Valentine and Cupid lock eyes on each other through the darkness. The tension radiates between them like a real, tangible thing – a force that makes the grease scented cafeteria air feel heavy. Suffocating. But electric.

The dance worked.

This is it.

If we catch him, we can end all this.

Charlie clenches her jaw, her gaze fixed on Valentine, while Cal's expression is wary, his lips thinned into a hard line. Both have their bows raised. My heart pounds in my chest, my hand curls around an arrow in the quiver that rests against my leg.

And for a strange, fleeting moment, I feel a twinge of disappointment that I hurriedly push into the depths of my mind.

Because Valentine was about to tell me something. Something about Cupid and 'his girl'.

Suddenly, Valentine gives a slow round of applause – the claps echoing harshly around the abandoned cafeteria. I jump at the unexpected noise and I have to work hard to calm my beating heart.

"I'm almost impressed, brother," he says in his low growl. "You've used one of my tricks to get more power. Although I shouldn't be surprised. You never were one for originality..." his grin widens. "You're still not as powerful as me, though."

"We'll have to put that to the test, won't we?" says Cupid. The smile is still on his face, but it's a dangerous smile. He takes a step forward, slowly and deliberately pulling an arrow out of his quiver and twirling it between his fingers. Valentine merely stretches, placing his arms behind his head and locking his hands.

"You realize I have an army at my command? An army that can't die? What do you have?"

"He has me," says Cal.

Valentine's eyes slide lazily over to Cal. The corner of his lip twitches. Cal's eyes flash silver as they hold Valentine's gaze.

"Of course," says Valentine. "How could I forget? You two are getting on very nicely nowadays. I must admit I find that surprising. Quite the display of brotherly love. Should I be jealous that I've never quite managed to gain your brotherly approval?" He pauses, his grin widening. "You're looking very suave this evening by the way, Cal. Trying to impress someone? A girl maybe?"

Cal's eyes flash and he releases an arrow. It flies over my shoulder straight at Valentine's face. In a flicker of shadow he moves his arm from behind his head and grabs the ardor inches from his face. He clenches it, crumbling it to a pile of ash on the table between us. With a shudder I remember back in the gym, when his fingers were clenched around my neck.

Valentine laughs.

"Well...that was pretty pointless."

Cal says nothing, his gaze hard. Valentine slides his gaze over to Charlie, his eyes catching on mine as he does.

"Charlie, isn't it? We've yet to be introduced. I must say, you're looking a little worse for wear – no offence." His grin widens, "One of my army get you with an ardor? I do apologize – though in a war there must sometimes be casualties."

She glowers at him, raising her bow a little higher.

"Speaking of which," says Cupid, drawing Valentine's attention back to him. He continues to spin the ardor arrow casually between his fingers. His face is half hidden by shadow. "I'm getting a little tired of all this chit chat. Shall we get on with it?"

Valentine nods, smirking.

"My pleasure."

He looks at me and I hold his gaze.

"I'm sorry to cut our conversation short," he says. His tone is conversational; like we're old friends catching up over a cup of coffee, not enemies. Not enemies who are about to fight. "I have some business to attend to. But we'll chat when I'm done. I have a lot to discuss with you."

I grit my teeth – feeling a surge of hatred, but also unbidden curiosity burning deep inside me. His blue eyes glint as they hold mine – as though he knows I want to talk to him but hate myself for it.

"We have nothing to discuss," I say.

"Of course we do, Lila."

"Don't speak to her," says Cupid – an edge of anger in his tone for the first time.

Valentine ignores him. Merely clicks his fingers – his eyes still on me.

A whooshing sound fills the air and both Cal and Charlie dive aside as a series of arrows fly through the open door and hit the wall above the kitchens. One hits Cupid in the back but again he doesn't react, merely charges forward toward Valentine. The four zombie cupids he had stationed in the school, though, jump on him before he can get to us.

"I'll make sure my undead friends keep you around so they can bring you to me later," says Valentine.

My hand clenches around the arrow at my side. I'm aware of a flicker of movement from Cupid to the left, but before I even consciously realize what I'm doing I've hurled myself over the table at Valentine, anger raging through my body like fire – arrow raised at his chest.

