been born of an enchantment, at least originally. He didn't seem as embarrassingly extreme as the news reports of their courtship had sounded, which gave Evangeline some hope that he was now cured of any unnatural infatuation. But this hope was mixed with confusion and suspicion, because if he knew he had been spelled to love her, why maintain the charade now? Had they actually fallen in love at some point; in which case, why lie and keep secrets from her? Or did he hate her, and was simply biding his time until he could take his revenge; and if so, why wait? What did he stand to gain from keeping her around?
He slipped his tongue into her mouth, deepening their kiss as if heedless of the many onlookers and her own well-established desire for distance. She tensed instantly, but he simply slid his hand up her back so that he could gently bend her into shape against him. When he finally broke away with a cocky smirk, she could have slapped him. If this was what he thought he gained from keeping her around, he would be in for a nasty surprise.
She was just about to tell him off when the largest tent flap opened and a familiar figure strolled over to join them. "Eva!" Aurora threw her arms around her, and once again her discomfort was ignored as she was bent into an elegant hug. "I'm so glad you're finally here! I've been simply dying of boredom without you."
Aurora didn't even glance at Marisol, who had let herself out of the carriage and was standing off to the side with an expression that could have curdled milk.
"It's good to see you," Evangeline mustered as much enthusiasm as she could. Marisol had made her feelings about the violet-haired beauty more than clear; but there was no real evidence that she was connected to any of Evangeline's problems, and would have been far too hypocritical to judge a book by its pretty face and unusual hair. But it was true that her original assessment of Aurora Vale had not changed much in any of their subsequent meetings: she was a girl who seemed so supremely confident in life's ability to turn out in her favour that she had little regard for her own actions.
"Come meet the rest of my family," she said, towing Evangeline toward the largest tent.
"I'd like to freshen up first." She gestured helplessly toward her damp clothes.
"Oh, nonsense." Aurora, as usual, looked resplendent. Her flower crown was made from crocuses that complemented her violet hair perfectly. "We're a large family, we've all seen worse."
The inside of the tent was warmed by a brazier containing three tiny dragons trapped under a fine lattice of metal so that they could breathe, but not escape. They stared at Evangeline with dull eyes, and her heart went out to them: after all, she too was trapped in a gilded cage. She might have kicked the whole brazier open then and there if she hadn't suddenly come face to face with seven of the most intimidating people she had ever met.
She was introduced, one by one, to Aurora's family: Wolfric, her father, who had the grizzled look of a warrior; Honora, her mother, who had long dark hair and a regal bearing; Vesper, who had round, pale eyes like saucers full of sky; Tempest and Romulus, who were both identical in every way and made Evangeline think of a pair of stone statues for some reason; Dane, whose dark eyes lingered on her hair far longer than was polite, and finally Lysander, who was also quite handsome, but compared to his parents and siblings was far and away the most normal looking. He actually offered a small smile and wave upon being introduced, as if he understood what Evangeline was feeling and was trying to put her at ease.
"Castor is off somewhere." Aurora waved an elegant hand. "He's my twin."
Evangeline nodded politely. In truth, all the names were swirling uncomfortably in her head. She recalled each of them individually, but her mind seemed to shy away from the family as a collective.
Honora spoke up. "Aurora, perhaps you should show Princess Evangeline the rest of the camp?" The smile she gave was kind, but tinged with some unknowable tragedy that only added to her regality. "Hopefully the rest of us will be done by the time you return."
Aurora walked Evangeline back out and down the lane. Marisol (who until then had been politely blanked by the others) had tried to join them, but Apollo called her back for a "chat" and the last Evangeline had seen of her stepsister was her being nervously steered to a far corner of the tent.
Evangeline had no time to worry about Marisol after that, because Aurora immediately engaged her in conversation.
"Prince Apollo seems very taken with you."
She eyed her warily as they walked. "I am his wife, after all."
"Of course! I just figured that your…condition might have made it difficult for you two. But I can see I was mistaken." Aurora laughed airily. "Anyone who saw that kiss would have no concerns about the state of the royal marriage."
Her cheeks burned. "That's not…" She was going to say 'true', but stilled her tongue at the last second. "...an appropriate topic of conversation."
"Oh?" Aurora's perfect violet brows creased slightly. "Perhaps I was right after all? I don't judge you in the least; it must be terribly awkward to be intimate with someone you can barely remember."
Once again Evangeline found herself wondering if she had unfairly judged Aurora.
"Or perhaps there's another reason?" People nodded cheerfully in their direction as they passed, but nobody dared come too close to two prominent noblewomen deep in conversation. Still, Aurora leaned in close to Evangeline's ear as she whispered, "You don't have a lover , do you?"
