Cupid’s Match

I duck back down behind the bench, pressing my back against the hard wood. My heart is racing and my skin cold.

To save Cal I have to kill Cupid.

“Come on, little Match, we haven’t got all day.”

There’s silence. I don’t move.

“Very well. We’ll start with the Ardor.”

There’s a pause and a whooshing sound, and then the air is filled with Cal’s contorted screams. My heart tightens.

I can’t let them torture Cal.

But I can’t shoot Cupid either.

My mind feels dizzy, unfocused. Cal’s shrieks stall any train of thought and make my stomach turn. I peer over the top of the bench again. Venus still stands there, her hands extended; offering the golden arrow to me.

I can shoot Venus. I’m the only person in the room who can.

I can almost sense Cupid willing me to hide, to find a way out. But I have to do something. I take a deep breath, then resolutely stand up.

“That’s right, little Match,” says Venus, “come to me.”

I begin to walk toward the stage. Apart from Cal’s screams, the courtroom is silent. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me.

“Lila,” Cupid says as I pass, “don’t do anything stupid. Do what you have to do.”

I look away. I’m not going to kill him. I won’t.

I’ll kill her.

“That’s close enough,” Venus barks.

She’s stopped me next to Cal. He is writhing in pain, his wrists bleeding where the cables are too tight.

“Cal,” I whisper.

He looks up at me, his silver eyes weary and unfocused. A drop of blood has congealed at the corner of his mouth. I want to reach out and help him. I’ve never felt so powerless.

“Lila, I—”

Suddenly another red-tipped arrow plunges into his stomach. He screams and I rip my gaze to where the Commander stands beside Venus, a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. Venus nods at him and he takes another and shoots it into Cal’s thigh. Cal cries out again, his body convulsing.

“Stop it!” I shriek. “Stop it! Leave him alone.”

Venus smiles. “You can stop it,” she says. “Kill Cupid.” She turns to a tall female agent standing nearby whose scowling face is bloody from the battle. “Carla, take the Finis to our naughty little Match and give her your bow,” Venus orders. “Guards—bring Cupid onto the stage.”

As Carla walks forward with the golden arrow, five agents surround Cupid. His eyes flash dangerously. He throws one of them to the floor and punches another across the jaw before grabbing an arrow from Carla’s quiver and impaling the next agent with it. The remaining two agents take a tentative step back as Cupid raises his arms.

“Don’t touch me,” he snarls. “I’m coming on my own.”

He walks past them to stand a few feet away from me. I take the bow and arrow from Carla, the bloody-faced agent, my hands shaking. The Finis is cool between my fingers.

“And before you get any ideas,” says Venus, “I am quicker and more powerful than you could ever imagine.” She looks at me coldly. “If you shoot the Finis at me, I will catch it, and then I will kill you. But first, I will kill your family, and I will kill your friends.” Her voice is suddenly laced with venom. “And as for your two lover boys, I will have them tortured until they forget who they are.”

Her lips twist into a contorted smile. I think back to how fast she was when we were brought into her office and I know she’s right; I’ll never manage it.

“Kill him, little Match. Kill him and I’ll let you, and Cal, and your family go free.”

I look at Cupid. He’s planted his feet firmly, proudly, on the stage, acting as though his clothing isn’t ripped from where the agents grabbed at him in the dungeons. He holds my gaze. His ocean-like eyes are calm.

Behind me comes another whoosh of an arrow and Cal’s elevated shrieks. I flinch. Cupid nods.

“It’s okay, Lila. Do it.”

My eyes sting. “I can’t,” I say, the bow and arrow trembling in my hands.

He takes a step closer. “I’ve lived a long life,” he says. “You have to do it. You have to save my brother. You have to save yourself.”

I feel a tear slip down my cheek and rub it away, not wanting to give Venus and all of the other cupids the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Behind me, Cal’s screaming doesn’t stop as more Ardors plunge into his flesh.

“You can stop this,” Cupid says, taking another step closer. “Look at my brother. Look at him.”

Hesitantly, I turn to Cal. His face is red from screaming. The drop of blood on his mouth has turned into rivulets. My heart clenches. I force myself to look away, back at Cupid.

“Only you can stop this. She’ll kill you if you don’t.” He shakes his head, his eyes filled with urgency. “And I can’t live with that.”

“I don’t want you to die,” I say, my voice quivering.

He smiles at me and takes another step forward until we’re an arm’s length apart.

“That’s quite close enough,” chimes Venus.

