Cupid’s Match

After Cupid parks the Aston Martin at the bottom of Charlie’s drive, he turns around in his seat when my fingers are on the door handle.

“Stay safe,” he says. “We’ll deal with these Arrows then come back to let you know how it went.”

“You sure you’ll be okay?” I cast my gaze between him and Cal.

Cupid grins. “We’ve dealt with worse than this in our time,” he says. “Plus, they can’t kill us without the Finis, which is always a bonus.”

Cal just continues to stares straight ahead. As I open the door, I pause to give him what I hope is a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. He tenses momentarily; I sigh and let go, climbing out of the car.

“Good luck,” I say.

Cupid waves before driving off down the street. As I head toward the house, Charlie flings open the front door and rushes to me.

“Are we going to follow them?” she asks.

She’s dressed differently than usual—in skinny jeans and a black top instead of one of her stylish dresses. She seems to be resolute about not meeting my eyes—I guess she still feels bad about James.

“We’ll need to set off now to catch up with them,” I say. “You ready?”

She looks down the street. “Yeah, just give me a minute. I need to go and get something.”

As Charlie goes upstairs, I head into the living room. I move one of Marcus’s construction magazines off the floral couch and onto the glass coffee table, then throw myself down into the cushions.

As I’m waiting, my eyes pass over the cheesy family photos on the wall. Much to Charlie’s embarrassment, her mom makes them pose for them every year in her photography studio. My favorite is the one hanging to the right-hand side of the decorative mantelpiece; in it a sulking three-year-old Charlie has her back to the camera while her dad and a young Marcus laugh in the background.

As I’m looking at it, I frown. There are marks in the wall beside it, and on the floor below it there is a thin dusting of ash—despite the fact they have a gas fireplace. I walk over and trace the holes in the plaster with my finger.

Arrow holes?

My skin prickles. Something doesn’t feel right.

It’s then that it comes back to me. “Only cupids or humans who have been shown the arrows can see them,” I say softly.

“That’s right.”

I spin around. Charlie stands in front of me, a bow in her hand. In it is strung a single black arrow.

My eyes widen. The Arrows must have got to her.

“I’m sorry, Lila,” she says calmly. “I have to do this. You can’t be matched. They told me what would happen if you were.” She’s pulling her arm back to shoot when there is a flicker of movement behind her.

“Drop the weapon, Charlie,” says a familiar voice. “You’re a cupid now—get pierced by this and you die.”

Crystal stands behind my best friend, the black Cupids’ Arrow in her hand pressed against Charlie’s throat. She’s wearing the white suit I first saw her in at the Cupids Matchmaking Service, but now there is a quiver full of arrows slung over her shoulder. Her expression is set. I can see it in her face; she’ll really do it, she’ll kill Charlie.

Panic swells in my chest. I don’t want to get shot but I don’t want Charlie to die either.

Crystal pushes the arrow closer to Charlie’s skin. “Drop it.”

With a sigh, Charlie lets the bow clatter to the ground. I release a breath as Crystal grabs Charlie by her hair and pushes her onto the couch. She keeps her arrow pointed at my friend’s neck.

“You okay?” Crystal asks me.

“Yes,” I say, forcing my voice to sound normal. “I never thought I’d be pleased to see you again. What are you doing here anyway?”

Crystal spares a quick glance in my direction as Charlie whimpers on the sofa.

“Charlie was part of my assignment—”

“To match with my boyfriend.”

She sighs and flicks her hair over her shoulder. “Yes, that was the assignment. I’ve been monitoring the two of them. I was pretty sure the match had been made successfully last night after what happened with the Capax, but I thought I’d double check after my shift, just to be certain. That’s when I discovered the surveillance went momentarily down in the early hours. That was suspicious, so I came here to check it out.”

I cast my gaze back to Charlie. She’s watching Crystal warily, a mixture of vulnerability and anger on her face. I attempt to touch her arm to reassure her. She flinches.

“What did they do to you, Charlie?” I ask softly.

A defiant look appears on her usually soft face. “You’re dangerous. You have to be stopped.”

I feel a stab of hurt. I turn to Crystal. “Have they brainwashed her? Is she really a cupid now?”

Crystal keeps her gaze on Charlie. “Yeah, she’s a cupid. Seems as though they shot her in here.” She nods to the marks I noticed in the wall by the mantel. “And no, she’s not brainwashed—not as such. She’s a new cupid, so she’s more susceptible to our laws. And she’s not exactly wrong.” Crystal looks at me. “You are dangerous.”

I feel frustration building up inside of me. “What do you mean?! No one is telling me what is going on!”

“I’ll get to that, but first—where’s Cal?”

“He and Cupid went to go fight the Arrows at the square. Why?”

A dark look crosses her face. Charlie struggles for a moment but Crystal pushes her back down with ease. “Why do they think the Arrows will be at the square?” she asks quietly.

“I guess because the Arrows think I will be there with them.”

Crystal raises her eyebrows. Suddenly I understand what she is getting at.

“But I’m not there, I’m here. And if Charlie is one of them . . .”

Instantly, Crystal swipes another arrow from her quiver and jams it into Charlie’s throat. Charlie and I cry out instantaneously.

“What are you doing?”

Crystal turns to me as the arrow crumbles to ash between her fingers. “Calm down. It’s just the Capax. We need answers, and we need them fast. What happened?” Crystal asks Charlie sternly.

Charlie purses her lips. After a moment of internal struggle, she blurts, “The Arrows came after the party. They must have followed me. They shot me with a black arrow. They told me that Cupid had a Match, someone from the high school, and that they’d turned me to help them find her. They said they’d read my blog and if anyone could find out who it was, it would be me. Then they left.”

Tears have started to form in her eyes.

“Then what?” Crystal insists.

“It started to come back to me—being hit by an arrow at the party.”

Crystal nods. “That’s normal after being turned. Then what?”

“And then I remembered the Love Shack and the Ardor. And Lila acting weird and going after Cal. I didn’t know for certain, but I thought she might know something. So I contacted her, and she told me everything.”

I feel a flare of anger. She’s supposed to be my friend, and yet now she’s betrayed me twice.

Crystal leans in close, menacingly. “And did you tell the Arrows who she was?”

Charlie reluctantly nods.

“And, final question—where are the Arrows now?”

For a moment Charlie says nothing. She looks like she is trying to fight the urge to speak. A tear spills down her cheek, but when she turns to me, her watery eyes are triumphant.

“They’re on their way,” she says. “They’ll be here any minute.”