Evangeline would have jumped back at the question if Aurora had not snaked around Evangeline's elbow so that they were now strolling arm in arm like bosom friends. Instead, she mustered the most coldly disapproving expression she could. "Certainly not."
"No?" Aurora searched her face keenly. "No one has caught your eye?"
A face came unbidden: Lord Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, who left a trail of dead girls in his wake and staunchly claimed to be nothing but her debtor, but who also touched her so gently and looked at her like she caused him physical pain. She still didn't know what he really was to her, but she knew it was dangerous. She forced the image from her mind.
"No one."
Aurora continued to stare a moment longer, before nodding as if satisfied with what she found. "Oh well, I suppose that's for the best."
They sidestepped a harried-looking squire leading a pair of horses. They came to the far edge of the camp before long, where they would either have to turn around or else end up lost among the trees.
"I have a lover," Aurora said as they adjusted their course to skirt the edge of the forest.
Evangeline turned to her, surprised. "Really?"
Aurora gave her a small, slightly shy smile that transformed her beautiful face into something truly radiant. It felt like the branches of the nearby trees bent in her direction just to be closer.
"What's he like?" Evangeline was only too happy to move the topic of conversation away from her own love life.
"He's handsome, brave, and clever." Aurora listed the qualities off on her finger as they walked. "He has blond hair and deep blue eyes like the ocean." Her smile turned sad. "Unfortunately, he also lost his memories, the same day he became a Fate."
Evangeline's blood ran cold. "Your lover is a Fate?"
"Mhm. The Prince of Hearts, to be precise." Aurora seemed unaware of the effect her words were having on Evangeline. "He can't remember that we're in love, so if you ever happen to cross paths, can you please remind him that his true love is waiting for him?"
"I…" She was at a loss for words. "Aren't the Fates hundreds of years old?"
Aurora winked. "It's meant to be a secret, but I'm also hundreds of years old. My whole family is. My real name is Aurora Valor."
"Like the princess." She remembered the way the Vale family's names had gotten jumbled in her head, like her brain simply refused to look at them head-on.
"That's right. The story curse keeps people from putting two and two together, luckily. Oh, but don't worry; your husband already knows all about us, including the fact that Father has no intention of reclaiming the throne. You're perfectly safe."
It hadn't even occurred to Evangeline that competitors for the throne would impact her. Her own status as a princess still felt so outlandish that it was just as unbelievable as Aurora's claim that she was one of the long lost Valors.
They walked back to the royal tent in silence, aside from a dreamy tune that Aurora occasionally hummed to herself. Evangeline wanted to cry, or run into the dark forest and refuse to come out until she could remember what was real. Did Jacks really have a lover? And did that mean that she and he had never…or did it mean that whatever they had shared together, it hadn't been real? Was the fluttering of her heart whenever she saw him just a by-product of his supernatural handsomeness, and she really had been happily married to Apollo before everything got confused?
The other Vales - or Valors, as it turned out - were gone by the time they returned, and Aurora excused herself as well.
"Be sure to get plenty of rest before tomorrow," she said. "The hunt starts at dawn, but it could take all day before someone catches the unicorn." She gave Evangeline a long, sisterly hug, which Evangeline was too numb to feel.
CHAOS
Castor Valor, known to some as Chaos, leaned against the tree with the patience of a man who had been alive for more than a century. A younger man might have paced restlessly while he waited for his subordinate to return, but despite the dwindling hours until sunrise, Castor knew that, one way or another, Evangeline Fox would come to him. The reason he knew this was because Evangeline Fox was almost supernaturally attracted to danger, and he was a vampire.
There came a rustling from the direction of the main camp, and hushed voices that Castor could easily make out with his superior hearing.
"When my husband finds out you lured me here under false pretences, he'll have you arrested. Maybe even executed."
"He's already tried to arrest me before; it didn't stick. As for execution, you can't kill what isn't alive."
Luc sounded as infuriatingly cheerful as ever. When Castor had told him of his need to talk to Evangeline in private, the man had jumped at the chance to visit his former lover. The plan had been for Luc to steal a guard's uniform and make up some excuse about the prince summoning her for something urgent deeper in the forest. The Evangeline Fox Castor knew might not have realised something was suspicious until she was all alone in the dark with only two vampires for company, but it seemed she had grown a little wiser and forced Luc to improvise.
