“You must stop judging me by human values,” Jacks said slowly. “I am Fate.” “That’s exactly why I don’t want to see you. Since I met you, my first love turned to stone, then I turned to stone, then I became a fugitive, various people tried to kill me, and you poisoned my husband—” “You already said that.” Evangeline glared at him. Jacks sighed and leaned against a nearby bookshelf as if her feelings were nothing more than a sneeze, something you quickly get over or avoid by stepping aside. “I won’t apologize for what I am. And you conveniently forget that, before we met, you were a sad orphan with a broken heart and a wicked stepsister. After I came along, you took on saving the lovers of Valenda, married a prince, and became a princess.” “Those things happened because they served your twisted interests.” Evangeline was boiling with anger. Everything he had done for her was aimed at using her to open the Valory Arch.
“Children treat their toys better than you treated me.” Jacks’ eyes narrowed. “Then why didn’t you stab me, Little Fox? That night in the crypt, I threw you a knife, and I was close enough for you to use it.” His gaze glinted with a new amusement as it dropped to her neck. To the exact spot where his mouth had touched three nights before. She blushed at the unwanted memory of his teeth and tongue on her skin. Jacks had been infected with vampire poison, and she had been infected with stupidity. She had stayed with him that night to keep him distracted so he wouldn’t feed on human blood and become a vampire himself. He hadn’t done it, but instead he had fed on her compassion.