Chapter 10: Betrayal

Dante's POV

Maya told me to leave, and it felt like dying.

I stood outside her house in the dark, watching her silhouette through the window as she held Lily. My chest ached so badly I could barely breathe. This was pain—real, human, devastating pain. After 2,847 years of feeling nothing, I finally understood why humans feared heartbreak.

It was worse than any death.

I rode my motorcycle home through empty streets, my mind racing. Marcus was a demon. Elena had sold Maya to him. And I'd been so focused on my own transition to mortality that I'd missed all the signs.

How could Elena do this?

I burst through my front door, and she was already there, sitting in my living room like she'd been waiting.

"You told Maya to leave," Elena said calmly. "Smart choice. Distance will help—"

"You sold her." My voice came out deadly quiet. "Fifteen years ago, you made a binding between Maya and a demon. You sold a human woman to Marcus Blake."

Elena's face went carefully blank. "Who told you that?"

"Marcus himself. He showed up here with glowing red eyes and explained everything." I took a step toward her. "How could you? You're supposed to protect humans, not trade them like property!"

"It was business, Dante. Nothing personal." Elena stood up, brushing off her clothes. "Marcus paid extremely well. And at the time, Maya was just another human. I had no way of knowing she'd become important to you three thousand years later."

"That doesn't make it okay!"

"Doesn't it?" Elena's eyes flashed with anger. "I've been a Cupid for over three millennia. I've arranged thousands of matches. Some worked beautifully. Some didn't. That's the nature of the job. We can't control what humans do with the connections we give them."

"Marcus isn't human! He's a demon who used your binding to abuse her!"

"He never hit her. Never endangered her life. By the terms of our contract, I fulfilled my obligations perfectly." Elena crossed her arms. "What he did within the bounds of that relationship was his choice. Not my responsibility."

I stared at her, horror washing over me. "You really don't care, do you? Maya's been suffering for fifteen years because of a deal you made, and you feel nothing."

"I feel plenty," Elena said coldly. "I feel angry that you're throwing away your transition for a woman you can't have. I feel frustrated that you're risking both your lives for a bond that can't exist while her binding to Marcus remains. I feel disappointed that after everything I've taught you, you still don't understand how this works."

"Then explain it to me. Explain how we break her binding to Marcus."

Elena laughed—a bitter, harsh sound. "We don't. That binding is fifteen years old, signed in blood, and registered with the High Council. Breaking it would require proof that I violated ethical guidelines. Which I didn't. Everything was legal."

"It was immoral!"

"Morality is subjective. Legality isn't." Elena walked toward the door. "You have sixteen days until Valentine's Day. In that time, you have two choices: One, stay away from Maya completely. Let your transition stabilize. Leave town before the magic collision kills you both. Or two, stay, try to be together, and watch everyone you care about die when the bindings collide."

"There has to be a third option—"

"There isn't." She opened the door. "I'm sorry, Dante. I truly am. But some things can't be fixed. Sometimes you just have to walk away."

She left, and I was alone in my empty house.

I looked down at my arms. More than half my Cupid marks were gone now. I was more human than divine, and there was no going back. Even if I wanted to leave town, even if I never saw Maya again, I'd still transition fully. I'd still lose all my memories of being a Cupid within days.

Which meant this—right now—might be my last chance to do something while I still had some power left.

I grabbed my phone and texted Bear: Need your help with something dangerous. You in?

His response came immediately: Always. What are we doing?

Breaking into the Valentine Museum. Tonight.

Why?

To find proof that Elena violated Cupid ethics. It's the only way to break Maya's binding.

Three dots appeared as Bear typed. Then: Give me 20 minutes. I'll bring tools.

I paced my living room, my mind racing. If I could find Elena's records, her contracts, anything that proved she'd knowingly sold Maya to an abusive demon—the Council might void the binding. It was a long shot, but it was the only shot we had.

My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: Breaking into the museum won't work. Elena's too smart to leave evidence lying around. But there IS someone who knows the truth about what she did. Someone who's been keeping records of every unethical deal Elena's made for decades. Meet me at the Sweetheart Bridge. Midnight. I'll tell you everything. -V

V. The same person who'd texted Maya.

This could be a trap. But what choice did I have?

I texted back: Who are you?

Someone who wants Elena to pay for what she's done. Someone who's been waiting a very long time for a Cupid brave enough to challenge her. Midnight, Dante. Don't be late. And don't tell Maya you're coming. She can't know about this yet.

I stared at the message, my instincts screaming that this was dangerous.

But I was out of options.

At 11:45, I rode my motorcycle to the Sweetheart Bridge. It was the same place Marcus had threatened to meet Maya. The covered bridge was dark, lit only by a few old lanterns that cast strange shadows.

A figure waited in the center of the bridge.

As I got closer, I saw who it was, and my blood turned to ice.

Vanessa. Maya's best friend.

She smiled when she saw my expression. "Surprised?"

"You're V?" My voice came out hoarse. "You've been texting both of us? Manipulating everything?"

"Not manipulating. Guiding." Vanessa pulled out a folder thick with papers. "Elena's been covering her tracks for decades. Selling humans to demons, creating toxic bindings, ruining lives—all for profit. I've been documenting everything, waiting for the right moment to expose her."

"Why? What does this have to do with you?"

Vanessa's smile faded. "Because fifteen years ago, Elena didn't just sell Maya to Marcus. She sold my sister to a demon too. And unlike Maya, my sister didn't survive the binding. She killed herself three years into the marriage because she couldn't escape the magical compulsion to stay with a monster."

My chest tightened. "Vanessa, I'm sorry—"

"Sorry doesn't bring her back." Vanessa held out the folder. "But this? This can destroy Elena. Proof of dozens of unethical bindings. Testimony from victims. Everything the Council needs to strip her of her powers and void every contract she's ever made."

I reached for the folder, but Vanessa pulled it back.

"There's a price," she said quietly.

"What price?"

"When Elena falls, someone has to take her place. Someone has to become the new Cupid guardian of Rosewood Falls." Vanessa's eyes met mine. "That someone is you, Dante. You take Elena's position, you become immortal again, and you give up any chance of being with Maya forever."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?"

"That's the deal. Save Maya by destroying Elena and reclaiming your immortality. Or stay mortal, try to be with Maya, and watch her stay bound to Marcus forever because no one else will challenge the Council." Vanessa held up the folder. "Choose."

I stared at the papers that could save Maya's life and destroy mine.

"You have sixteen days to decide," Vanessa said. "But decide fast, Dante. Because there's one more thing you should know."

"What?"

"Marcus isn't the only demon in Rosewood Falls. There are three more, all bound to women through Elena's deals. And on Valentine's Day, when the magic peaks, they're all planning something big. Something that will turn this entire town into a demon feeding ground." She stepped closer. "So you can save Maya and doom everyone else. Or you can save the town and lose Maya forever. Your choice."

She left, and I stood alone on the bridge, holding the folder that contained everyone's fate.

Behind me, a voice whispered from the darkness: "She's lying, you know. About some of it."

I spun around.

Maya stood at the entrance to the bridge, her face pale.

"I followed you," she said. "I heard everything."

And I realized with sinking horror that the one person I was trying to protect had just learned the most devastating truth of all.

She knew I had to choose between saving her and saving the world.

And she already knew which one I'd pick.