Cupid’s Match

Half an hour later I’m walking down the alley toward the Love Shack. The florist’s flowers perfume the air, and the overly sweet scent mixes with my nerves and makes my stomach turn. I have a feeling that whatever Cupid is about to tell me, I’m not going to like it.

I let Eric stamp my hand, then I walk inside.

The place looks even tackier in the daytime. The sunlight struggling through the covered windows illuminates the sticky patches dotting the floor. The pink colors, vibrant at night, seem washed out and tired. And the faint aroma of stale alcohol and lime wedges doesn’t seem right this early in the morning.

It’s pretty much empty, and I see Cupid as soon as I enter. He’s sitting at a pink table on the other side of the room.

I take a deep breath then make my way toward him. He’s wearing jeans and a wrinkled black cotton T-shirt that looks like he pulled it off the floor this morning. His hair is messy and there’s a slouch in his posture. I pull out the stool opposite him and sit down. He smiles at me, but it is strained.

Neither of us speaks for a moment as one of the waiters appears with a pot of coffee. Cupid pours the dark liquid into two mugs then looks at me intensely.

“So, Lila,” he says, “what do you want to know?”

I think of all the things I want to ask him, wondering where to start. I take a sip of my coffee then look up at him.

“Why is it so bad that the founder comes back?” I ask. “Why is Cal so afraid that will happen?”

“He thinks it will mean the end of the world.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Will it?”

Cupid holds my gaze. “Perhaps.”

“Is that what you want? Do you want the world to end?”

“You heard us talking last night,” Cupid says. When I say nothing to confirm or deny that, he continues, “I did want the founder to come back, but not to end the world. I wanted to save the world. But now . . .” He looks at me sadly. “I didn’t expect to feel this way . . . about you, about us, about anything. I don’t want to put you in danger, Lila. I’m just worried it’s too late.”

I feel my heart rate accelerate and my skin prickles. The answer to my next question should tell me everything I need to know.

“So . . . who is the founder of the Matchmaking Service?”

He runs his hand through his hair. “She goes by a lot of names,” he says. “Aphrodite, Venus—she’s the original goddess of love.” He looks at me darkly. “Or, as Cal and I refer to her, Mother.”

Neither of us speaks for a moment. I stare at Cupid across the table. He looks at me darkly.

“Venus? As in the goddess?”

He nods, his eyes watchful. “She’s insanely powerful, extremely dangerous, and nearly unstoppable.”

“And she’s . . . your mother?” I should have paid more attention when we did mythology at school.

Cupid sighs. “Look,” he says, “I know this is a lot . . .”

“And she’s coming back? If we’re matched? Why?”

“Breathe, Lila,” says Cupid. “I can explain.” Without asking he pours some more coffee into my mug. “Let’s take this one step at a time. What would you like to know first?”

“Oh, I don’t know, the end of the world thing might be a good starting point.”

Cupid pauses then takes a sip of his own coffee. He runs his hand through his hair again.

“It doesn’t have to come to that. But if we’re matched—then she will come back.”

“And why is that so terrible?”

“It’s hard to explain,” he says, “but the old gods don’t belong in this world. In the old times, they roamed free and ruled over all. They had no regard for the lives of humans—they commanded countless sacrifices, massacres, wars . . . Venus was one of the most powerful and sadistic of them all. The goddess of love.”

His eyes burn into mine.

“And there is nothing more powerful or sadistic than love.”

I take this in, then push on with my next question. “Why will she come back if we’re matched?”

He rubs his chin. “There was a shift around two thousand years ago. The old gods left, went dormant. The reason why was never clear—maybe it was because people stopped worshipping them, or maybe they just became bored of this life. But they still watch over us. They have their eyes everywhere—in their statues, their remaining temples, and through those who still serve them. They lie in wait for an opportunity to return.”

He pauses, waiting for me to process what he has just said. Then he continues.

“About a millennium before they went away, Venus founded the Cupids Matchmaking Service. It was the most efficient way for her to remain powerful. She gained power every time a match was made, and every cupid, upon getting hit by an arrow, entered into a contract with her. They were sworn to serve her in secrecy by making those matches, and in payment they received eternal strength, youth, and beauty. They’re still bound by that contract.”

I frown. “But where do I come into all of this?” I ask. “Why will she come back if we’re matched?”

“Cupids are forbidden to fall in love themselves. It was the rule she enforced most severely, punishing and torturing anyone in her service who broke it.”

I look at him, confused. “Why?”

He shrugs. “She said it was a distraction—that it would prevent the cupids from wholeheartedly serving her. I always wondered if there was more to it, though—some kind of power behind a cupid being matched that could be harnessed against her if it was discovered.”

“But she’s gone now.”

