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“You mean, do I make a habit of shooting myself?” Cupid said levelly. “No. I can’t say that I do.”

“But—”

“Look, I know what I’m doing. I do this sort of thing all the time,” Cupid told her. “If you want my help, you’re going to have to trust me. This is the deciding moment. Right here and now, you have to decide just how badly you want to be Queen.”

Silence filled the vacuum of conversation, and the two women just stared at each other.

“You’re right,” Aspen finally said, settling her shoulders and standing tall. She swallowed. “Do it.”

“Good,” Cupid said, a hint of approval shining through her serious facade. “Now relax and hold still.” Then she shot the arrow at Aspen.

CHAPTER 6

CUPID’S ARROW

Cupid’s magic did indeed work on Aspen’s people. In fact, it worked very, very well.

“Wow,” I said, looking at all the sleeping security guards on the floor.

They’d been waiting for us the moment we’d stepped into the notary’s office, swords raised and ready to attack. It hadn’t helped them. Cupid had taken them all down in like two seconds. She was wicked-fast with that magic bow and arrows.

“Wow, indeed,” Aspen said, looking wide-eyed at Cupid. “I’m still surprised your magic works on my people. No off-worlder’s magic ever has.”

I snatched the keys off the sleeping secretary’s desk. The notary had been so worried about our return that he’d barricaded himself away behind a dozen armed men and at least as many locked doors. This would take a while.

“Cupid is different,” I told Aspen as I set to work figuring out which key opened the first lock. “Her powers are a whole different kettle of fish altogether. They don’t come from the gods or the demons. She didn’t get magic from Nectar or Venom.”

“Then where did you get your powers?” Aspen asked Cupid.

“It all started with this massive magical shockwave that Leda set off.”

“Are you in the habit of setting off massive magical shockwaves?” Aspen asked me.

“No.”

Cupid snorted.

“Ok, yeah.Sometimes,” I added quickly. “But it’s always for a good cause, I swear.”

“In this case, she was destroying an evil hideout and thwarting the plans of the malicious people who lived there,” Cupid explained.

“They werereallymalicious,” I pointed out.

“So this is your thing?” Aspen asked. “Destroying evil hideouts and thwarting malicious people?”

I shrugged. “Destroying evil hideouts. Thwarting malicious people. Saving the world. Basically, yeah. I do that kind of thing all the time.” I threw her a smirk over my shoulder.

“Well, then,” Aspen said quietly. “I guess I picked the right ally to help me.”

“Yeah, you did.” I smiled when the lock clicked open. “Now let’s go convince the notary that he picked thewrongally.”

My dramatic words turned out to be a little anticlimactic. It took me another five minutes to get through the rest of the locked doors. I wasn’t worried, though. I’d gotten a good look at the building on my first visit. There were no exits at the back.

I led the way, creeping down the hall, keeping my eyes peeled for more guards. There weren’t any. The moment we entered the notary’s room, though, he reached for the gun on his desk. Cupid was faster. She shot an arrow at him, pinning his hand to his desk. He yowled.

“Nice aim,” I told her.

Mr. Barrens snarled. “You degenerate?—”