As the final Reign of Magic themed post, we’re digging into a complex topic: the curse cast on Evariste, his magic, and how his feelings for Angelique affects all of that.
I wanted to cover this topic last to give everyone a chance to read Reign of Magic, because the whole post is basically one giant spoiler. So, if you still haven’t read it yet, consider yourself warned!
We know from Curse of Magic that Evariste is blocked from his powers by a dark curse, and the only way to break it is to act out his darkest desires. The spell itself tells Evariste he has to give Angelique a kiss of true love. (So a peck on the hand or cheek isn’t going to cut it.)
We also know from the events of Curse and Reign that Liliane and her minions have been harvesting Evariste’s magic and have used it to cast the various curses Angelique has encountered. (ie: Severin’s curse, the transformation spell Clotilde put on the Arcainian Princes, and we know from Evariste’s thoughts he was used to entrap the elves, etc.) Multiple people–including Liliane and Angelique–have noted that many of the curses they’ve cast have all had an exploitable weakness for love–specifically romantic love.
Reign reveals that this is no accident, but rather a trait of Evariste’s magic. He got captured protecting someone he loved, and in order to break the curse he has to give Angelique a kiss of true love. His magic has reacted to that and thus the weakness has been forged.
But Reign also reveals another aspect of Evariste’s magic, and this time it involves Angelique. As some of you might recall, when the spell that is torturing Evariste so he sees those he’s close to in pain, Angelique’s magic shreds the spell and breaks him free of it.
Though Evariste doesn’t dwell on it overly much–he’s more fixated on the aforementioned weakness–it still is worth mentioning that this is a pretty rare case of two mages whose magic works together. Getting mages working in tandem is somewhat rare. You see it in The Snow Queen Series when magic users team up together, but Evariste’s and Angelique’s case is even more rare because it’s not just fighting together, but rather magic ebbing and flowing regardless of the user’s (in this case Angelique’s) knowledge.
It is a topic future books in the series will address, but it’s one of the most blatant hints yet that that there are two sets of rules that affect magic. Hard, physical rules–like limits/prices, core magic always being stronger than learned magic, etc, etc–and emotional rules–like love can be used to break curses, and everything we’ve discussed in this post.
This is something I’ve kept in mind since I first created the world. You can get peeks of it in Wild Swans, Rumpelstiltskin, and the Snow Queen books. It was something I designed because I feel it reflects every day life and living. We’ve got a set of hard rules we live by that define what we can and can’t do, but things like love and friendship will help us test our limits and, in a way, grow stronger.
And that ends today’s Magic Class. 😉 Thanks for reading, Champions, and I hope you enjoyed this topic!
Gosh I love your world so incredibly much!!!! The way you’ve established magic, and the two rules it works by, not only makes sense, but is (as weird as it is to say about an ethereal concept) realistic. It works, and in retrospect is very clear throughout your previous novels!!!!
I love, love, love Evariste’s and Angelique’s magics working the way they do. That was probably one of my most favorite aspects (I have a lot of “most favorite aspects”) of Reign! Those scenes were like oases in the midst of poor Angelique’s trials and tribulations—so very rewarding and a welcome respite! Lol, poor Evariste though, continuously trying to convince her that he’s real.
Anyway, thank you so much as always Kitty! You’re such an amazing author, and it’s no wonder we all love you so much! <3
Can’t wait for next books
Bye , Miss Shea! Hope the next class doesn’t wear you out! *happy middle school girl wave*
Yay! Thanks for that! Thanks for the extra info!
I always thought the answer to breaking Evariste’s curse was a little suspicious. It isn’t like kissing Angelique is dark, I’m sure he’d like to take out a few people instead. So is it his magic is reacting to the curse and what he truly wants and forcing him down that path?
That is very interesting
I think it’s more that it’s what Evariste really wants but he thinks it’s totally inappropriate due to his student/teacher relationship with Angel. But because of his love for her, everything his magic is used for is influenced by that love.
I agree on the fact that it’s what Evariste really wants, but I have the impression that he views it as dark because he thinks that it would be a completely selfish act, one whom would hurt Angelique the most. Also the student/teacher relationship has something to say here, as you pointed out, but I think it’s more that he thinks kissing Angelique would shake her confidence in him, and also he sees it as forcing his love on her (I think that somewhere in the series, he got this idea that Angelique would hate a romantic development, but I can’t remember where).
PS: sorry for any spelling/grammar errors. I’m not a native speaker of english
Thank you for this explanation. I love the books and I think the series is getting better and better. I am looking forward to the story advancing and overcoming the evil. I am very curious on how you will destroy the mirror. I also hope you explain the origins of the entity in the mirror. You have written a fascinating series and I appreciate that it doesn’t have sex scenes or swearing and the characters show more love than lust. The only thing I would say as a critique is that jealousy is not love but is about fearing the loss of love and is controlling. I’m glad to see that you don’t have your later books displaying that trait. Good job on your creative writing.
Thanks Mary–I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the series! 😉 Hopefully when the end rolls around you’ll find it a satisfactory conclusion!
I was wondering the same exact thing!
I really enjoyed the dream scenes and Rothbart’s blunt observations. My sister and I couldn’t stop laughing, though our hearts broke for Evariste and Angel. I do have one question though: if it’s a kiss of true love, then doesn’t Angel have to love Evariste back as well?
I was wondering the same thing!
😉 😉 😉 😉 😉
I never said Evariste was the most brilliant boi….
Very cool! My sisters and I had picked up on the fact that their magic seemed to be acting in unexpected ways and we have speculated about that extensively. We had even picked up a little on the point you made about the Snow Queen. So thank you for the clarification. It does explain a lot, and we are so looking forward to seeing how this will affect future events in upcoming stories.
High fives for good observations! 🙂
I loved this twist! When you spelled it out it was definitely a lightbulb moment as so many pieces snapped together from all the other Timeless Fairy Tales. I seriously can’t wait to see how this enables the Chosen to be defeated (this is me hinting that is the final result…unless of course you write more wonderful books lol), especially in light of the ending of Snow White. There are still so many unanswered questions, but I know true love will eventually triumph so I guess I can be patient as I wait for answers.
🙂 I’m glad it helped pull everything together! We’ll get it spelled out as Evariste wrestles with his curse more–and Angelique…does things. 😉 😉 But until then I thought it would be helpful to confirm it.
I am eager to find out how their magic worked together. The rest of the series is going to be so much fun! I hope you are enjoying your well-earned vacation and that perfect dog is healthy now.
Thank you! She is finally all healthy–it took a few weeks but I’m so glad she’s better!
I love how Evariste’s and Angelique’s magic works together- so beautiful. I can’t wait for their HEA.
Thanks Kitty for not leaving us all hanging in suspense on what happens after Reign of Magic! We eagerly await the rest of the story!!