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And not only that, but something else was gnawing at her. She was confident that even though she’d hesitated in releasing the arrow, her aim shouldn’t have beenthatmuch off its mark. If not for that sudden gust of wind, she was convinced her arrow would have made contact with its target. Was the wind—herfriend since she was a child—mocking her in some way because she hadn’t listened when it whispered? Hannah shook off the thought. Impossible. The wind would never betray her like that. She always took time out of every day to honor their bond. She respected her place among all of the elements, and always tried to walk through her life without inflicting harm. No, she dismissed the previous thought, the wind would not forsake her. But even so, the thought of that sudden wind surge nagged at her.
As soon as she arrived at her cottage, she saw Piper’s Palomino grazing in the field off to the side. She released a long sigh as she pushed through her front door. Piper was sitting on the couch, feet on the coffee table Hannah had carved from a fallen tree, drinking a mug of beer. A second mug sat untouched. “Thought you might need a drink.” Piper slid her legs off the table and pushed the mug toward Hannah.
Hannah shrugged the quiver off her back and gently placed it and her bow on a shelf in the corner of the room. She let her fingers linger over both and remembered the day Oriana had taken her to see the island’s master bowyer. He’d welcomed her into his shop and had enthusiastically introduced her to several of his already finished bows. He’d told her to try them out while he’d observed her stance and the way she’d gripped and balanced each one. She remembered his quick inhale when she’d transferred the bow with ease back and forth to each hand, firing off arrow after arrow. And he’d listened when she’d sadly turned to him after he’d asked what she’d thought and told him that none of his bows “spoke” to her.
“The balance is off when I shift from hand to hand.”
“Ah.” he had said with glee in his eyes. “That’s because your bow has yet to be made. Give me a week, my child, and you will be united with the bow that will more than speak toyou, it will sing in your hands.” When she’d returned to his shop a week later, he’d looked up from his counter, smiled, and told her to give him a moment. When he’d returned from the back room, he was holding the most beautiful bow Hannah had ever laid eyes on. The combination of the dark wood that mixed with streaks of lighter, bleached grain caught her eye. The moment he’d handed it to her, a tingle had shot through her.
“Go on,” he had said with a tilt of his head. “Take it out back and try it out.” But Hannah had already known that this bow would be with her for as long as she could shoot an arrow. And true to his prediction, he’d crafted her a bow that sang in her hands and had never once failed her.
She gave the bow a loving pat as she turned, rounded the coffee table, and sank onto the couch next to Piper. She threw her head back against the cushion and let out a long breath. “What a disaster.” Since becoming a cupid, she had never known the lonely feeling of failure until that moment.
“Care to share?” Piper raised her brow.
Hannah folded forward and scrubbed her fingers through her hair in frustration. “I don’t know. It was weird. Right before I released your arrow, the mark, she, um, she glanced up and looked at me. It was as though we connected in a way I have never experienced before.”
“Mortals can’t see you while you’re performing your duties,” Piper said matter-of-factly.
“I know, that’s what makes this whole thing so odd. But I’m telling you, she saw me. She stared right at me, and I could tell by the look in her eyes, she knew I was there.”
Piper took a moment as she cocked her head in what Hannah interpreted as disbelief. Hannah couldn’t blame her. If she had not witnessed it herself, she would never have believed her own story. But it happened. It was real. And Piper could believe her or not.
A blink later, Piper smiled in a dismissive way and slapped her on the back. “Well, if what you say is true, then whaddaya know? A woman finally caught the heart of the great cupid Hannah. You must tell me more about this mystical mortal.”
Hannah shrugged out of what she felt was a condescending hand on her shoulder as she grabbed the mug of beer. She took a moment to take a sip before answering. “I know none of this makes any sense, but I’m telling you, she has eyes the color of Nikita’s ring, and when she looked at me, I felt a wave of peacefulness surround my heart. I have never felt such a beautiful sensation.” Hannah turned. “She saw me, Piper.”
Piper searched her eyes as though they were wandering down many different roads, as if looking for a sign that Hannah might be messing with her.
Hannah held her gaze. “I’m telling you, shesawme. We stared at each other, and it was beautiful.”
After a long moment, Piper nodded. “Well, if I wasn’t so certain, I’d say you’ve been pierced with one of my arrows.”
Hannah let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “What are you suggesting?”
“That you, my friend, are in love.”
Hannah threw her head back in laughter. “I am not in love. Lust, perhaps, but she’s a mortal, and I don’t even know her. I was momentarily distracted, that’s all.” Piper’s suggestion was both comical and unnerving. Hannah had plenty of women on the island to satisfy all her needs, and love was never part of that equation. Not to mention the sheer improbability of actually falling in love with someone without the use of a cupid’s arrows. Love at first sight was the stuff of fairy tales, those stories and legends that were always spoken with whimsical tones and theatrical gestures. None of it was rooted in reality, at least not her reality.
“Well, whatever it was, I have faith you will be able to fix it.”
Hannah frowned. That was exactly what Oriana had said to her, and unfortunately, she did not share the same faith in herself. “Have you ever heard any whispers of any other time this has happened to a cupid? And if so, how’d they fix it?”
Piper lifted her head as if in thought. “Nope. I think you’re the first.”
“Great.” Hannah snorted as she bowed her head in shame. Cupids were never supposed to miss. That was why the annual competition singled out the exceptional archers from the rest. To claim cupid status meant there was an expectation that love’s arrow would always hit its mark. “I’m afraid Oriana has sent me on an impossible quest, one I’m sure I’ll fail at.” First the failure of a runaway arrow, and now the inherent failure of an impossible task. Hannah wasn’t sure what force shifted in the universe that day or what planet went into retrograde, but she sure wished that whatever it was, would shift back.
“If Oriana sent you, she has faith in you.”
Hannah snorted. “Or she’s trying to teach me a lesson.”
“Well, I guess we’ll never know her true intentions.” Piper stood and helped Hannah off the couch. “But remember this, whatever is meant to be will be.”
“And if I fail at bringing these two together in love?”
“Then the night sky will realign and send their names to Danika once again, and I will craft another set of arrows. So don’t worry, one way or another, they will come together in true love. Meanwhile,” Piper said as she led Hannah into the bedroom, “your new outfit awaits you. It’s just like what they wear at the place you’re going, so you’ll fit right in.”
“I seriously doubt that.” Hannah sat on her bed and examined a pair of black jeans and a white button-down shirt.Black boots sat on the floor by the foot of the bed. She stared at the outfit, and her shoulders sank. The costume looked stiff and restrictive. She glanced at Piper and tried to plead with her eyes. Did she really have to wear such clothing?