Valentine instantly grabs my wrist – his fingers a hot vice around my skin. He smiles creating the small dimples on his cheeks that give an unexpected softness to his tough looking demeanor. Then he pulls the arrow – and me with it – closer. He slowly sinks it into his chest, inhaling sharply, then letting out a small release of breath as he does.

The ardor disintegrates between us and I breathe in abruptly. Valentine leans forward as my body is pulled further into the table edge.

"I know something that you don't," he whispers – his hot breath tickling my ear.

I pull back, look at him – our faces inches from each other.

"What?! What do you know?!"

His eyes glint violently as a smirk plays on his lips. It antagonizes me, fills me with unease. And an ice cold dread grips around my heart and squeezes tight. I feel like I can barely breathe as the adrenaline fills me.

Reflexively I grip the collar of his blue shirt – wrench him closer. Again, the salty scent of the ocean washes over me. Something unreadable flashes across his eyes.

"What?! Tell me!"

Then, he is torn out of my grasp, hard; his grip on my wrist released. I'm left holding a small piece of his shirt.

"Easy, Lila," I hear him taunt – his voice breathless, "no need to rip my clothes off. You can..."

But his words are stopped as Cupid's fist meets his face while he holds him against the far wall. I drop the scrap of material – disgust filling me.

Around me arrows fly. There's a swishing blur of Charlie's black hair, and Cal's grey suit as they face the undead. I'm aware of Cupid and Valentine exchanging blows across the room, grunting, tables breaking as they throw each other around - but my attention is interrupted before I can discern who is winning.

"LILA!" Cal roars. "BEHIND YOU!"

I spin around. A brown haired, tired looking male – charges toward me in a quick disjointed fashion. I grab my bow and arrows, aim – and shoot. I hit him in the shoulder with a black, cupid arrow and he stumbles backward before starting toward me once more. I draw again, fire – my heart beating fast. This time I get him in the chest and he falls to the floor.

I turn, breathless – catching Charlie leaping over an upturned table for cover from a rain of arrows, while Cal blocks the blows of one of the males in quick succession before grabbing his head, snapping his neck, and ramming a black arrow into his chest.

He turns to look at me, giving me a nod of approval at the zombie I just disposed of, before turning to face one of the others.

"Lila!" Charlie yells across the chaos. "Some help here!"

I run toward her – skidding on the floor to position beside her behind the table – as she covers me, sending a rain of arrows at the remaining two cupids. She crouches beside me, both our backs leant against the hard wood as the fight carries on around us.

"You OK?" I ask her.

She meets my eyes. I notice her skin is shining with a light sheen of perspiration. Her chest moves up and down quickly, and her breath is a little ragged. The image of her writhing around on the floor – consumed with the torture arrow springs to mind. I wonder if it still hurts her.

She nods.

"Yeah. You?"

I think of Valentine's eyes on me.

I know something that you don't.

I swallow hard.

"Yeah."

There's a thunking sound as a stream of arrows hit the back of the upturned table we're leant against. I jump – adrenaline courses through my veins. Charlie and I hold each other's gaze a moment, then nod. Together we turn and shoot more arrows over the top. We both hit the same dark haired female, sending her to her temporary death – while Cal fights the remaining one, blocking his blows with ease before throwing him across the room to lie beside one of the other bodies.

He catches my eye, a dangerous look on his face that I've never seen on Cal before, then turns to Valentine and Cupid.

I follow his gaze, my breath catching in my throat.

It's hard to say who is winning. Both are moving in a flicker of shadow so quickly that it's hard to keep up with whose strikes are hitting their target, and whose are being blocked. Cupid is definitely stronger than before – and he's holding his own better than the previous time they fought – but still Valentine has more power.

I don't know how we can capture him if this continues.

Cal raises his bow – points it at the two of them – pauses a moment, his shoulders tensed beneath his grey jacket. He shifts his aim slightly at the blur of masculine bodies moving in the darkness.

"He's not going to fire is he?! If he misses he could hit Cupid," whispers Charlie at my side. "If he distracts Cupid it's over. He's only just managing to hold his own. He could get away."

I find my fingers clenching against the edge of the table. My heart beats fast.

"He won't miss," I say.

I'm not sure if I believe it, or if it's some kind of silent prayer.

