Weeks pass, and summer turns to fall. Evangeline works at her father’s old bookstore, which wasn’t closed, and lives in fear of the debt she owes Jacks. She wants to believe that Luc will return, even though she knows he won’t, and she knows that, even though her life has changed, she did the right thing by drinking the poison. There’s more than one way to find a happy ending, and she’s sure “there was a happy ending waiting for her” (60).

Marisol comes to the bookshop with a note addressed to Evangeline. Since her two wedding attempts ended badly, Marisol has gained a reputation as the “cursed bride,” and being in public makes her uncomfortable. She feels she owes Evangeline for saving her life, which fills Evangeline with guilt for not telling the whole story.

The note Evangeline received was an invitation to the palace from the empress, who wishes to discuss an opportunity. Since she returned to life, Evangeline has heard rumors about how the empress and her sister slayed a Fate who killed the former heir to the throne, but when Evangeline meets the empress and her sister Donatella, she finds it difficult to believe such lovely people killed anyone.