Chapter 26

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Crystal looks at us expectantly as Cal comes to stand beside the end of the breakfast bar.

Good question, Crystal... What the hell is going on?

I think I feel Cupid's eyes on me for a moment but as I flick my gaze in his direction he's no longer looking. He moves over to the counter and leans against it – tossing his frozen peas in the sink as he does.

I feel a twinge of guilt again that it was my decision that got Cupid getting hurt, but I try to block it out. 

It was a mistake. 

And - as I remember the feel of Valentine's cupids dragging me across the floor - it's a mistake that I've paid for as well.

Crystal raises an eyebrow.

"Well?" she says.

It's getting dark outside now, and as the shadows creep through the glass front of the house, the underlighting of his cabinets automatically flick on; the dim light softens the bruising on Cupid's face a little. 

He exhales heavily.

"Well, to be honest, I was unconscious for a lot of it...so Lila will have to fill in the gaps."

He says this without even looking at me – and, though it may not be obvious to the others, I can feel tension still bristling off him from our fight. I know that Crystal, Cal, and Charlie need to know about what happened in the gym, but a part of me wishes they weren't here. I hate me and Cupid being like this, stuck in the purgatory of mid-fight - not knowing whether or not everything is going to be OK.

I glance at him - the hurt in my gut evolving into anger at the way he won't even look at me. And as Cupid starts to talk about how he was ambushed by Valentine's cupids in the parking lot, I notice Cal look confusedly between the two of us. I wonder if he is detecting the negative energy crackling between us.

I suppose he is one of the original cupids after all – it's part of his job to get people together. He surely must be able to detect when something is pushing two people apart.

"And you killed the cupids that attacked you in the parking lot?" says Crystal.

"Well, naturally... but they..."

"Didn't stay dead," I say quietly – remembering the feel of their clammy hands on me, their overpowering stench of decay.

Again, Cupid doesn't look at me. Crystal puts down her mug on the side and folds her arms across her chest – her blue eyes pass over me, then Cupid.

"Seriously? Zombie cupids?!" she shakes her head, "Are you sure you killed them, Cupid. Nothing against your fighting skills, it's just... it sounds a little far-fetched. How is that even possible?"

"It is possible," I say. "You didn't see them. They weren't alive, believe me. Plus, I asked Valentine if they were dead and he said yes and no."

"Woah, zombie cupids," whispers Charlie, dark eyes bright with a mixture of intrigue and trepidation. "That's seriously messed up..."

"You spoke to Valentine?" Cal interjects sharply, his eyes narrowed on my face.

"Yes. They had quite the conversation while I was out cold," says Cupid – his eyes momentarily moving onto me.

I glare at him. 

What the hell is that supposed to mean?!

Then I move my eyes back to Cal and nod. I tell him and the others what Valentine said. I move onto the part with the girl and the shears – how she alone managed to reduce the cupids to nothing but dust.

"Morta," says Cal suddenly, his voice quiet. "The dead are not dead. This is what she was trying to warn me about."

Cupid nods, "She killed them. Sent them back to where they were meant to be."

"All of them?" says Crystal. "It would have been helpful if you had brought one back to the Matchmaking Service for us to study..." there's a slight accusation mixed with weariness in her tone.

"You want to be the one to stand in Morta's way?" says Cupid – raising an eyebrow.

She sighs, "I guess not."

"Wait a minute...who the hell is Morta?" asks Charlie.

"Exactly what I've been trying to find out..." I say – narrowing my eyes at Cupid.

He catches my gaze – and I flinch slightly at the cool passion brimming from his irises. There's an anger, a darkness twisting inside him, but there's a need there too, a longing - a hunger for me. It makes my heartbeat accelerate slightly, and I drag my gaze away.

Crystal, and Cal turn their attention back to the two of us. A look seems to pass between them – trepidation, secrets, an unwillingness to share.

Crystal pauses.

"She and her sisters ... they do some work on the Matchmaking Service..."

"...IT systems. Yep, so I've heard," I say shortly. I can still feel Cupid's eyes burning into me, "But who are they?"

"Morta," says Charlie leaning forward, "I've heard that name before. It's mythological." She pulls out her phone and waggles it in front of them, "I'm sure my trusty friend Google can shed some light on the situation if you're going to be all cagey about it..."

I lean forward beside her.

"Although – as we've discovered – the human version of myths is quite often different to the reality. So we may get the wrong idea..." I add. "So maybe you just want to tell us..."

Crystal sighs. She looks at Cupid and gives him a half nod, as though permitting him to speak. He exhales and gestures to Cal. 

