Chapter 47

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Cupid puts the phone back into his jeans pocket and climbs out of the car. He walks over to my door and opens it.

"You sure you want to do this?" he says - peering in at me.

I nod.


"The Arrows tried to shoot me, they turned my best friend into one of them, and there are more of them coming?!" I say "I'm in. This affects me and I want to know what's going on."


I step out of the Aston Martin without looking at him but I can feel his eyes on me as I start to walk towards the Matchmaking Service.

I can't believe how much has happened since I was last here.

Cupid looks down at me and a strange smile forms on his lips.

"What?!" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"You've had the strangest week ever. You could have just run away. But you're here," he says incredulously "There's something special about you Lila. You're not like I expected..."

I raise an eyebrow.

"...in a good way," he says shrugging.

"Well from the dramatic build up from Cal - you're not much like I expected either," I say - rolling my eyes.

Cupid nods.

"That's my brother for you..."

"Guys- I'm right here..." interjects the Matchmaking Agent gruffly from over Cupid's shoulder.

I grin.

"Sorry Cal."

I look back up at Cupid and frown.

"Who is the founder of the Matchmaking Service?" I ask "Selena said they would take over if we were..you know..."

"Matched?" says Cupid with a sly grin.

I nod, feeling a flush of colour in my cheeks.

His eyes burn into mine for a moment and he says nothing.

Then he waves his hand dismissively and drags his gaze away.

"Won't happen," he says "The founder is gone. People need to stop worrying about it."

Suddenly Cal reaches out and grabs his brother's arm. He pulls him around so that they are looking at one another. I stop abruptly in my path and turn to stare at them. A look of shocked amusement crosses my match's face.

"Brother?" he says.

"Cupids can't be matched," says Cal sharply. "I trust you know that. I'm taking part in this escapade because I want Lila safe, and because as much as I hate to admit it - I don't want you killed. But know this - once you have the Finis I want you out of Forever Falls. I want you gone."

His eyes flash an angry silver. A strange look passes over Cupid's strong features as they stand face to face. The air feels tense.

Then Cupid takes a step backwards and shrugs.

"Let's just get the Finis," he says ."We can deal with all that later."

I look between the two of them. Cal stands statuesque a moment, then he sighs and nods rigidly.

"We'll deal with it later," he agrees.

We continue walking until we reach the glass front of the Cupids Matchmaking Service.

The three of us look up at it - silent for a moment. The air between us still feels somewhat heavy.

I suddenly realise I'm nervous.

"So this will really work?" I say.

Cal still looks tense but Cupid grins.

"Only one way to find out."

He looks at his brother who nods.

"We find out what we can and then we're out," he says.

Then he pushes open the door.

The bell tinkles as we step inside.

It looks the same as last time I was there except there is a different receptionist sat beneath the long, golden arrow at reception, and the faint sound of an acapella tune plays in the background.

"Selena's song," says Cupid quietly over his shoulder.

We approach the stone reception desk and my stomach turns nervously as the Angelic looking male behind it looks at us studiously.

His eyes pass over Cal and I, then bare into Cupid.

"Do I know you?" he asks.

Cupid shakes his head.

"Nope," he replies grinning. "We're just passing by from the Vegas branch. We need to check something in your archives."

He raises an eyebrow as though challenging the receptionist to not believe us and I wish he would be a bit more subtle. I sneak a glance at Cal and from his frown I can tell he feels the same.

The receptionist looks at my match curiously a moment then pushes a clipboard across the surface.

"Sign in here," he says.

He looks us up and down again as Cupid writes three fake names onto the sheet of paper.

"Strange to have so many visitors in one night," says the receptionist.

Cal looks at him sharply.

"What do you mean?" he says - his eyes alert.

He shrugs as he takes back the clipboard.

"Just that you're not the first cupids we've had from afar this evening."

Cal and Cupid share a look before the male behind the desk nods.

"Through the courtyard, second door on the right."

Cupid leads us through the door that Cal led me through almost a week ago, and we enter the open plan office.

I slip into step between them as we walk through the desks.

"They said they'd had other visitors?" I whisper.

A few of the cupids rushing around the office look at us as we pass but no-one stops us. Selena's music still plays in the background.

Cupid nods.

"I don't think we were the only ones with the idea to check for the Finis here," he says.

A feeling of dread consumes me.

"The Arrows?" I say.

A dark look crosses his face he nods.

"Don't worry. They'll probably be long gone now," he says as we approach the circular, stone courtyard. "Means we need to get a move on though. They're a step ahead of us."

We walk through the doorway and I notice again the stone statue of the woman, stood sternly on the podium by the night coloured pond. Cupid and Cal both seem to give it a wide berth as we take a door to the right into a more modern looking corridor.

At the end is a large archway and as we walk through I feel my eyes widen.

We're in what looks like a vast library. It has a domed ceiling, and intricate stairways lead to shelves that circle the central room both above and below where we stand. The air is perfumed with the smell of old books.

I look around in awe as Cal approaches a computer in the centre of the space.

"There's a lot of history in this room - thousands of years worth of books and papers," says Cupid, watching me. "It used to be my favourite place before I was banished."

I look at him curiously and remember the impressive collection of books he has in his own house.

"You like to read?" I ask.

He nods as Cal comes back with a slip of paper.

"There was a search done earlier this evening by someone with an Italian name. They produced this title."

He shows Cupid what is written on the note, then turns on his heel hurriedly.

"It's this way. One floor down among the weapon records," he says.

Cupid nods silently as we follow Cal down some wooden steps

"An Italian name?" I say. "Someone from the Arrows?"

"Yes," says Cupid darkly- his eyes suddenly serious and his jawline tensed.

We emerge into an underground space. The light here is dim, and I watch as the Matchmaking Agent consults his piece of paper and leads us through the shelves.

"Here," says Cal, stopping between the aisles. "It's here somewhere."

The two of them begin to search among heavy, leather bound volumes.

I run my finger along the spines of the nearest shelf. They all seem ancient and as I pull my hand away I see my fingertips are coated in dust.

Suddenly my supposed match pulls out a book.

Records of the Finis is embossed in gold across the black cover.

"Got it."

He skims hurriedly through the dry pages, and a dark look begins to form on his face. Suddenly he drops the volume, creating an echoing thud, and starts to move back towards the stairs.

"We need to get back," he says - his eyes gleaming.  "The Arrows might have got there already. Once they've found out where she's put it they'll kill her."

I frown.

"What do you mean?" says Cal furrowing an eyebrow. "Who was the last cupid to have the Finis?!"

Cupid looks at his brother, a wild look of panic in his ocean eyes.

"Cal," he says. "It was Crystal."


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