Maya's POV
I woke up to Lily shaking my shoulder.
"Mommy! You fell asleep on the couch! And there's a man at the door!"
My eyes flew open. Sunlight streamed through the windows—morning already. I'd passed out after Rebecca's terrifying phone call, my mind too exhausted to process everything.
Rebecca's warning echoed: Don't marry Dante Rossi. He's not what he seems.
Someone knocked again. Hard.
I stumbled to the door, my body stiff from sleeping on the couch. Through the peephole, I saw Dante holding a coffee carrier and a bag that smelled like fresh pastries.
The wedding was in two hours.
I'd agreed to marry this man.
And I had no idea if he was my savior or another monster in disguise.
My hand shook as I opened the door.
"Morning," Dante said, his smile warm but his eyes troubled. He could see my fear. "Can we talk? Before—before everything today?"
"Lily, go get dressed for breakfast," I said, not taking my eyes off Dante.
"But—"
"Now, baby. Please."
Lily's footsteps retreated upstairs.
"You got Rebecca's call," Dante said quietly. It wasn't a question.
"How did you know?"
"Because I got a text from Marcus right after. He's trying to turn you against me before the wedding." Dante set the coffee and pastries on my porch railing. "He told you I'm using a fake name. That I'm dangerous. That he has proof."
My stomach dropped. "Is it true?"
"Yes and no." Dante ran his hand through his hair, frustration and something like fear crossing his face. "My name really is Dante Rossi. Legally. On every document. But a very long time ago, I had a different name. Dante Valenti."
"How long ago?"
He met my eyes. "Two hundred years."
I laughed. It came out strangled, hysterical. "That's impossible."
"I know how it sounds." Dante pulled out his phone, showing me the same painting Marcus must have found. A man in 1823 Venice who looked exactly like him. "Marcus is going to show this to the judge. He's going to say I'm either immortal or insane. Either way, you lose custody because you're marrying someone unstable."
"Are you?" My voice cracked. "Insane?"
"No." Dante stepped closer, his green eyes desperate. "Maya, I'm not human. Not exactly. I was born something else. Something that lives a very long time. But I gave that up to become human. To have a normal life. The transition is almost complete. In a few days, I'll be fully mortal. Just a regular man."
"What were you before?" The question came out as a whisper.
He hesitated, like he was deciding whether to trust me with something dangerous. "Have you ever heard stories about Cupid? The god who makes people fall in love?"
I stared at him. "You're joking."
"I wish I was." His marks started to glow faintly beneath his sleeves. "Those tattoos you saw? They're not tattoos. They're marks that show what I am. Or was. I've spent three thousand years matching souls, creating love stories. Now I want my own. As a human. With a human life span. With real feelings that are mine, not borrowed."
"This is insane."
"I know."
"You can't be Cupid. That's a myth. A Valentine's Day decoration. Not a real—" I backed away, my mind spinning. "You're crazy. Marcus was right. I can't marry you. I can't let you near Lily—"
"Then don't." Dante's voice was rough with emotion. "Walk away. I'll leave town. You'll never see me again. But Maya—" He pulled out his phone again, showing me a hospital photo. "This is Rebecca. Right now. Barely alive because Marcus beat her unconscious for warning you. That's what he does to people who cross him."
The photo made me gasp. Rebecca looked even worse than in Marcus's threat.
"The custody hearing is in three days," Dante continued. "Without me, without a stable married household, Marcus will win. He has money, lawyers, and a demon's influence making him supernaturally good at manipulation."
"A demon? Now you're saying demons are real too?"
"Yes." Dante's expression was dead serious. "A weak one, feeding off the misery Marcus creates. It's why he's so effective at destroying people. Why he won't stop until he's taken everything from you."
I pressed my hands to my face, trying to breathe. This was too much. Cupids. Demons. Immortality. It sounded like a bad fantasy novel.
But Rebecca was real. Her injuries were real. Marcus's threats were real.
"Why should I believe any of this?" I asked.
"Because deep down, you already do." Dante held out his hand, palm up. "Touch my marks. You'll feel it. The truth. The magic. Whatever you want to call it."
"This is crazy."
"Maya, we have two hours until the courthouse. Marcus is going to expose me. You need to decide—do you trust what he says, or do you trust what you feel when you look at me?"
I stared at his outstretched hand, at the golden symbols glowing faintly beneath his skin.
Everything logical said run. This man was either insane or inhuman. Either way, he was dangerous.
But when I looked in his eyes, I didn't see a threat. I saw desperation. Fear. And something that looked an awful lot like love.
"If I touch those marks," I said slowly, "and I feel something—anything—that proves you're not human... I'm taking Lily and running. No wedding. No protection. I'd rather face Marcus alone than bind myself to something I don't understand."
"Fair enough." Dante's hand didn't waver.
I reached out, my fingers trembling.
The moment my skin touched his marks, the world exploded with golden light.
I gasped as images flooded my mind. Centuries of couples falling in love. Dante watching from the shadows, always alone, always separate. His endless longing for something real. His decision to give up immortality. His first moment seeing me through the window—the shock, the recognition, the immediate need to protect.
And underneath it all, a thrumming power that was definitely not human.
I jerked my hand back, stumbling.
"Oh my God. You're telling the truth."
"Yes."
"You're actually—you were actually—" I couldn't say it. Couldn't make my mouth form the word 'Cupid' about a real person standing in front of me.
"I was. Now I'm transitioning to human." Dante lowered his hand. "In a few days, I'll be completely mortal. These marks will fade. My memories of being a Cupid will disappear. I'll just be Dante Rossi, tattoo artist, trying to figure out how to live a normal human life."
"And the wedding? Marrying me? Is that part of some Cupid plan?"
"No." His voice was fierce. "It's part of my plan to protect you. To give Lily a safe home. To stop Marcus from winning." He paused. "And maybe—if you'll let me—to see if what I'm feeling for you is real. If I can have my own love story instead of just creating them for others."
My heart was racing. This was insane. Completely insane.
But Marcus was worse. Marcus was human evil enhanced by demonic influence.
At least Dante was trying to become human. Trying to do good.
"If we do this," I said carefully, "if I marry you—you stay away from Lily until I say otherwise. You don't use any magic or powers or whatever around her. And the second you give me any reason not to trust you, this ends. Understood?"
"Understood." Relief flooded Dante's face.
"And one more thing." I stepped closer, looking him directly in the eyes. "Why? Why risk everything for us? For me?"
Dante's marks glowed brighter, responding to the question. "Because when I saw you through that window, something in me recognized something in you. My supervisor called it a soul bond. The one person in all existence meant for me. And I've waited three thousand years to feel this. I'm not walking away now."
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed.
Marcus's number.
I answered on speaker.
"Good morning, Maya." His voice was sickeningly cheerful. "Ready for your big day? Oh wait—there won't be a wedding. Because I'm at the courthouse right now with the judge, showing him evidence that your fiancé is either a dangerous fraud or literally inhuman. Either way, you're done. Lily is mine. And there's nothing your monster boyfriend can do to stop me."
The line went dead.
Dante and I stared at each other.
"He's at the courthouse," I whispered. "Right now. With the judge."
"Then we need to go. Now." Dante grabbed the coffee and pastries. "Get Lily. We're getting married today, and we're stopping Marcus's lies before they can spread."
"How?"
His marks blazed with golden fire. "Because I might be losing my Cupid powers, but I haven't lost them yet. And it's time Marcus learned what happens when you threaten a Cupid's fated mate."
Something in his voice made me believe him.
We were going to war.