Cupid’s face is unusually serious. “Yes,” he says slowly, “but before she left, she wrote the company policy. In it she listed rules, which if broken, would mean she would come back to bring order to the Matchmaking Service. And one of those rules was—”

“No cupid must ever be matched,” I say, remembering the words carved underneath the stone statue in the Matchmaking Service. The statue was Venus. That was why Cal seemed so uneasy around it.

“Would that really mean the end of the world, though?” I ask. “If she’s just bringing order to the Matchmaking Service, is that really so bad?”

Cupid shakes his head. “You don’t know what it was like in the old days. Do you really think a god would be satisfied with reigning over one organization? We’re talking mass human sacrifices, wars over love, forced worship at temples erected in her name, more cupids created, more Ardor arrows punishing humans. She’ll take back the Matchmaking Service . . . and then she’ll take back the world.”

I stare at him, my brain whirring. I’m trying to make sense of everything, but it’s still not all fitting together. “Before, you said you wanted her to come back? If she’s so bad . . . then why?”

A dark look crosses his face. “I want to put an end to her,” he says, “once and for all. For thousands of years we’ve lived in fear, bound by her rules, knowing she could come back and destroy lives at any moment. She’s been more lenient with me breaking rules because of who I am, but she wouldn’t be able to ignore this one. Cupid himself finding his Match!” He shakes his head ruefully. “What would the others think if she didn’t enforce her own most revered policy? If I break this rule, she will return.”

“You want to draw her back and then kill her with the Finis.”

He nods and a wave of nausea, cold and clammy, settles over me.

“You want to kill your mom?!”

He reaches for my hand over the table but I pull it away. “Lila, listen, yes. But—”

“That’s horrible,” I say quietly. “She’s your mother.”

His lips tighten. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lila. She’s a monster.”

My heart thuds in my chest. I don’t know what to make of any of this. I can’t relate to it, none of it—not a goddess returning, not wanting to kill your own mother. I rub my face, trying to make sense of it.

“So, this will happen if we’re matched,” I say. “But what counts as a match? We already went to the dance together.”

Momentary amusement flashes across his face. “It takes more than that, lovebug.”

I look at him, feeling heat rise to my face. “Oh!”

Cupid laughs. “No, not that. The match is made when both parties develop feelings—feelings beyond a superficial attraction. It’s made when they begin to fall in love.”

I frown and shake my head. “I really don’t want to bring back an ancient goddess so that you can kill her.”

Cupid looks at me seriously. “Don’t fall in love with me then.”

I think back to last night—the urgent need I felt for him, the fire in my veins. And then I feel rage boiling in my stomach, knowing that he used me, that he put me in danger for his own needs. I fix my eyes on his.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

The words come out coldly enough, but I don’t know if I mean them. Despite everything, as he sits there, his ocean-like eyes fixed on my face, I still want him. I can’t help it. I still want him.

“Okay, good,” he says, “and I’ll try to do the same.”

“God, Cupid. How could you do this? Everything that’s happened, it’s all your fault.” I abruptly rise to my feet, letting the stool fall back on the floor behind me. A couple of the waiters turn to look at me but I ignore them. “I’m done,” I say. “I’m done with all of this.”

If we continue to spend time with each other we will fall for each other—that is what Cal was trying to prevent all along. And if that happens, it could mean the end of the world.

He jumps to his feet, and I see the regret in his expression. “Lila, please . . .”

“No, the match cannot be made. I need to stay away from you.” I shake my head. “I can’t believe I started to actually feel something for you.”

Cupid makes as though to reach for me, but stops when he takes a good look at my face. “I’m sorry,” he says, trying to keep his voice even. “I didn’t know you. I didn’t expect to feel this way. I never intended to put you in any danger. I thought it was the only way to free my people, to return home.”

I glare at him. “You used me to try and resurrect an ancient goddess!” Something suddenly occurs to me. “That’s what you told Selena, back at Elysium. That’s the big secret. That you were going to use me to bring back Venus. That’s why Selena tried to turn me into a cupid.”

He takes a deep breath then nods. I want to walk away from him yet something in his eyes holds me in place.

“When I get the Finis I’ll leave, I swear it,” he says. “If that’s what you want. But please, stay with me until then. As long as we don’t develop any more feelings for each other, Venus can’t come back—but the Arrows are still out there. You’re in danger, Lila.”

I shake my head again, a tornado of anger and sadness rising through my body. “I need to go.”

I spin around, barging right into Cal’s hard chest. For a moment he looks like he’s going to tell me off for not looking where I’m going, but then he sees my face and shuts his mouth. His silver eyes flicker to Cupid, looking lost behind me, and a grim satisfaction crosses his face. Then he turns his gaze back to me.

“Charlie got in touch,” he says. “I know where she is. I know where they’re keeping Crystal.”