Jacks Of The Hollows Quotes

“She didn't want someone to hold her while she cried and tell her it would be all right. She wanted fury, she wanted rage, she wanted a villain to tell her she'd done exactly what she needed to do.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“The truth is never what you want it to be, Little Fox.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“You're good at this,' she murmured. 'Do you often travel with girls who've been flayed?'

That earned her a soft laugh. 'No.' Then quietly, as he ran a cloth along her lower back, just below the dip in her waist. 'Would you be jealous if I did?'

I'm not a jealous person was what Evangeline intended to say, but instead the words 'of course' came out.

Jacks laughed, louder this time.

Embarrassment surged through her. 'That's not what I meant to say.'

'It's all right. I'd probably kill another man if I found him with you like this.' Jacks' hands pressed harder as they went to her shoulders and, one by one, ripped off the sleeves of her dress so that what remained of the gown completely fell away.

She made a sound somewhere between a squeal and a gasp. 'What that really necessary?'

'No, but everyone should have their clothes ripped off at some point.'

She imagined Jacks was mostly trying to distract her from all the pain, yet she blushed all the way from her cheeks to her chest.

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him smile.

And for a second, nothing hurt.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“Are you jealous of Luc?'
'I thought we'd already covered that yesterday. I'm always jealous. And so are you.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“She could feel the cool of his arms sliding gently under her legs and carefully under her neck as he cradled her to his chest.
'It hurts, Jacks.'
'I know, love. I'm going to take you somewhere safe.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“What the hell are you doing?' Jacks growled.
Evangeline turned toward his voice, sweat trickling down her cheek, as she found him standing in the doorway. A vein throbbed furiously along the line of his smooth, marble neck. His skin looked so cool, and she was so hot. All she wanted was to press her mouth to his throat and maybe lick it just once. Her blood rushed faster at the thought, and her fangs started to lengthen.
'Jacks, get out of here!' Chaos ordered. 'Unless you've changed your mind about her becoming a vampire.'
Chaos gripped Evangeline's wrists tighter, pressing them- along with her- more firmly to the bed. She writhed against his grip; he was crushing her again with the full weight of his body.
Something loud cracked in the doorway.
Her eyes shot back to Jacks, who was fisting the now splintered edge of the door. Had he done that with his hands?
He certainly looked livid enough. His silver-blue eyes turned midnight dark as he watched her struggling under Chaos.
Evangeline dimly knew that she should stop her thrashing. If she broke free from Chaos and managed to bite Jacks, the life she had- the life she wanted to keep- would be over. But she also wanted this. She wanted Jacks to stop her struggling. She wanted him to rip Chaos off her chest so that he could pin her to the bed instead.
Evangeline took a rasping breath, and her gaze collided with Jacks' once more.
He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. With Evangeline's heightened senses, she could hear it clench under his palm. Then she heard the scrape of Jacks' boots as he sharply turned and disappeared down the hall.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“What exactly are you doing?' Jacks drawled.

The breath left her lungs, and the broken heart scar on her wrist caught fire. She hadn't even heard him enter. Evangeline stopped mid-twirl, her skirts still swishing as she caught his dashing reflection in the mirror.

Her heart gave a silly jolt. She tried to stop it. But while Jacks was many terrible things, there was no denying that he was also painfully handsome. It was the golden hair. In certain lights, it looked like real gold, shining over eyes that glittered more than human eyes ever could. So maybe it was the eyes as well. And perhaps she could blame a little on his lips. They were perfect, of course, and right now they were smiling with amusement.

'So this is what you do when I'm not around?'

Evangeline felt the sudden urge to hide inside her wardrobe, but she tampered it down as she turned and met his gaze with a smile of her own. 'You think about what I do when you're not around?'

'Careful, Little Fox.' He took a step forward. 'You sound excited by the idea.'

'I'm not, I assure you,' she said, wishing she didn't sound so breathless. 'I merely like the thought that I torment you as much as you torment me.'

Jacks flashed one of his dimples, making him look deceptively charming. 'So you're the one who thinks about what I do when you're not around?'

'Only because I know you're up to no good.'

'No good.' He laughed as he said the words. 'I would hope you know by now that I'm up to far worse than just "no good".”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“You're a little scary right now, do you know that?'
She glared at him.
'That's a compliment, Little Fox.' He reached towards her and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear with one featherlight touch.
Butterflies moved inside her. Different from the ones that she felt whenever she saw Apollo. Because Apollo didn't frighten her.
'What are you doing?' she squeaked.
Jacks chuckled. 'If I knew all it took to scare you was a little touch, I would have tried this sooner.' His fingertips played with her earlobe.
Evangeline pulled away, almost stumbling on the frozen ground. She hated that her legs were so unsteady. That one small touch could affect her so.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“Jacks dropped a heavy arm around her shoulders, sending a shock straight through her as he pulled her suddenly close.
'Want me to kill any of them for you?'
'No, they're just gossiping.'
'Then what if I merely give them the urge to cut out their own tongues?' he asked, flashing one of his dimples.
Evangeline stifled a giggle, though she knew she shouldn't be amused. She had no doubt he was serious about the tongues. 'Don't you dare-'
'You sure? They deserve it.' The whole House deserves it.
The thought was so quiet, Evangeline wasn't sure Jacks intended for her to hear it.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“Jacks didn't stop following her, and she had a feeling he never would.

