Chapter 35 Summary: Wales
⚠️ 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
In 2022, Evelyn is in Abergavenny, Wales, attempting to flee Arden without saying goodbye to her sister Gracie. Her plan fails when Arden intercepts her in the street. Despite her hatred for him, Evelyn breaks down completely and falls into his arms, sobbing. She begs him not to kill her, terrified that she will never see Gracie again. Arden comforts her, insisting she is the strongest person he has ever known, and tells her that the force of her love could mend the earth.
Evelyn confesses the overwhelming dread she carries: she cannot stop thinking about the inevitable loss of everyone she loves—her sister, her mother—and the pain of that knowledge is unbearable. She admits she tries to detach, to keep a healthy distance like Arden does, but she cannot. She wonders aloud whether everyone feels this way or whether she is insane. Arden admits he honestly does not know. When she says she wishes she could be like him, he replies that he is glad she is not.
Arden then asks the devastating question: how does she want to die? Evelyn, resigned, suggests making it look like an accident so her mother will not blame herself for letting Arden into their lives. Arden proposes they jump from a cliff together, making it appear as though they fell. Evelyn privately doubts anyone would believe it was an accident given recent events, but she does not voice this. She also worries about the image of their bodies her mother would have to live with.
Realizing escape is futile, Evelyn pivots to negotiation. She tells Arden she can make this easy or difficult, and that she can come willingly if he agrees to her terms: she wants to know why he does this—why he kills her, life after life. She insists on hearing his reasons at the cliff, as they look down over the valley. Arden warns her the truth will hurt, but Evelyn insists that not knowing hurts more. She argues that if they are going to keep defying time and fate together, she needs equal power. Arden, visibly afraid, tells her this is not power. Eventually, defeated, he agrees. He whispers that he will tell her everything, and for the first time he looks young, innocent, and afraid, his millennium of conviction crumbling.
Key Events
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Evelyn attempts to flee Abergavenny without saying goodbye to Gracie but is caught by Arden in the street.
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Evelyn breaks down and falls into Arden's arms, begging him not to kill her.
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Arden comforts her, calling her the strongest person he has ever known.
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Evelyn confesses her overwhelming fear of losing her family and asks whether others share this feeling; Arden admits uncertainty.
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Arden asks how she wants to die, and Evelyn suggests making it look like an accident.
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Arden proposes they jump from a cliff together to appear as though they fell.
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Evelyn negotiates: she will come willingly if Arden explains his reasons at the cliff.
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Arden warns the truth will hurt her, but Evelyn insists on knowing.
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Arden finally agrees to tell her everything, appearing younger and more vulnerable than ever before.
Character Development
Evelyn reaches a new level of emotional exposure in this chapter. Her confession about the pain of loving her family—the constant awareness of inevitable loss—reveals the depth of her humanity and her struggle to reconcile her long existence with the ordinary grief of mortal life. Her decision to negotiate rather than fight shows a shift from desperate survival to a quest for understanding. She wants answers, not just to live, but to find peace. Her line about needing equal power signals a growing refusal to remain passive in the cycle Arden controls.
Arden is stripped of his usual stoic composure. He admits he does not know whether others share Evelyn's feelings, and he shows genuine fear when she demands the truth. His confession that he is glad she is not like him reveals a crack in his emotional armor. The final image of him looking young, innocent, and afraid suggests that his conviction—whatever drives him—is not as unshakable as it has seemed.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Love as downfall: Evelyn explicitly names love as her downfall, noting that her need to say goodbye to Gracie led to her capture. This motif recurs throughout the chapter as she describes love as an open wound.
Inevitable loss and grief: Evelyn's monologue about looking at her sister and mother and seeing only future loss captures the central grief of her existence. She describes her heart as an open wound and admits she cannot detach from love despite trying.
Tempting fate: Evelyn articulates a belief that loving someone openly is a way of tempting fate—that showing the universe how much she loves her family might cause them to be taken from her. This idea of bargaining with the universe is a recurring motif in her internal world.
Power imbalance: Evelyn explicitly names the power imbalance between her and Arden, demanding equal power as a condition of her cooperation. This theme is central to their dynamic and to the negotiation that drives the chapter.
Memory as carrying candles: Evelyn reflects that she has always found a way to live with grief by carrying her lost loves inside her like candles that never blow out, until time eventually extinguishes the memories. This image ties memory, love, and loss together.
Cyclical reincarnation: The chapter reinforces the cyclical nature of Evelyn and Arden's existence—their repeated deaths and rebirths, their defiance of time and fate. Evelyn's reference to falling for each other over and over again underscores this motif.
Emotional vulnerability vs. stoicism: Evelyn's raw emotional outpouring contrasts sharply with Arden's controlled, stoic demeanor. Yet the chapter also shows Arden's composure cracking, suggesting that his stoicism is a mask rather than a true absence of feeling.
Trust and betrayal: Evelyn's decision to trust Arden's promise to tell her the truth—despite everything—highlights the paradoxical trust at the heart of their relationship. She trusts him more fully than she ever has, even as she prepares to die by his hand.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 35 is a turning point in the novel. It marks the moment when Evelyn stops trying to escape and instead demands answers. Her negotiation with Arden—her willingness to trade her cooperation for the truth—shifts the power dynamic between them and sets up the revelation that has been withheld for centuries. The chapter also deepens the emotional stakes by giving Evelyn a voice to articulate the grief of loving mortals as an immortal, and by showing Arden's vulnerability for perhaps the first time. The cliffside pact they agree to is both a death sentence and a doorway to understanding, making this chapter essential to the novel's central mystery.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Evelyn choose to negotiate with Arden instead of continuing to fight or flee?
Evelyn realizes that escape is futile—Arden is faster, stronger, and knows her too well. But more importantly, she recognizes that survival without understanding is not worth it. She wants to know why Arden kills her, life after life, and she is willing to trade her cooperation for that knowledge. Her demand for equal power reflects a deeper need: to no longer be a passive victim in a cycle she does not understand.
2. What does Evelyn's monologue about loving her family reveal about her character?
It reveals the profound emotional cost of her immortality. She is acutely aware that everyone she loves will eventually die, and this knowledge is a constant source of pain. She tries to detach, to protect herself, but she cannot. This vulnerability humanizes her and explains why her love for Gracie and her mother is both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. It also sets her apart from Arden, who seems able to maintain emotional distance.
3. How does Arden's behavior in this chapter complicate our understanding of him?
Arden is usually portrayed as stoic and controlled, but here he shows fear, uncertainty, and vulnerability. He admits he does not know whether others share Evelyn's feelings, and he tells her he is glad she is not like him. His final agreement to tell her everything—and the description of him looking young, innocent, and afraid—suggests that his conviction is not as solid as it appears. This complicates the reader's view of him as a purely cold or cruel figure.