He carried her over one shoulder, placing her gently on the ground of the clearing and stepping back. "Told you I wouldn't harm you if you stayed quiet," he said, as Castor continued to watch from the far treeline. "I would never harm you, Eva," he added quietly.
Evangeline got to her feet slowly and examined her captor more closely. "You're Luc Navarro, from Valenda, aren't you?" She said after a moment. "I've met you before."
"You've done more than meet me, darling." Luc flashed her the same smile he used to seduce all the vampire initiates back at court. Castor was about to reveal his presence just to spare himself the secondhand embarrassment of this strange reunion, but then he caught the scent of a stranger.
This newcomer to their midst was traveling quickly but with no stealth or grace. Luc turned his head in the direction he had just come from, clearly able to hear them too. But it was their scent that was the most troubling, because it was the intoxicating smell of fresh blood.
"Unbelievable," Luc growled as a short brunette woman in a nightgown staggered into the clearing. She was carrying a knife that may have been little more than a letter opener, and at least one of her slippered feet had been cut open on the rocks and roots and was now bleeding freely. She looked haggard and terrified and absolutely furious.
"Let her go," the woman snarled, making jabbing motions with her tiny blade. Luc laughed, but it was edged with something sharp.
"Is that any way to greet your groom, Mari?"
"Luc?!" The woman screeched so loudly that even though they were a fair distance from the camp, the chances it was overheard were not impossible.
"Hush," Luc snapped, saving Castor from having to snap her neck. "Seven Hells, Marisol, you're loud enough to wake the dead."
"What are you doing here? What do you want with Evangeline?" Marisol, to her credit, had lowered her volume, but there was still enough venom in her tone to make it clear she wouldn't be afraid to use the knife in her hand if she didn't like his answers.
"As I was just about to explain to Evangeline…" Luc gave a gallant bow to the woman he had only minutes ago been carrying like a sack of potatoes. "I was simply asked to escort her here to meet an old friend."
"You really aren't scarred anymore." Marisol squinted at Luc's face in the dark. "So you did find some sort of cure, then?"
"Vampire venom." He smiled widely, rows of sharp teeth flashing milky white in the moonlight. Both women visibly recoiled. "But we're not here to talk about my year; we're here to help Evangeline remember hers. Unless you've already told the prince, and we're currently being surrounded by the royal army?"
"I didn't say anything!" Marisol protested at the same time that Evangeline said, "you can help me?" She leaned back in eagerly; whether it was the story curse making any mention of vampires seem more alluring than terrifying, or simply her desperation to regain her memories, she seemed completely heedless of her own safety. "Or, your friend can?"
"He can," Luc confirmed, and Castor took that as the cue to make his appearance.
"Evangeline." He smiled warmly but without showing his teeth. "My name is Castor Vale." Luc and the other vampires had already learned everything about his true lineage on the day that his helm was removed and his family returned. "I'm told you might not remember me, but you once did me a great favour, and I'd like to repay you if I can."
And, he hoped, one night he would. But it would not be tonight.
The final three members of their little reunion arrived shortly after: Lala, who had first learned about Evangeline's memory loss and assembled the others to help; Castor's brother Dane, who had once loved Lala but now seemed to be keeping her at a distance that made them both unhappy; and Lysander, his other brother, who looked nervous but determined. Ironically it was his appearance that seemed to Evangeline the most at ease, despite the fact that there was no way that they could have known each other longer than she had known almost everyone else in the clearing.
"Evangeline," Lala stepped forward like she was speaking to a wild animal that she didn't want to spook. "My name is Lala. I know you have no reason to believe me, but we're friends. Jacks told me you lost your memories, and I tried to visit you at the palace, I really did, but…"
"Jacks told you about me?" Once again Evangeline's interest was piqued, and the facade of caution crumbled away. "You know him?"
"Yes," Lala seemed to be struggling to put everything into words. "We're both Fates. It's a long story, but if my plan works then I won't really need to tell it."
"If you're a Fate, are you the one who gave me this?" Evangeline reached into the left pocket of the jacket she wore over her nightgown, retrieving something before reaching into the right. Her brows creased and she rummaged harder. "I've lost one…"
In her left hand she held up a luckless coin. Her right hand was empty. "I had two," she explained. "I assumed at least one was from Jacks, but I wasn't sure I knew any other Fates. Did you…?" She looked at Lala, who shook her head.
"It isn't mine."
Castor watched the remaining coin disappear back into Evangeline's pocket. Two coins created a potentially catastrophic wrinkle in a plan that was already full of risk. "Perhaps you should dispose of it," he blurted out before he could think of a subtler way to word it. "It could belong to anyone, and they're not exactly a good omen."
