Cupid's Match

by Lauren Palphreyman

  “He was trying to protect you,” Cupid says, and for a second he looks almost sad. “But he can’t protect you,” he says, his jaw hardening. “It is already too late.”

  His words jolt me out of my stupor. It is already too late.

  I take a step backward. I don’t think he will hurt me, but I can sense danger in the air, like an animal sensing an approaching storm.

  “I am not your Match,” I say quietly. “You nearly killed someone. I would never be matched with someone like you.”

  Cupid laughs, and there is a bitterness behind it that I do not understand.

  “It doesn’t work that way.”

  I try to keep my voice even. “Why did you do it? Why did you shoot Jack?”

  He smiles and shakes his head. “Lila, that wasn’t me.”

  I frown. He’s lying. He has to be. The Cupid that Cal told me about would lie. But the Cupid who reads romance novels and has sadness behind his eyes . . .

  “I saw you,” I say. “I saw you holding the arrow.”

  He holds his arms up in surrender. “I just pulled the thing out. What would I have to gain from shooting a random kid?”

  “Well, who was it then? Who shot him if it wasn’t you?” Irritation itches beneath my skin. I just want answers, I tell myself. I didn’t come here to look into his wild eyes, or to feel a kind of energy I’ve never felt with James.

  The door closes softly behind me and I start.

  “It was . . . someone else,” comes Cal’s tired voice.

  I spin around to see the matchmaking agent standing in the shadows. He shoots me an I’ll-deal-with-you-later look before bringing his gaze back to Cupid.

  “Hello, Cupid,” he says in cold greeting.

  Cupid’s mouth curls into a grin.

  “Hello, Brother,” he says.

  15

  A cold breeze whips through the terrace as I spin back around to face Cal. He stands rigidly, his silvery eyes unmoving from Cupid’s face.

  “He’s your brother?” I say. “Is that just what you call other cupids? Or is he actually, like, your brother brother?”

  A dark look crosses Cal’s face. “Unfortunately, the latter.”

  Cupid forces out a laugh as Cal moves to stand protectively beside me. I size them both up; Cal, slender and clean cut with his serious eyes and angular face, and Cupid, broad and rugged with a boyish grin. They don’t look alike, and I wonder momentarily whether they share two parents.

  “You didn’t tell her we were related?” Cupid asks, his ocean-like eyes twinkling in the moonlight. He drags his gaze back to me. “He always wants to keep me a secret.”

  “I can’t imagine why,” I say as the ghost of a smile flickers across Cal’s face.

  “So, Brother, what got me off the hook?” Cupid asks. “Crystal tell you?”

  Cal gives a tense nod. “Yes, she was tracking your movements. I presume we’ve come to the same conclusion?”

  Cupid nods. “You presume right.”

  “How long have you suspected that they were here?”

  Cupid shrugs. “Since the Ardor in the Love Shack.”

  Cal sighs heavily, his whole body seeming to deflate.

  “What are you talking about?” I cut in. “Who shot Jack if it wasn’t Cupid?” Suddenly, something clicks into place. I look at Cal. “The bouncer said that you were the third new guy he’d admitted to the club that evening.”

  The matchmaking agent gives a half nod, his eyes unmoving from his brother’s. “It’s because of you, you know,” he fires at Cupid. “You should never have come here.”

  Cupid raises an eyebrow. “And miss all this fun?”

  Cal does not look amused. He steps closer until they are standing nose to nose. “You need to leave,” he says, lacing each word with ice and threat. “You know what will happen if you don’t.”

  I look from one brother to the other. Cupid is taller, more muscular, but Cal’s face is etched with greater fury, and I know from sophomore year, when I shoved Jason after he made a comment about Mom, that anger alone can win a fight.

  “Guys,” I say sharply, “what’s happening?” The tension between them isn’t just about me, or Jack, or the match.

  Cal shoots me a sideways look. “It’s none of your concern.”

  Cupid gives an incredulous laugh. “I should think it is now!”

  The two brothers stare at each other a moment longer before Cal takes a step back and sighs. He runs his hand through his fair hair. “She should never have been involved in any of this. Why did you come here?”

  Cupid shrugs again. “She’s my Match, Brother. You really expect me, of all people, not to show?” A look of disdain passes over his face. “Terrible job of hiding her from me, by the way.”

  Cupid catches my eye and I only just stop myself from nodding in agreement. I said it was a dumb plan from the start.

  “Seriously, guys,” I say, “what the hell is going on?”

  Suddenly, there is a loud clatter from downstairs. The two brothers lock gazes as screams, along with an odd whooshing, fill the night air. Then silence falls once more. A chill travels through my body and my skin prickles.

  I race to the balcony edge. One of the brothers reaches out to grab me as I pass, but I brush the rogue arm out of my path and lean over the black railing to see the pool below.

  Everything looks normal—my classmates are still chatting, drinks in hand, by the water. No one seems as though they even noticed the disturbance. I look over my shoulder at the two brothers, who seem to be silently communicating.

  This isn’t right.

  Suddenly, Cal pulls me back from the edge and down on top of him. I feel the hardness of his stomach muscles and the surprising strength in his arm across my torso as he holds me down.