Please don't miss, Cal.

Cal shifts his position again as Cupid and Valentine crash into a table, snapping its legs and falling to the floor; a calm, silent figure among the chaos of his two brothers. I catch a glimpse of Cupid being dragged to his feet by Valentine – before Valentine punches him in the jaw and the two are moving again.

"Come on, Cal," I whisper under my breath.

As though he hears me, suddenly he releases.

I feel Charlie tense beside me.

I watch with baited breath as the arrow travels through the dark air into the mass of moving bodies. Then Valentine flies backward into the metal serving counter with a clatter – an ardor sticking out from his chest and a surprised look in his eyes.

I smile.

"Thanks, brother," says Cupid as he strides toward Valentine, grabs his shirt, and pummels his head back into the metal.

Cal follows him as Valentine slides his booted foot beneath Cupid and sends him flying to the ground. Valentine jumps up but Cal is there in his path, swinging a fist into his jaw. Valentine stumbles, wincing. He looks down at the ground for a moment.

Then he moves his gaze back to Cal, a grin spreading on his face.

He laughs.

"That's hardly the way to thank me for keeping you alive, now, is it?" they hold each other's gaze, Valentine standing taller than Cal. "I may have to rethink that when I get back to the ship."

Cold panic fills me.

"Well pass my regards on to our mother when you do that, why don't you?" says Cal, his voice laced with ice. "Momma's boy." He adds under his breath.

Cal raises his fist again. Valentine blocks it – headbutting Cal in the face and sending him flying into Cupid who is just getting to his feet. The two are hurled back into the nearest table. At the same time the four dormant zombie cupids jerk back into sitting positions.

"I better be going," says Valentine.

In a flicker of movement, he heads toward the door.

I jump to my feet – hurl myself at him as he passes. At the same time, I sense Charlie leaping up to face a couple of the undead as they charge at her.

I crash into Valentine – sending the two of us flying to the ground. Struggling for breath, I hurl myself on top of him and grab his neck with both hands. Valentine grins. Then he flips me over with ease – moving his crushing weight on top of me.

I sense Cupid charging toward us – but his focus is so fixated on me that he doesn't see the two undead leap out and jump on him. Somewhere inside I know he won't reach us in time.

Valentine's eyes lock onto mine; surprise and amusement flicker around his blue irises. I'm pinned down. I can't move.

"As touched as I am that you want me to stay, I have to go, Lila."

He pushes his arms against the floor, lifting his weight slightly from my body. I grab his torn shirt again – pull him back.

"Don't hurt Cal," I say. "I'll kill you if you hurt him."

He merely smiles.

"It's been nice seeing you again, Lila," he says.

I struggle beneath him, jerking up my knee to hit him in the groin. He grunts. Looks down at me, his eyes flashing. Then, out of nowhere, an arm curls around his neck, big, muscular, and tattooed.

Valentine is lurched to his feet – the weight lifted completely off me.

"Sleep," the voice is low, British, familiar.

Huh?

I roll over, look up, and see Mino dressed in his police uniform – his hands around Valentine's head, their faces close, their eyes locked. Valentine grabs Mino's arms and makes to pull away – confusion and amusement plain on his features.

"SLEEP," roars Mino – retaining eye contact.

There's a momentary flicker of surprise on his face before he crumples to the floor beside me.

Relief washes over me.

He's unconscious.

Mino looks across the canteen at Cupid, Cal, and Charlie – each glowering and smeared with blood as they stand over a pile of zombie bodies – to me on the floor. Then he shoots a sideways glance at Crystal who stands at his side – bow raised and eyes burning fiercely blue.

He shakes his head slowly.

"What a mess," he says – a half smile tugging at his lips. "Bloody cupids..."

He turns and makes for the door – turning to linger in the frame arms folded across his broad chest. Crystal lowers her bow.

"I thought you might need some back up," she says. She looks at Valentine. "Mino's broken into his mind – sent him to sleep - but it won't last long on someone so powerful. We need to get him back to the Matchmaking Service so we can get him into a sim for questioning."

She slings her bow back over her body, then takes a step back toward the door.

"Cupid, Cal – grab him. And let's go. Let's find out where he's keeping these zombie hearts."