"Which means it isn't yours either," Lala surmised, and Castor could have kicked himself. If only he'd pretended it was his, he could have just taken it.
"In any case, Lysander here has…" she glanced at Dane, "a gift. I thought he might be able to do something about your condition."
Lysander, with all the attention suddenly on him, smiled awkwardly. "It doesn't always work," he admitted, "but I'm definitely willing to try."
"I remember reading that the Valor family all had some sort of magical ability, except for Castor," Evangeline looked his way, "and Aurora."
Dane spoke up for the first time. "Who said anything about the Valors?"
She looked sheepish. "Aurora did. I'm sorry, I assumed everyone here already knew."
" I didn't." Marisol had been lingering at the edge of the clearing and had been pretty much forgotten by Castor until now. "But that certainly explains why you all act like the whole world is beneath you."
"Sorry," Evangeline gasped, realising her blunder too late. Castor revisited the 'snapping Marisol's neck' plan.
"You forgot that I was here, didn't you?" Marisol sniffed. "I'm never rescuing you again, if this is all the gratitude I receive for it."
"She won't say anything," Evangeline promised. "We don't want to cause trouble."
"It's alright," Lala soothed, even though it was far from alright. Their family secret was always going to be difficult to keep, even with the story curse working in their favour. But Aurora hadn't mentioned telling Evangeline, or planning to. She had sworn to Castor that the girl would be safe; safe from Jacks, safe from the memories that would have prevented her from leading a normal life. It was the only way he would have agreed to her plan, considering what their family owed Evangeline Fox.
Lala ushered Lysander forward. "Try it now," she urged, and Lysander held his hands up until they were hovering on either side of Evangeline's face. "May I…?" He asked, and Evangeline's grey eyes shone with determination.
"Do whatever you have to."
He gently placed his fingers against her temples, closing his eyes in concentration. The others watched in anticipation, even Dane, who claimed he didn't care about Evangeline Fox and was only there because Lala had asked him to get Lysander involved, and was therefore responsible if anything went wrong. But Castor looked away, because he already knew it wouldn't work.
Seconds passed, then a minute, then two. Eventually, Lysander removed his hands and opened his eyes. "Anything?"
"No." Evangeline's voice was hoarse, as if she was holding back tears. Still, the smile she gave Lysander was kind. "But thank you for trying."
"I'm sorry," he murmured, and Castor closed his eyes against the pain in his brother's expression. He had seen it too many times before, and every time it was Castor who let it happen. "I told you it doesn't always work."
"So that's it?" Marisol asked. "There's nothing else you magic Valors and Fates can do?"
"I'm surprised you even care," Luc retorted, and Marisol raised her chin defiantly.
"I don't. But all of you clearly do, so I assumed you'd have something better to show for it."
"It's getting close to dawn," Castor said, before Luc and Marisol could resume their bickering in full. "The hunt will start soon, and none of us can afford to be found here. Luc, sneak them both back to their tent. The rest of you had better leave, too."
"Evangeline," Lala grabbed her shoulder to stop her following Luc out of the clearing. "There's so much more I want to tell you. And apologise for." She bit her lip, glancing up at the fading stars. "I want to explain things properly, but there isn't time…"
"We'll make time later," Evangeline promised.
"I wish I could help you," Lala sobbed, and the acrid scent of poison filled the air.
"You already have." Evangeline either couldn't smell the tears or chose to ignore it as she wrapped Lala in a hug. "You all have, by proving I have friends who care about me." She released Lala and turned back to where Luc and Marisol were waiting. "Even you, Stepsister Dearest."
Marisol snorted, but there was no heat to it. "Whatever. Let's just get back before your husband catches wise." She began to limp homeward so pathetically that Luc either took pity on her or else realised they'd be at it until daybreak if he didn't intercede.
"Come here," he huffed, supporting the side with her hurt foot.
"Don't get any ideas about taking a bite," Marisol warned, but allowed him to take some of her weight.
Evangeline walked on Marisol's other side, her rose gold hair shimmering like foxfire in the moonlight.
Castor could hear the trio (mostly Luc and Marisol) continuing to whisper-argue as they made their way back to the camp. The others were also dispersing, and Castor wished he could have gone back to the Valors' tent with his brothers. To wake up in the morning, and feel the sun on his face as they prepared for a day of hunting. To be normal, or as normal as it was possible for his family to be. He no longer bore the cursed helm that prevented him from satisfying his hunger, but the hunger itself remained his burden. A burden that his twin sister seemed determined to add to.
I certainly hope you know what you're doing, Aurora…