“It is.”
My eyes fall to his wing, where a deep, scarlet stain mars the soft pink, a molasses flow of blood dripping over his feathers. “You’re hurt.”
He spares a quick glance at the wound and shakes his head. “It’ll heal in a few minutes, Beau. That’s not important right now.” Defeated acceptance crosses his face as he takes another cautious step towards me, eyes darting and Adam’s apple bobbing. And I know what he’s waiting for.
Rejection.
He waits for me to walk away from him, to abandon him like everyone else in his life has always abandoned him. Eyes already misty with tears, he waits for the inevitable crushing blow as his delicate chin trembles.
“This is all my fault,” he says, failing in his attempt to keep his voice steady. “The only reason Delilah has been stalking you is because I made a mistake. I was distracted when I shot her with my arrow, and she was looking at the wrong man.”
“And… what…” My voice catches, and I have to clear my throat as my pulse pounds. “What exactly does your arrow do?”
“I think you know the answer to that,” he whispers, gray eyes finally meeting mine before flicking away.
“No, no, I really don’t.” Insistence turns my tone forceful, just on this side of shouting, and he flinches. My heart tears straight in half as I war between my desire to comfort him and the need to get answers. I force calm into my voice as I say, “Sweetheart, I need you to explain to me exactly what’s going on right now.”
He lets out a long, weary sigh, the distance between us a tangible thing as he tucks his wings back to… wherever they go. Without them, he looks small again, timid and fragile.
One misplaced word, and he’d be swept away from me like a leaf in a storm.
“A few weeks ago, I was selected for a temporary position. Seraphiel needed a break, right? He was making so many mistakes… and we’re not talking tiny little whoopsies. These werebigmistakes with real, major, life-altering consequences.”
I nod because I need him to keep speaking, even though I’m not really sure what’s happening. “They—the Heavenly Council, although it was probably just Micah—decided someone needed to take his place. Give him a month off, so, y’know, World War is avoided.”
“Wait… World War?” I interrupt, voice strained, when I remember the recent news frenzy. “Oh… my…God. The President and the Queen of England.”
He swallows and nods, but holds a hand up to stop my spiral. “It’s why they had to force him on an extended leave. A few people I know had invited me out, and I… I don’t have a lot of friends. Not many people want to hang out with me, so I went. We all had a few too many beers, and they wanted to enter the raffle. I-I didn’t, but I wanted to fit in. It was... nice to be included for once, so I went along with it. They thought it would be funny. But it wasn’t funny, Beau. Never in a million years did I believe I’d be picked, and it wasstressful.My inhaler got a workout that day.”
Only half of his story makes sense, but he seems like he needs to get it out, so I stay quiet and let him continue. “At first, I was so terrible. It wasawful. I’m pretty sure I gave a homophobic Catholic family at least one heart attack, and I had to crawl over the nasty department store carpet because I couldn’t hit my targets. You saw how bad I was! And then Delilah happened. She matched with someone else, but she and I both got distracted when you walked into the store.I accidentally shot her while she was looking at you, and it resulted in her being… kind of obsessed.”
His hands wring for a second as he stares off to where Delilah vanished. “Not many people know there are two types of arrows. One for love, the other for protection. When I hit her just now, it didn’t hurt, only made her run. Gave her the need to flee.”
“I never thought you would hurt her,” I say gently, and he shoots me a wobbly smile as he swipes at his eye.
“That day at the grocery store, I accidentally shot myself, too. The reason I was holding back with you was because I was afraid. I wasterrifiedthat my feelings were fake… that it was a product of the magic. But Micah told me Cherubs are immune to the arrows, so it’s real.” His voice cracks and lip wobbles as he looks at me, so much vulnerability shining in those stormy eyes. “Everything I feel for you is real, and it’s big and scary andreal, Beau.”
His chest heaves in heavy breaths as I inch forward, unable to help myself as I swipe at the corner of his eye where a tear beads, ready to fall. “What are you saying, Az?”
“What I’m saying is you’ve got my truths now, all of them. That’s my secret, Beau. I’m The Cupid. But more importantly? I love you. I’m so in love with you, I can’t see anything else. Can’tthinkof anything else. I am head-over-heels, give-up-my-wings, change-my-entire-life in love with you.”
Chapter 14
Azrael
A few shaky breaths leave my mouth as Beau processes my words, and I can’t manage to refill my lungs as I wait. He blinks a few times, comprehension finally dawning in his eyes. “You love me?”
My heart is a caged beast, thrashing against my windpipe as I nod. “I didn’t tell you because I was afraid the arrow was influencing me. It wasn’t fair to turn this intomoreif something in me was going to change.”
“Turn this into more?” Indignation raises his voice again, and I force myself not to look away this time. “Az, this has beenmorefor a while now.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“Was I…” He trails off, a nervous swallow catching in his throat, as if he’s unsure if he wants to know. “Did you shoot me? Am I feeling this way because of some sort of magic?”
“No!” I shout, and he watches me carefully, his guard up. “No, I didn’t shoot you, Beau. The arrows don’t affect me, and I would never,neverdo that to you… not on purpose, at least. But I didn’t. Iswear.Everything you feel… this insane connection between us… it’s all real.”
He inches closer with his hand outstretched, but he pauses halfway as if he’s daring me to meet him. His name leaves me in a whimper as I leap into his arms, throwing him off balance as he stumbles back a step. My quiet sob is muffled into his shoulder as he cups my head, hugging me against him.
