Quotessence
Home / Books / A Curse for True Love

A Curse for True Love

Book by Stephanie Garber · 50 quotes · A Curse For True Love, Stephanie Garber, Evangeline Fox

Filter quotes by topic

A Curse for True Love Quotes

“I love you, Jacks.' He closed his eyes as she said the word love. She hoped a little harder. She wanted to ask him to look at her, but all that mattered was that he didn't let her go. '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 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 think I already am.' He opened his eyes as they dripped red tears. 'Let me go, Evangeline.' 'Tell me you won't set fire to your heart, and I will let you go.' 'Don't ask me to do that.' 'Then don't ask me to let you go!”

“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.”

“From that first day in his church, Jacks had wanted to watch her. He wanted to know what her voice sounded like, what her skin felt like. He'd followed her, listened to her prayer- hated her prayer. It had been one of the most god-awful prayers he'd ever heard. And yet even then he hadn't been able to walk away. He wanted a piece of her. To keep her. To use her for later. At least that's what he'd told himself. She was only a key. A human. She wasn't an obsession. She wasn't his.”

“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. But he couldn't see her die again. His first fox had believed in him, and she had died, just like Evangeline would. There was only one way their story ended, and it wasn't happy. Her hope might have been powerful enough, but it wasn't magic. It wasn't enough. It was better to hurt her, better to break her heart, to do whatever he needed to do, to keep her alive and to keep her away from him. That hadn't changed. But today, Jacks was failing at letting her go. He wanted to keep her pressed to the floor beneath him. He would have set the world on fire and then let it all burn just to keep holding her like this.”

“He couldn't tell if she was finally remembering. But he was selfish enough to hope that she was. He debated keeping her trapped under him until she did. He knew it was a bad idea, but he wanted her to remember him. He wanted her to look at him, just once, and know him the way she had before. It was cruel of him to want her to want him again. If she remembered, it would only hurt her more. He was still haunted by the last time he'd seen her with her memories. It had been right outside the Valory. Hours before, he'd felt her die in his arms.”

“Jacks reminded himself she was safe with Apollo. As a princess, she'd have anything she ever wanted. But she wasn't supposed to want to kiss him. It wasn't fair of Jacks to hate her a little for it. But feeling hateful was the only thing that made it possible for him to leave. And he really needed to leave. Evangeline was safe. That was what mattered. If Jacks stayed, if he stormed in the room and used his powers to make Apollo watch as Jacks told Evangeline that she wasn't nothing to him. That she was everything. That he'd turned back time to keep her alive, and he would make the same choice again. If Jacks made her remember that he was the one she should have wanted to kiss. She wouldn't be safe anymore. She wouldn't even be alive. If Evangeline was going to have any future, Jacks could not be a part of it.”

“Jacks scowled. 'Don't tell me I'm not allowed to kill birds now.' 'It's a pet, and it shouldn't be condemned because of its master.' Jacks looked at Evangeline as if she made absolutely no sense to him. But he put away the knife. 'Let's just hope this pet bird is living its best day full of fat rabbits and not focusing on us.' 'Thank you,' said Evangeline. 'I don't think I really did you a favour.' 'But it was what I wanted.”

“You know,' she confessed, 'I've always loved your dimples.' 'I know.' He smirked. 'You were so obvious with your love at first sight.' 'It was not love at first sight.' She huffed. 'I only said I like your dimples at the start.' She dropped her hand from his cheek. 'I didn't even like you. I thought you were terrible.' 'And yet.' He grabbed her hand again and wrapped it around his neck. 'You kept staring.' Well...' She wrapped her other hand around his neck before sliding her fingers back into his hair. She really loved his hair. 'I might not have liked you, but you were always ridiculously handsome.”