She almost laughed at the idea that she'd thought she could run away from him. That he would simply let her go.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“The icy water hit hard as earth. She thrashed on instinct, but Jacks held her tightly. His arms were unyielding, dragging her up through the crashing waves. Salt water snaked up her nose, and the cold filled her veins. She was coughing and sputtering, barely able to take down air as Jacks swam to shore with her in tow. He held her close and carried her from the ocean as if his life depended on it instead of hers.

'I will not let you die.' A single bead of water dripped from Jacks' lashes on to her lips. It was raindrop soft, but the look in his eyes held the force of a storm.

It should have been too dark to his expression, but the crescent moon burned brighter with each second, lining edges of Jacks' cheekbones as he looked at her with too much intensity.

The crashing ocean felt suddenly quiet in contrast to her pounding heart, or maybe it was his heart.

Jacks' chest was heaving, his clothes were soaked, his hair was a mess across his face- yet in that moment, Evangeline knew he would carry her through fire if he had to, haul her from the clutches of war, from falling cities and breaking worlds. And for one brittle heartbeat, Evangeline understood why so many girls died from his lips. If Jacks hadn't betrayed her, if he hadn't set her up for murder, she might have been a little bewitched by him.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“I hurt everyone, Little Fox. But you have to be alive to hate me.' His eyes iced over. 'I do not want you dead, and I'll kill anyone who tries.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“The Archer had always been so sure of himself and what he could do. He'd never been given a task he could not complete. There was no beast he could not track, no target he could not hit. He could shoot an apple from the hand of a friend at a thousand paces away- while it was being tossed in the air. He was a legend, he was the Archer, and he would have sacrificed it all to save her.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“Just one look set her blood on fire, and she liked the way it burned.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“No one is going to die at this celebration. You are not going to kill people while we're here.'
Jacks leaned back in his seat and picked up his apple, mouth twisting in to a sullen frown. 'That's a terrible plan, Little Fox.' He took a wide bite, sharp teeth tearing at the fruit. 'Someone is going to die. It will either be one of them or one of us.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“Life is not a kind storyteller. And I'm not meant to be a saviour.'

Jacks turned to go.

'You're wrong.' Evangeline reached out and grabbed his hand. Her grip wasn't as strong as she would have liked. Exhaustion was starting to take a deeper hold on her, but she held as tight as she could. She wanted to remind him that he'd held her as she'd cried, he'd carried her as she'd bled, he'd bandaged her wounds. But her head was growing so heavy, all she managed to say was. 'Tonight, you saved me.'

No, I stopped you from dying. That's not the same thing.' Jacks pulled away and abruptly left.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“Life is not a kind storyteller. And I'm not meant to be a saviour.'

Jacks turned to go.

'You're wrong.' Evangeline reached out and grabbed his hand. Her grip wasn't as strong as she would have liked. Exhaustion was starting to take a deeper hold on her, but she held as tight as she could. She wanted to remind him that he'd held her as she'd cried, he'd carried her as she'd bled, he'd bandaged her wounds. But her head was growing so heavy, all she managed to say was. 'Tonight, you saved me.'

'No, I stopped you from dying. That's not the same thing.' Jacks pulled away and abruptly left.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“The first green leaf daring to live among the gloom felt like a trick, a delusion of her breaking mind. But then there was another and another. A canopy of gorgeous green. Everywhere she looked now, there was sunlight, snow-dusted trees, and chirping blue birds, and she was half-afraid she'd lost her mind.

The flowers came next, in delirious shades of yellow and mind and mermaid teal. They lined a sloping road that let down in to a valley with an inn and a lake and an aged sign that read Welcome to the Hollow!

...

...finally they stopped at an inn that couldn't be real. It had to be part of a dream.

The rooftop was covered in enormous cheery mushrooms with red caps that had tiny dragons dozing upon them. Then there were the flowers, so large they were the size of small children, with bright-coloured petals in every shade, which seemed to perk up as the two of them arrived.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“The first green leaf daring to live among the gloom felt like a trick, a delusion of her breaking mind. But then there was another and another. A canopy of gorgeous green. Everywhere she looked now, there was sunlight, snow-dusted trees, and chirping blue birds, and she was half-afraid she'd lost her mind.

The flowers came next, in delirious shades of yellow and pink and mermaid teal. They lined a sloping road that let down in to a valley with an inn and a lake and an aged sign that read Welcome to the Hollow!

...finally they stopped at an inn that couldn't be real. It had to be part of a dream.

The rooftop was covered in enormous cheery mushrooms with red caps that had tiny dragons dozing upon them. Then there were the flowers, so large they were the size of small children, with bright-coloured petals in every shade, which seemed to perk up as the two of them arrived.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“More snowbirds chirped a cheery tune as the bridge ended at a rounded door tucked high inside the branches of a tree.

Jacks took a deep breath, and Evangeline felt his chest rising against her as they stepped through the door and in to a smallish loft. There were no fires or candles, and yet somehow the place was warm and bright with the sun shining through all the many windows. So many windows carefully nestled between branches in a way that made it difficult to see where the glass began and the tree ended.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After