We walk back down the cobbled alley, Cal striding purposefully ahead.

"How long will it take to get to the loom, brother?" Cupid calls.

"A while."

"Wait a second," he says.

Cal stops, turning to look at his brother with a puzzled expression on his face as we emerge into the main square. Cupid hurries past me, momentarily engulfing me in a wave of heat and the light scent of cologne – and disappears into the battered looking convenience store past the fountain.

"What are you...? We don't have time for...?" Cal starts. He shuts his mouth and breathes sharply out of his nose. "If he comes out with snacks I'm going to be seriously annoyed..."

I go to stand beside him as he leans against the stone fountain. I give him a sideways look.

"I think that's probably what he's doing, Cal..." I say.

He nods, an exasperated look on his face.

"I know..."

He turns to look at me, the morning sunlight brightening his pale features.

"Are you OK, Lila?" he says.

I'm momentarily taken back. He looks genuinely concerned.

Since when does Cal ask how I am?

"Um...Yeah...fine," I say.

He raises his eyebrows – his eyes unmoving from mine.

"Seriously?"

I sigh, leaning back against the stone fountain, my shoulder briefly brushing against his.

"Morta said the match was made. She didn't say that me and Cupid should have been matched. She didn't say whether or not Valentine made it so that me and Cupid matched," I hesitate – not knowing how much more of my inner most thoughts I should divulge. He watches me closely and I shake my head. "What would have happened if Valentine hadn't put Cupid into the system?" I sigh again, then answer my own question. "We would never have met. Charlie would never have been turned into a cupid. Everything would be...normal."

Cal looks at me curiously. He says nothing for a moment.

"Would you want everything to be normal?" he says.

"I...uh..." I pause.

Would I want everything to be normal? I'm unsure. It's a big question. Would I want to not know about cupids, and arrows, and goddesses? Would I want to never have felt Cupid's embrace, to never have tasted his kisses mixed with the rain?

I don't think I want normal. I don't think that's me.

I open my mouth to answer but Cal jerks his head away from me back toward the store. Cupid bounds over, two huge bags of chips, a bottle of coke, and a stash of candy shoved under his arms.

He shakes one of the packets and grins.

"Snacks!" he says.

Cal's face sours and he shakes his head. I feel the corner of my lip tug upward.

"We don't have time for snacks," he snaps. "Come on."

He pushes off from the fountain and makes his way toward the car.

"You won't be saying that when you're hungry..." Cupid taunts after him.

Cal scowls.

"Whatever."

He climbs into the passenger seat of the Aston Martin.

Cupid catches my expression out of the corner of his eye and smirks. For a moment we feel OK again, and I push the negativity I was voicing to Cal out of my mind. I roll my eyes.

"Do you actively try to annoy him?"

"Nah," he says – the grin spreading on his face. "It comes naturally."

We reach the car. He stops a moment, leaning casually against the door with his many snacks held under his arms. His eyes hold mine and the smile falls from his lips. I feel the familiar heat creep through my body at his gaze, and my mind brings back our kiss last night – his body pushed against me, my back against the wall. I remember the feel of his mouth, hard, moving against mine.

"Lila..." he starts to say, his voice low and throaty.

My pulse races. He opens his mouth to say something else – his expression intense.

Is he finally going to open up to me? Is he finally going to tell me what's on his mind?

And then there's a tap against the window. We both flinch and the moment is broken. We look down to see Cal's irritated face looking up through the glass at us as he leans across the driver's seat.

We need to set off he mouths through the closed door.

A sigh escapes my lips and Cupid rolls his eyes. He gives me an apologetic look.

"He's probably right."

He fumbles around for the door handle while balancing all his snacks, and I nod – quelling the disappointment inside me. 

Now is probably not the time for an in-depth discussion. We have the life thread of a crazy, serial killing cupid to retrieve...

I get into the car.

"How come I always have to sit in the back?" I grumble – putting on my seatbelt as Cupid turns on the ignition. "I never get to sit in the front."

"I never get any time off from ridiculous scenarios - like mythological wars, cupids being raised from the dead, or babysitting my brother," says Cal – his eyes fixed ahead as Cupid maneuvers the car out of the parking spot. "We can't always get what we want..."

A grin spreads on Cupid's face as he starts to drive.

"You can swap with Cal next time we stop for gas, lovebug. I'd much prefer to look to my side and see you sat beside me than this misery guts."

Cal ignores him; he fumbles for something in the glove compartment for a minute, then sticks a satnav on the window.

"Where are we heading, brother?" says Cupid.

"Cassie sent us some co-ordinates on the Lost Coast," says Cal. "You'd better tell your dad you'll be staying at Charlie's or something, Lila. We'll be traveling all day."

I nod, pulling out my cell – hoping that my dad's good mood from his date with Sarah will cause him to be OK with my absence.

In the front of the car Cal throws a sideways look at Cupid.

"Pass me the chips. I'm hungry," he says.

A grin spreads on Cupid's face. He throws one of the bags at Cal's head as we hit the open road. For a few minutes no-one speaks and the only sound is that of the engine and Cal rattling the packet. I presume Cupid and Cal are thinking about the same thing as me.

I hesitate a moment before voicing my thoughts.

"What do you think we'll find when we get there?" I ask.

I catch Cupid's face in the mirror. His expression darkens.

"Honestly...I don't know," he says.

***

Slowly the scenery outside the window changes from that of built up LA, to the bars and board shorts of Malibu beach, to the more rugged Californian landscape leading to the Lost Coast. As the scenery changes, so does the sky – from the bright light of midday, to the warm orange pinks of sunset, and finally settling on a murky twilight grey.

I've passed the hours mainly by messaging Charlie who - seemingly bored of her research based task - has taken to pondering over whether or not there's a vibe between Crystal and Mino, and who she 'ships' Crystal with more – Mino or Cal.

I've told her that I doubt Crystal will appreciate her prying into her love life, but Charlie was a pretty intolerable matchmaker even before she was hit by the arrow; I suppose I should expect her to be even worse now she's a cupid. Plus, with everything that's going on, it's kind of fun to talk about nonsense for once.

I'm now sat in the passenger seat – mainly because I threw myself into the front of the car while Cal went to the restroom the last time we stopped. And now I lean my head against the window, watching the dark and wild waves thrash against the cliffs below the road.

We must be nearly here.

The thought brings me a mixture of nerves and anticipation.

What are we going to find?

The sugar from all of our junk food seems to be giving Cupid a bit of a high. Despite the fact he's been driving for hours, his eyes are bright and he's started whistling a jaunty tune – strong hands steering the wheel.

It jolts me out of my thoughts.

I throw him an irritable sideways look which he doesn't pick up on. As it begins to grate on me further, I hear Cal shuffle in the back.

"Will you desist, brother," he snaps.

"Huh?" says Cupid.

"Stop. Whistling," says Cal.

Cupid furrows his eyebrows.

"Oh. Was I whistling?"

"YES!" Cal and I both say at the same time.

Cupid's eyes widen, though a smirk plays about his lips.

"OK! OK! Awkward silence it is then...!"

We continue the journey without speaking, darkness creeping across the sky. It must be another hour before Cupid begins to slow down. He glances at the Satnav and I follow his gaze.

My heartbeat quickens.

I look at Cupid and he nods in confirmation – his face shrouded in shadow.

We're here.