“I'm broken. I like to break things. Sometimes I want to break you.' 'Then break me, Jacks.' His fingers tensed against her neck. 'For once I want to do the right thing. I can't do this. I can't watch you die again.' The word again scraped against her like a thorn. 'What do you mean, again?' 'You died, Evangeline.' Jacks pulled her closer until she could feel the ragged rise and fall of his chest as he rasped. 'I held you in my arms as it happened.' 'Jacks... I don't know what you're talking about. I never died.' 'Yes, you did. The night you opened the Valory. The first time you did it, I didn't go with you.' He went silent for a moment and then she heard him think, I couldn't say goodbye. 'It was only you and Chaos,' he whispered. 'As soon as his helm was off, he killed you. I tried to stop him- I tried to save you- but-' Jacks opened and shut his mouth as if he could barely get the words out. 'I couldn't. When I got there, he had already bitten you- and he'd already taken too much blood. You died as soon as you were in my arms. The only thing I could do was use the stones to turn back time. I was warned that it would cost me something. But I thought it would cost me. I didn't imagine it would take from you.' I'm sorry, he thought. 'You don't need to be sorry, Jacks.' 'It's my fault,' he gritted out. 'No, it's not. I didn't lose my memories because you turned back time. I lost them because Apollo took them from me.' Jacks looked murderous for a second. Then just as quickly he shook off her words. 'It doesn't matter. What matters is that you died. And if you die again, I cannot bring you back.' 'So you'd rather live without me?' 'I'd rather you live.' 'I am living, Jacks, and I am not going to die anytime soon.' Evangeline closed her eyes and then she kissed him.”

“Get your hands off her, you son of a bitch!' Jacks ran across the cavern and punched Apollo in the face. Then he punched him again and again. He punched until he stopped feeling his fist, breaking Apollo's bones. When blood spewed from the prince's nose, Jacks felt it spray his cheek. It would have been easier just to stab the bastard in the throat. But Jacks needed to hurt him first. 'I will kill you for this!' Jacks rained down more punches on Apollo's face.”

“How can I make you understand,' he growled, 'you and I together don't end well. We just end.' 'How can you know that if you haven't even tried?' 'Try?' Jacks laughed and the sound was awful. 'This isn't something you try at, Evangeline.' ... 'This is something that gets one chance to be right or wrong, and if you're wrong, there's no trying again. There is nothing.”

“I remember,' she breathed. 'Do you now?' He smiled, and just like everything else, it was a very Jacks-like smile. Sharper at one corner, giving the impression of being both cruel and playful all at once. It reminded her vaguely of the first time they'd met, when she'd thought he looked like a half-bored young noble, half-wicked demigod. 'Tell me, pet, just how much do you remember?”

“Tentatively, she reached for the top button of his doublet. Jacks's eyes flashed open. 'What are you doing?' 'Your clothes are wet,' she whispered as she slowly undid the first button with a soft click. It was a small sound, but somehow it filled the room. Outside, the rain lashed hard against the thin window, shaking the glass, but Evangeline could still hear the sound of every button as she undid one after another. 'This is a very bad idea,' Jacks murmured. 'I would have thought you liked bad ideas.' 'Only when they're mine.' He stood very still as he fingers reached for the bottom button and carefully slid it through the hole. For a second, there was no rain, there was no breathing. There was just the two of them. Carefully, Evangeline parted the fabric of the doublet. Then she felt Jacks's hand braceleting her wrist. 'My turn,' he said hoarsely. And she swore she could feel his voice on her skin as he reached for the ties of her cloak.”

“First we need to get out of this accursed forest before someone else tries to kill you.' 'About that,' she said, 'someone else did try to kill me earlier, before I entered this place.' Jacks gave her a baleful look. 'How is it that every day someone tries to kill you?' 'I wish I knew. Maybe then I could stop it from happening.”

“You can't just tie people up and whisk them to wherever you want them.' 'I wouldn't need to, if you would just remember.' His voice was still quiet, but it was a dangerous sort of quiet, one that gave his words a bite. Evangeline told herself not to care. But instead she felt compelled to argue. 'You don't think I'm trying to remember?' 'Clearly not hard enough,' Jacks said coldly. 'Do you even want your memories back?' 'All I've been doing is trying to get them back!' 'If you believe that, then either you're lying to yourself or you've forgotten how to really try.' His eyes burned as they met hers; it was a fire like anger. But she could see hurt as well. It came in threads of silver that moved through the blue of his eyes like cracks. 'I've seen you try before. I've seen you want something more than anything else in the entire world. I've seen what you're willing to do. How far you were willing to go. You haven't even come close to that now.”

“What are you to me?' she asked. Archer's eyes locked with hers. 'Nothing.' But it didn't feel like nothing when his fingers reached down and he took hold of the sash that kept her robe tied together. He held it as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to untie it or tug her closer to him. 'Why are you lying?' she asked. 'I thought we'd already established that I'm not very kind.”

“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.”