Chapter 46

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Venus.

The blood in my body turns to ice.

Mino blinks, his eyes returning to their normal dark brown.

"Venus. Venus is the passenger," he says. "Valentine is trying to bring back Venus."

"No..." the word escapes my lips before I can stop it.

How can this be happening?

My mind flashes back to the battle in the trial room: her oily hand around my neck, her unblinking eyes baring into mine, her taunting laugh as she tried to kill me. I'd plunged the Finis – the final arrow - into her heart.

It was supposed to destroy her.

This can't be real. She can't be coming back.

My heart thumps hard against my chest.

She's supposed to be gone.

It was supposed to be the end.

"How?" I say. My voice is quiet, shaky. It breaks the silence. "How can this be happening?"

I look around me.

My eyes pass over Crystal, whose face is unusually pale, to Cal whose expression is unreadable, his eyes flashing silver. Then I turn to Cupid. He's leant back in his armchair, his hand over his mouth.

He turns to look at me – shock etched into his face.

Then he leans forward. He grabs my hands, warming them with his. He meets my gaze, holds it.

"Lila..." he says. "I won't let her hurt you."

"Well, with any luck, my actual, literal heart is needed by Valentine to bring her back so she probably won't get chance to..." I murmur, my mouth dry.

Cupid's eyes flash with passion.

"Don't say that, Lila. I won't let anything happen to you," he says. "We're going to stop this."

"I thought the Finis would end her completely," says Crystal – her voice quiet, confused.

"It doesn't matter," says Cal sharply.

We all turn to look at him.

"It doesn't matter, brother?" Cupid turns away from me to look at Cal.

"No," says Cal. "Because we're going to stop Valentine before he does whatever he has planned. What did you say before, Lila?"

"Um...she won't get to hurt me because Valentine is probably going to rip out my heart...?"

"Yes. So, we keep Lila close, then get her out of town a couple of days before Valentine's Day – we hide her. Somewhere no-one can find her." He looks at Mino. "Charon thinks Valentine is controlling his zombies with their hearts?"

I remember Crystal's theory earlier – she'd said maybe by owning their hearts, their desires, he was controlling them somehow.

"Yes," says Mino with a slow nod. "The bodies we found were missing their hearts. It makes sense."

"So, we need to find the hearts," says Cal.

"So we can destroy them," says Crystal, standing straighter.

Cupid leans further forward in the white armchair.

"I prefer the 'getting Lila out of town' plan," he says. "How the hell are we going to find where he's hidden a bunch of hearts?!"

"If only we could capture him," says Crystal. "Put him back in a sim. Force him to tell us where his zombie cupids hearts are so we can destroy them before they can come and rescue him."

Cupid's hands clench into fists. Darkness and danger burn behind his eyes. He looks like he's considering Crystal's proposal. But then he exhales heavily and shakes his head.

"I hate to say it, but he's too strong. Especially at this time of year. Plus, what about Morta's shears, and my dear brother's life thread? How are we meant to get those back?"

"If he no longer had control of the hearts, he'd no longer have control of the ship," says Crystal. "Think about it – we destroy the hearts, and Charon gains back control of the ferry."

Cupid shakes his head.

"I'm all for big ideas," he says. "But he's still too strong."

"The dance," I say suddenly, thinking about what Charlie had said at school.

Cupid, Cal, and Mino, all look at me with confusion, but I lock eyes with Crystal who nods slowly.

"It's worth a shot," she says.

Cal narrows his eyes.

"What is?"

"Charlie is planning the dance in Cupid's name, not Valentine's," I say. "It could make Cupid stronger."

Something flashes across Cal's face.

"Sure...hold it in Cupid's name..." he mumbles.

"Every match that happens within that dance, should channel into Cupid's strength," says Crystal – ignoring Cal's outburst. "He might just be strong enough to take on Valentine. Not kill him, we can't do that without his thread and the shears – but maybe he'll be strong enough to force him into telling us where he's keeping the hearts."