No-one seems to want to talk about her, whoever she is.

Cal straightens by the counter.

"She's one of the Parcae," he says simply, as though that concludes the discussion.

Huh?

Charlie raises an eyebrow in question, her face as blank as mine probably is. Cal breathes out sharply through his nose in irritation.

"Don't they teach you anything in school?! The Parcae!" he says again. "You know - the Fates. Nona spins the threads of life, Decuma measures them, and Morta cuts them."

"Though, like with the cupids, obviously this process isn't quite so literal anymore," adds Crystal wearily.

"What do you mean?" says Charlie.

She shakes her head, then looks at Cupid.

"She said she'd be in touch with you? Something about the match?" she glances at me out of the corner of her eye.

Cupid looks at me again, making my breathing quicken slightly at the intensity of his expression. Then he nods slowly. Crystal quickly gulps down the rest of her coffee, then puts down her mug – appearing to have made a decision.

"We need to speed up this meeting. I'll see if I can set something up. They have offices downtown – I'll try get us in tomorrow. In the meantime, Lila will stay here – Valentine is still out there."

"I'll stay too," says Cal quickly.

I feel a swell of disappointment. I want to sort this out with Cupid. How can we do that with Cal here? I catch the look of irritation on Cupid's face too.

"Brother, there's really no need..."

"No," says Crystal at the same time, "I want a list of all the cupids that have gone missing since Valentine escaped on my desk morning. If he's found a way to bring back the dead, we need to know how big his army is. Charlie will help."

Cal stiffens, clearly not liking being told what to do. His silvery eyes flash in annoyance.

"What if Valentine comes back? What if he attacks? Cupid clearly isn't a match for him alone."

I notice Cupid's expression darken.

"I wasn't asking, Cal," says Crystal, "that was an order."

A flush of pink appears on Cal's usually pale cheeks. He averts his eyes to the tiled white floor.

"Fine..."

"After Valentine's zombie cupids were killed by Morta, it's unlikely he'll try anything before regrouping," says Crystal, looking at me. She turns back to Cal, "Come on."

She pushes off from the counter and Cal exhales heavily. He turns and makes his way toward the exit. Crystal looks at Cupid, then me; her blue eyes piercing.

"Whatever's going on between you two, sort it out. You could cut the tension in here with a knife. We don't need this right now."

I feel a flush of embarrassment. So, clearly it's not just Cal who was picking up on the fight. Crystal starts to move across the room and Charlie looks at me with concern - furrowing her eyebrows in question.

"Come on, Charlie," says Crystal.

She nods – but doesn't move her dark eyes from my face.

"I'm fine," I say to her quietly. I'm lying. I'm not. Me and Cupid are fighting, and Valentine wants to kill me. I'm not fine. I force a smile, "Honest."

She gives me a skeptical look then throws her arms around me, pulling me into a warm hug.

Charlie knows me too well.

Her familiar scent of perfume and the fruity shampoo she uses floods my nostrils, and as she pulls me close I feel the embarrassing sting of tears creeping into my eyes. I blink hard then pull away from her.

"You call me if you need anything, OK?" she holds me gaze a moment longer, before narrowing her eyes at Cupid, and throwing him her best you hurt my friend, I'll hurt you look. He looks a little taken aback and I feel a small smile tugging at the corner of my lip.

Then she gets off the stool and heads over to Crystal stood by the door. She looks at Cupid pointedly.

"By the way," says Crystal. "I'm still angry that no-one told me Valentine was still alive. I'm just too tired to express it right now."

Cupid gives a half nod.

"Noted..." he says.

Then she and Charlie go after Cal, disappearing from view. I hear the door click. Then silence.

Cupid and I are alone.

The air feels thick again. I feel my face become serious.

Neither of us moves, neither of us speaks. Cupid catches my eye – and passion seems to radiate from the taut muscles of his body.

Suddenly he crosses the room – stopping inches away from my stool. There's still distance between us though – despite our proximity - it hangs heavy in the air. I can feel his heat, smell his masculine scent – it floods my nostrils: perspiration and fabric softener and Cupid. It's intoxicating. His eyes burn into mine – as wild as the ocean.

My heart is thumping against my chest.

I can't tell whether he wants to shout at me. Or kiss me.

Author note: Hi loves! Sorry for the delay! I was supposed to post this chapter yesterday but I got distracted making Cupid's Match trailers....

Check it out!

Trailer 1:

Also - check this actual legit trailer out!

Because we're getting an actual pilot epiosde on CW Seed!!!!

XXXXX

Speak soon!

Lauren

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