  “What the . . . ?” I begin, when a single arrow whizzes through the air where I was standing just moments before.

  It embeds itself in the wall; silver and pink.

  It’s the Capax.

  And there’s a slip of paper pinned beneath its tip.

  “A message,” Cupid says, almost to himself.

  He pulls the note free just moments before the arrow turns to ash. After reading it, he looks back at Cal, who still has his arm clamped around my middle.

  “They’re here,” he says. “We were right. It’s the Arrows.”

  I feel Cal’s short intake of breath beneath me. Then he rolls me off him and gets to his feet and brushes himself down.

  “We need to get Lila out of here. Now.”

  Part 2

  The Arrows

  16

  Dear Cupid,

  We have been notified about your potential Match. We regret to inform you that we will have to terminate said Match. We have not yet determined who she is, but we advise you to turn her in to prevent further repercussions.

  Surely we need not remind you of the consequences if you, or indeed any cupid, matches. You know what is stated in the company policy. We cannot allow this to happen.

  You may now be aware that we have already distributed a number of Capax arrows in your town of residence, and you will have already seen the results of the Ardor. We wanted to be sure you understand how difficult we can make life for you and the residents of Forever Falls if our terms are not met.

  More complications will arise if the situation is not soon resolved.

  If we cannot terminate the girl, we will come for you even if this requires locating the Finis.

  We will give you twenty-four hours to consider our proposition. One of our agents will be waiting for you in the town square.

  Drop the girl off at the fountain within the time period—or face the consequences.

  Yours Severely,

  The Arrows

  Cupid folds the piece of paper and puts it quickly into his jeans
pocket.

  “What does it say?” I ask, pushing myself to my feet and brushing myself off. “Who are the Arrows?”

  I look from one brother to the other. There’s a different energy in the air now, one of urgency.

  “Later,” says Cupid. He looks at Cal. “They could still be here. It’s too dangerous for Lila to be seen with me. Meet me in the garage. Can I depend on you for this, Brother?”

  Cal gives a half nod, his jaw tense. “I will protect her.”

  I look between them both. Protect me?

  I think of the screams by the pool just moments before, and the silver and pink arrow that almost hit me.

  “Seriously,” I say, “what’s happening?”

  Cupid looks at me. The storm behind his piercing eyes has reached its peak.

  “There isn’t time now. You need to trust us,” he says carefully. “We have to get you out of here before it’s too late.”

  He hurries through the glass door, leaving Cal and me alone on the terrace. The matchmaking agent waits a few moments after his brother disappears into the house before turning back to me.

  “It is time to go,” he says, not quite meeting my gaze.

  “Go where?”

  His eyes dart about the terrace, his slender fingers tapping restlessly against his leg. “It doesn’t matter where, you’re in danger. If you can’t trust Cupid, then trust me. I’ll explain in the car.”

  I stare at him. “You told me Cupid was dangerous and now you’re saying we should just go along with him?” Even as I say it, though, I know it’s the right thing to do. Cupid wasn’t the one who shot Jack. He’s not as bad as Cal has made him out to be—I know it. There’s something else going on.

  Cal runs his hand through his hair. “Cupid is dangerous, but the Arrows are worse. I trust him when he says they are here—and I believe him that you are in danger. Now please . . .”

  He awkwardly extends his hand, beseeching me to take it. I look at the pained vulnerability on his face and my resolve softens. He’s never really tried to make physical contact before.

  I sigh. “I want an explanation as soon as we get in the car,” I say. “And don’t worry—we don’t have to hold hands.”

  Relief washes over his face, but there’s also embarrassment and . . . hurt?

  “Come on, then,” he says sharply, dropping his arm.

  We rush back into the building and down the winding black staircase to the ground floor. Cal leads me down an unfamiliar hallway.

  “The garage is down this way.”

  We’re just reaching the end of the hall when Crystal steps out from a doorway to block us, her face marked with trepidation.

  “Cal,” she says, holding up her arms, “I know what it looks like but I swear it wasn’t me. They were hit by the Capax—both of them. I think the Arrows are here.”

  Cal frowns then pushes past her into the room she emerged from. Before I can follow, the blond receptionist moves in front of me. Moments later, Cal comes out and grabs my arm.

  “Come on, we need to go,” he says, pulling me forward.

  I look past, trying to get a view of what is inside. “What did you see in there?”

  It’s then that I hear a familiar male voice.

  “I’ve always liked you,” James murmurs softly. “You have to know that.”

  I tug my way out of Cal’s grip and rush back to the doorway, pushing Crystal out of the way. It’s dark inside, but as my eyes adjust, I make out two shadows clinging together.

  “I like you too,” says Charlie, “but what about Lila?”

  A wave of nausea consumes me as James moves his face toward hers and his hand skims her cheek. They kiss.

  Cal grabs my arm and swirls me around, taking my face in his musician-like hands until I’m forced to look at him. Another wave of screams suddenly sounds from the party along with the whoosh of another stream of arrows.

  “It’s the Capax, Lila, that’s all. Just the Capax.”

  I can hear the faint sound of a car starting in the garage beyond.

