Page 13 of Love's Ace

“It’s hate incarnate. If you thought I was an angel, the Enmity would be your version of a demon. They’re dark things, all teeth and claws and fury.”

Teeth and claws and…

“Red eyes,” I murmured, and he nodded.

“Did you see one?” His question was cautious, and I wondered if answering him would end up getting me killed.

I wondered if he’d kill me regardless. I tested his grip on me, but his knee just pressed harder, forcing my lower body solidly against the wall until I sagged in his hold again. It was hard to think with him so close, with my body warring between how much Ihatedbeing touched and how good his hands felt on me. How good it felt to feel peace for the first time in weeks. In years… since…

Finally, I sighed.

“One of them attacked me after I killed a man.” I watched for his reaction to my confession, but there wasn’t one. He just sighed and looked me over.

“How long ago? Days?”

“A few weeks… maybe a little longer. Things have been… hazy since it happened. Everything was burning.” How much did I want to tell him? It was obvious that something weird was going on—I didn’t trust him. I wanted to strangle the life from him.

How fucked was it that he was probably my only hope of figuring out what was going on…

Wren the cupid was the only thing that could help me.

Chapter 5

Wren

None of this madesense. There was no precedent for a cupid being tied to an Enmity, no book I could find or person I could ask. And honestly… I’d never heard of a human being attacked and holding out for more than a few days. If Theo was telling the truth and it had beenweeks, it was a wonder that he was still able to hold on to his sanity at all, that he was still mostly human.

Though when he’d had his hands around my throat, his eyes had bled back to red for just a moment before he’d jerked away.

That was the other thing that made no sense. I’d thought the first time was a fluke, when I hit him and it felt like my head was going to explode.

But when I squeezed his wrist, I could feel the pain echo and reflect back into my own body.

Thatwasn’tsupposed to happen.

Sure, there were cases where soulmates—once they were joined with a cupid’s arrow—were more in tune to one another. Sometimes they could tell when their partner was in pain.

But this? This was something completely different. This wasn’t just an echo of empathy.

I couldfeelhis hurt, just as much as I could feel the fluttering of his pulse as I touched him. And fuck, I hated touching people. But he was warm and solid beneath me, and for some reason…

For some reason, I couldn’t let him go.

For some reason, I pressed him closer to the wall and pinned him with my frame, even though I probably could have gotten away with dragging him back to the bed and tying him down.

It was easy to tell myself it was because I wasn’t going to be caught off guard again.

But…

“What the fuck is going on? What was that arrow? If you’re a cupid…” Theo trailed off, and I wondered if he was coming to the correct conclusion or letting himself get carried away with flights of fancy.

I couldn’t hear his thoughts, at least. But I couldfeelthe sting on his wrists.

Ithadto be because we weren’t human. It had to be because a cupid’s arrow was never meant for creatures like us.

It shouldn’t haveworked.

And yet…

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