"And if we get the hearts, we could get someone to bring us Valentine's thread as well – couldn't we?" I say. "Because we're presuming that he's keeping it on the ship with Cal's, right?"

Cupid nods, his eyes brightening.

We start talking over each other – excited to finally have some form of plan to carry out. Mino, however, coughs dramatically – silencing us. We all turn to look at him.

He leans back in Crystal's office chair, muscular arms casually rested behind his head.

"This all sounds absolutely wonderful," he says. "Just one little flaw in your plan..."

"What?" says Crystal.

"How, exactly, are you going to get Valentine to come to the dance?"

He raises a thick, black eyebrow. His eyes glint with amusement.

No-one speaks.

And through the silence my mind is loud. I think of all the messages I've received from Valentine. I still don't dare tell them about the text I received about Cal's life thread. I can't risk something happening to him.

But it might be time to reveal that I have his phone number; that maybe I could contact him and ask him to come.

"I may have an idea..." I say.

***

I wish I could be there with you.

I read Cupid's text as I lie in bed. He'd wanted to sneak into my room with me, but we all thought it was better that he spend time training with Cal and Crystal back at the Matchmaking Service – ready for whatever might happen at the dance tomorrow night.

My phone buzzes again.

You'll let me know as soon as you hear back, right? And remember that there are cupids stationed outside if you need anything.

The corner of my lip tugs upward at his concern for me.

I wish you were here too, I message back. And don't worry about me. I'm OK.

I roll over on my side and turn off my bedside lamp – even though I know I won't sleep. I can't. Not when I'm waiting for Valentine to message.

My insides twist and turn with a mixture of cold dread and anticipation.

I'd told Cupid and the others that I still had Valentine's number stored in my cell from when he got me to meet him at the gym. Neither Cupid, or Cal, had been particularly pleased at the idea of me contacting him – but Crystal had overruled them, agreeing with me that it was a good idea.

Plus – it's my choice to make. Not theirs.

And we need to do something before it's too late.

I think back to the message I'd sent him.

Meet me at the dance tomorrow. At midnight. I need to talk to you.

Now I just have to wait to see if he will respond.

And he will. I know it.

It's strange; I've only had a couple of interactions with him - but I feel like I know him, somehow. The curiosity of what I have to say will draw him to the dance – I'm convinced of it.

A noise outside my room jolts me out of my thoughts.

"Night, Lila!" calls dad.

My heart beats hard in my chest and I take a deep breath to calm it. What had I thought? That Valentine was lurking outside or something?

"Goodnight!" I call back.

I listen as he moves down the landing toward his room. Then I look back at the screen of my phone – watching the screensaver of me and Charlie pulling faces in the Love Shack before all the cupids had come into our lives. I stare at it until it turns to black – my eyes glazing over as I think of everything that's happened over the past few months, and our plan to face Valentine tomorrow.

It's after midnight when my phone finally buzzes.

I jolt out of my dozing state and sit upright in my bed.

I reach for my phone, my hand trembling slightly, and check the message. My heart beats fast.

It's Valentine.

Are you asking me on a date, Lila?

I feel cold all over. I type my response.

Are you going to meet me or not?

Pause.

Then send.

Adrenaline surges through my body.

I wait.

I see that he is typing a reply. My heart beats so hard against my chest I feel like it's going to leap out.

My phone buzzes, again.

Of course. See you there, Lila Black.

Author note: Hi guys, Lauren again! 

Sorry to drag you out of the story - just a quick question. 

So, as you know - this is a first draft and you guys are literally reading this as I'm writing. Does the cupids' plan make sense to you? Is anything confusing? I wanted to kind of set a plan in motion this chapter, and lay the foundation pretty quickly so we can get on with the exciting stuff (and finding out whether the plan will even work!) - but I don't know if this chapter becomes a bit of an information dump! Let me know your thoughts / if you think anything could be better. It really helps me!

Lots of love,

Lauren

x

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