  “We need to go. Now.”

  Then he drags me along the hallway, down some steps, and into the garage. I am too shocked to resist. James and Charlie?

  In a blur, Cal bundles me into the back of a cream Aston Martin, then jumps into the passenger seat. Cupid looks once over his shoulder, hands on the steering wheel. He grins, seemingly not picking up on the tension.

  “Shall we go, then?”

  17

  I sit in the back of the Aston Martin, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. Cal is tense in the front seat, his eyes fixed on the rolling landscape outside of the car.

  I feel cold all over. James and Charlie. My James. And my Charlie.

  My mind can’t process it. I think of all the times we hung out together. I think of the looks they shared, and how Charlie always teased me about my boring relationship. I recall the way James smelled like peanut butter—Charlie’s favorite milk shake—when I dropped in on him at Romeo’s.

  Was there always something there? How could they do this to me?

  “What’s up with you two?” asks Cupid, breaking the silence. “Did I miss something? This road trip is turning out to be as fun as a tour of the British quilt museum.”

  I stay silent—defiant—not wanting to say it out loud. Not in front of Cal, who brought Crystal and the Matchmakers into my life; and not in front of Cupid, the guy who made me doubt my relationship with James in the first place.

  “And in case you’re wondering, it’s not fun. Believe me. I’ve been. Twice.”

  “It was the Capax, Lila,” Cal mutters, still staring out of the window.

  Cupid looks at his brother, then me. “Ah—the boyfriend got hit by an arrow, I take it. Although, you know, they only work when the person has feelings for—”

  Cal shoots him a withering look, and thankfully, Cupid shuts up. He’s right, though. That’s what Cal said, back in the school gym. There has to be feeling there in the first place for it to work.

  I feel numb. For a moment the only noise is the soothing sound of the purring engine. I lean back, feeling the cool leather against my skin. I try to lose myself in the rolling landscape, but the image of James kissing Charlie is burned into my mind. I think of what Crystal said in the bedroom about an assignment, and I remember what Cal said to me in the Matchmaking Service’s office.

  Your boyfriend is not your match. His match is . . .

  I can finish the sentence now. Charlie.

  Cupid looks at me in the rearview mirror. “If it makes you feel any better, you and your boyfriend were never meant to be. You’re my Match, not his.” In the passing light of the streetlamps, his eyes waver between different shades of blue.

  “No, it doesn’t make me feel any better,” I say, holding his gaze. “James was my boyfriend. I cared about him. You are someone I met five days ago, and you’ve been nothing but trouble. I don’t care what some statistical algorithm said. You are not my match.”

  His gaze flicks back to the road. “He was nothing but a placeholder, Lila. I saw it in your eyes when we first met. You don’t love the boy—why else would you have come to meet me on the balcony?”

  Rage ignites in the pit of my stomach. “Don’t presume you know anything about me.”

  There is a heavy silence and I notice his jaw tense. I tear my gaze away to look out of the window, leaning my head against the cool glass and trying to force my anger to steady.

  “Where are we going anyway?” I ask after a while, noticing we’re taking the exit out of Forever Falls. “What was on that piece of paper?”

  Cupid reaches into his pocket and pulls out the folded message. He gives it to Cal, one hand still on the steering wheel.

  “We should go to the Matchmaking Service,” Cal says as he skims the letter. “They would protect Lila.”r />
  Cupid shakes his head. “No. I don’t trust them. There are too many people who don’t want the match to be made—it would be easy for them to get rid of little miss cheerful back there.” He gestures to me in the backseat. “We’re going to see an old friend of mine,” he says. “She should be able to provide us with some protection and some answers.”

  Cal passes the letter over his shoulder to me. “You don’t mean . . . ?”

  Cupid nods solemnly.

  As I read the letter, a sense of dread grows inside of me. For a moment, I can only sit there staring at the paper before me. Terminate said Match? Repercussions? Locate the Finis? The Arrows?

  “What does it mean they’re going to terminate me?” I ask finally. “Like . . . kill me?!”

  “Probably,” says Cupid. “Or if you’re lucky, you might get shot with a black arrow—it’ll turn you into one of us.”

  “And this is all because you’re here?”

  Cupid shrugs. “Kinda.”

  “Well, can’t you just . . . leave?”

  The corner of his lip tugs upward. “Afraid it’s not that simple.”

  “You’re not going to take me to the fountain, are you?”

  “Well, it would be simpler if we did . . .”

  “No,” says Cal.

  Cupid laughs. “I was just kidding, Brother. You really think I’d turn in my Match?”

  He looks over his shoulder, catching my eye. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Lila. You’re safe for now . . .”

  Unsurprisingly, I don’t feel reassured.

  “I would have thought you would be keen to turn her in, Brother,” Cupid says, casting his brother a sideways glance. “You’re the one flying the banner for Team No Match for Cupid. Didn’t you come to Forever Falls specifically to stop us from getting together?”

  “We wouldn’t have got together anyway,” I say, although I don’t know if that is true. I think of my stomach fluttering when his fingers brushed against mine, and the way his eyes seem to reel me in. And if James was always going to get together with Charlie . . .