Cupid stops in his tracks and I find my eyes drinking in every part of him. I want to reach out. I want him to hold me and tell me everything will be okay.

“It’s okay, Lila,” he says. “I’m ready. After all these years of being alone, after all these years of thinking love was futile, I finally met you.” He smiles. “I finally found my Match.”

His eyes shine with raw emotion. Behind me I hear Cal wheezing, coughing up blood.

“Don’t!” he cries out through rasping breaths. “Don’t . . . kill . . . my . . . brother.”

I look at Cupid and raise the bow. He nods reassuringly, his eyes unmoving from mine. My arm shakes. Tears spill down my cheeks—I can’t help it.

“Do it,” urges Cupid as Cal is struck again.

I take a deep breath.

“No regrets,” he says, smiling weakly.

I steady my grip on the bow. “No regrets,” I whisper.

I lock my gaze with Cupid’s.

His eyes widen with panic; he can see what I’m about to do. He shakes his head but it’s too late. With a sudden movement I turn my bow toward Venus. I release the golden arrow.

“No!” Cupid shrieks.

I see it in slow motion: the blur of gold, the whoosh of air, and Cupid suddenly hurling himself into the path of the Finis. His eyes, still locked on mine, show only surprise. He opens his mouth as though he wants to say something.

And the final arrow sinks into his heart.

There’s a deafening thumping sound as his body hits the ground. I scream and the bow clatters out of my hands.

“He’s dead!” booms Venus, clapping her hands together with glee. “She did it! She really did it! She killed Cupid! CUPID IS DEAD!”

The courtroom is suddenly filled with noise but I can’t hear any of it. I fall forward toward his body, crumpling to my knees beside him. I throw my head onto his unmoving chest.

“Cupid!” I scream. “You can’t be dead, you can’t be. I didn’t mean to, I . . .”

Dimly, I feel a hand on my shoulder. Crystal has grabbed me and is pulling me around to look at her. I push her away and she slaps me across the face. I look up, startled.

Venus is laughing. Behind us the battle between the Myths and the army has restarted, but I don’t care about any of that. I pull away from Crystal and grab Cupid’s hand. Whatever she wants, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters anymore.

Cupid is dead. Cal is still shrieking with gut-wrenching grief behind me.

“He’s gone. I killed him.”

Crystal leans close to me and whispers, “He’s not dead.”

“I killed him. I . . .” My gaze snaps to her face. “What?”

“He’s alive. But we haven’t much time,” she whispers urgently. “I lied before, back at Cupid’s flat. I didn’t bring the replica of the Finis to the Matchmaking Service—I brought the real thing. I wanted to tell Cal, before, in the dungeons, but we were interrupted. I knew Venus would find out—she’s too smart.”

“So Cal had the replica?” I look down at Cupid’s body. His hand twitches in mine. He’s not dead.

“Stay dead, Cupid,” Crystal snarls through gritted teeth.

“Aye-aye, Captain,” he croaks, his eyes still closed.

He squeezes my hand, and for a brief moment I see a small half smile on his face before he wipes it of expression once more. Relief floods me.

I look at Crystal, then at the dead body of the executioner just a few feet away. I catch a glint of gold in his quiver.

“That means the real Finis is . . .”

She nods, holding my gaze. “You’re the only one who can do it, you’re the only one who can kill her.”

Venus is no longer surrounded by agents; they are all fighting. The goddess catches my eye and grins. Moving with exaggerated slowness, she gets down from the stand and makes her way toward me. My eyes dart to the body of the executioner. Can I make it in time?

I scramble toward it, my heart racing in my chest.

“You killed my son,” says Venus, her voice quiet and childlike. “You thought it would save you . . . but I lied.”

I reach the cold body as she looms closer. I can see it. I can see the Finis.

She advances toward me, her movements quick. Her sickly scent washes over me and makes me gag, but I clutch the quiver to my chest.

“You must be punished, little Match.”

Her hand bears down on my throat and my feet are wrenched from the ground. Dots begin to form in front of my eyes. I can’t breathe. One hand scrabbles against her slippery skin while the other feels for my weapon.

“Let her go!” Cal screams from behind me. “You promised you’d let her go. Let her go.”

Venus’s lips convulse into a cruel smile. She laughs as darkness begins to creep over me. This can’t be it. This can’t be the last thing I ever see. My fingers fumble over the ends of arrows. I pluck out an arrow, praying it’s the right one. I struggle to stay conscious as I feel my final breath escape from my lungs.

With the last ounce of strength I have left, I plunge the arrow into her heart.

Then darkness.