Chapter 35: Summary, Key Moments, and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Evangeline arrives at the wedding suite, which sits at the top of one of Wolf Hall's spiraling towers, guarded by six soldiers. She hesitates outside the door, weighing whether she can delay the spell-breaking kiss until sunrise. Jacks's warning echoes in her mind—that Apollo won't see her actions as a favor. She also doesn't know which version of Apollo she'll find once the spell is broken: the sweet prince who told her fairytales, or the angry prince who nearly attacked his brother.

She enters anyway, and the door snaps shut behind her. The room is stifling—overheated by a hundred blazing candles and heavy with the scent of a thousand white flower petals covering every surface. Apollo stretches across the four-poster bed, shirtless, wearing only a large amber stone over his oiled chest. He greets her as his heart and calls her wife, still clearly under Jacks's influence.

Evangeline stalls, pouring herself a glass of wine from a plum-colored bottle. The drink sparkles but tastes of rotten blackberries and salt. She forces herself to sip it, buying time before she must approach the bed.

Finally, she closes her eyes and kisses him. At first, Apollo responds, pulling her onto the bed. But then his grip loosens, and he pushes her away. He sits up, his hands fisting, his shoulders tensing. He scowls at the flower petals, the candles, and his own oiled chest—clearly disgusted by the spell's trappings. His anger gives way to naked hurt. He demands to know what she has done, saying it feels as though she's stabbed him in the heart.

Evangeline apologizes, telling him she didn't want to hurt him. Apollo grabs her hand, trying to speak, but then his skin turns gray, his shoulders slump, his eyes roll back, and he collapses onto the bed.

Panic sets in. Evangeline presses her hand to his chest—it's slick and warm but not moving. She searches for a pulse and finds none. She notices the tattoo on his chest: her name inside a heart made of swords, the skin around the ink turning an odd shade of blue. She shakes him, cries his name, begs him to get up. Nothing works.

The worst realization crashes over her: her kiss didn't just break the spell—it killed him. And Jacks tricked her into doing it.

Key Events

Evangeline hesitates outside the wedding suite, considering delaying the kiss until sunrise
She enters the overheated, flower-covered room; the door snaps shut behind her
Apollo, still under the spell, greets her as wife from the bed, shirtless and oiled
Evangeline stalls by drinking wine that tastes of rotten blackberries and salt
She kisses Apollo to break the spell
Apollo pushes her away, becomes angry, then visibly wounded
He collapses; his skin turns gray and he stops breathing
Evangeline finds no pulse and cannot revive him
She realizes the kiss killed him and that Jacks deceived her

Character Development

Evangeline reaches a point of no return in this chapter. Her commitment to loving Apollo and making the marriage work is tested against her fear of what he'll become once the spell breaks. Her hesitation at the door shows genuine uncertainty—she's not sure whether she's saving him or destroying their future. The chapter also deepens her emotional history through a reflection on Luc: she recalls that letting go of Luc felt like climbing the face of a rock, clawing her way out of love. This memory underscores how hard she's worked to move forward, and how devastating it is to have that progress shattered by Apollo's death.

Apollo is revealed as a victim of Jacks's manipulation in a new way. Under the spell, he's performative and unsettling—oiled, posed, calling her wife. When the spell breaks, his immediate reaction is anger and disgust at his own behavior, followed by raw hurt. His final attempt to speak suggests he may have been trying to say something important before the spell's backlash killed him. His death leaves the question of who he truly was unanswered.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Deception and trickery. Jacks's manipulation is the engine of this chapter. He warned Evangeline that Apollo wouldn't thank her, but the true deception is far worse: the kiss that was supposed to save Apollo kills him instead. Evangeline believed she was acting out of love, but she was a pawn in Jacks's game.

Consequences of magic. Magic in this world is never clean. The spell-breaking kiss carries a lethal price, and Evangeline pays it without knowing the cost. The chapter reinforces that magical solutions come with hidden dangers.

The heart tattoo. Apollo's tattoo—Evangeline's name inside a heart made of swords—becomes a symbol of their doomed connection. The skin around the ink turns blue as he dies, visually marking the moment love and violence converge.

The trapped setting. The wedding suite is a cage: the door snaps shut, the room is overheated and cloying, and six soldiers guard the only exit. Evangeline is physically and emotionally trapped, unable to escape the consequences of her choice.

Letting go of love. Evangeline's reflection on Luc—that falling out of love is easy but letting go is like climbing a rock face—parallels her situation with Apollo. She's trying to hold on to a love that may not survive the spell, and the chapter suggests that some loves can't be saved.

Why This Chapter Matters

This is the chapter where the central romantic plot collapses. Evangeline's mission to save Apollo—the driving force of the novel's second act—ends in his death. The kiss that was meant to free him kills him instead, and Jacks's role as a manipulator is fully exposed. The chapter also raises the stakes for everything that follows: Evangeline is now responsible for a prince's death, trapped in a hostile castle with guards outside the door, and completely at the mercy of the man who tricked her. It's a turning point that transforms the story from a fairytale romance into something far darker.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Evangeline hesitate before entering the wedding suite, and what does her hesitation reveal about her state of mind?

Evangeline hesitates because she doesn't know which version of Apollo she'll face once the spell breaks—the sweet prince who told her fairytales or the angry prince who nearly attacked his brother. She also considers delaying the kiss until sunrise, hoping to avoid the moment of transformation. Her hesitation reveals genuine fear and uncertainty: she's committed to loving Apollo, but she's not sure that love will survive the spell's removal. Jacks's warning that Apollo won't see her actions as a favor weighs on her, and she's acutely aware that she's walking into a situation she can't control.

2. What does Apollo's reaction after the kiss reveal about the spell's effects and his true character?

Apollo's immediate reaction is anger and disgust—he scowls at the flower petals, the candles, and his own oiled chest, clearly horrified by what the spell made him do. This suggests the spell didn't just control his actions; it made him perform a version of himself he finds repulsive. His anger quickly gives way to naked hurt, and he asks Evangeline why he feels as though she's stabbed him in the heart. This reaction reveals that Apollo, beneath the spell, is capable of genuine emotion and vulnerability. His final attempt to speak hints that he may have been trying to say something important before the spell's backlash killed him, leaving his true feelings unresolved.

3. How does the chapter use the setting to reinforce Evangeline's sense of being trapped?

The wedding suite is deliberately constructed as a trap. It's at the top of a spiraling tower with six soldiers guarding the only exit, and the door snaps shut behind Evangeline the moment she enters. The room itself is oppressive: overheated by a hundred candles and cloying with the scent of a thousand flower petals. Every element—the heat, the sweetness, the locked door, the guards—combines to create a space where Evangeline has no escape. This physical entrapment mirrors her emotional entrapment: she's committed to a course of action she can't back out of, and the consequences of that action will trap her even more completely.