For the Love of Cupidity: A Valentine’s Day Novella (Heart Hassle Book 4)

I go for innocence, and I twirl my hair around my finger. If he is mad about me brining cupids here, maybe I can distract him long enough to waddle away.

I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “Oh, do you own that restaurant, Elder Mortel? It’s super nice. The stairs were kinda scary. The lighting was good, though. And the meat. The meat was extra juicy.”

I don’t know what it is with me and meat juice tonight.

“Was I supposed to get, like, a cupid permit? A realm Visa? I’m not sure how this works, but I’m sorry if I was supposed to get your permission first.”

Elder Mortel cuts me off. “I actually have a request for you.”

I blink in surprise. “Oh. Okay.”

“There are three mating ceremonies taking place in two days. Unfortunately, we’ve run out of our genfin mating nectar. You remember?” he asks. “The chalice you drank out of with the blood added?”

My cheeks instantly warm at the memory of my genfins and me in heat. It was…intense. But…wait. “What exactly is genfin nectar?”

Sylred cringes. “You don’t want to know.”

Okay. Moving on.

“Without that nectar, genfins don’t go into heat. And without going into heat, their bond won’t properly form, and if the bond doesn’t form, then their covey magic doesn’t connect.”

I’m pretty sure he’s asking me to make a bunch of genfins horny for each other.

“Please,” he says, when I don’t answer right away. “Our resources are low, and the nectar won’t be ready for another month.”

“Of course I’ll help,” I say, putting him at ease. “This is actually perfect. I’ll bring my trainees with me, and they can do it as their assignment. It’ll be excellent practice before Valentine’s Day.”

He has no idea what Valentine’s means, but he rolls with it and gives me a smile. “Perfect! The ceremonies will take place in the pavilion at nightfall. I can trust you and your cupids to be there?”

“Totally.”

The elder pats me on the shoulder and mutters something about, “Helpful cupids,” before walking off.

I instantly turn to my mates with a beaming smile. “Did you see that? Your genfin elder totally just asked me for help.”

“We saw,” Sylred chuckles.

“That was so awesome! And now I’ll get to give my cupids some real-life experience.”

“Was that…Elder Mortel?”

I turn to look at Resha as she comes pushing through the other parents.

I nod. “Yep.”

“He’s the most prominent member on the elder council. Why was he talking to you?”

“He asked me for help,” I say proudly.

She frowns.

“Ready to go?” Ronak asks me.

I nod as a yawn overtakes me. “Yep. Someone carry me, though. I’m too tired to walk. Also, my feet hurt. Also, I want another honey cake for the road.”

“Already got it for you,” Sylred says, handing me one.

“Gods, you’re just the best,” I say, taking it.

We say our goodbyes to the parents, and then I look between Ronak and Okot as I bite into the cake, waiting to see who will take me. Ronak rolls his eyes, but he scoops me up bridal style and starts heading away.

When we’re back in the carriage, I rest my head against Sylred’s shoulder. “That was fun.”

Sylred kisses the top of my head. “It was.”

“Resha totally almost likes me,” I say around a yawn.

“You have nothing to prove to my mother,” Ronak says with a frown.

“Yeah. She’s a bitch. She calls her housekeeper, Housekeeper. The male has worked for her for fifty years, and she still can’t call the fucker by name. Don’t kill yourself trying to impress her,” Evert says.

“I think she’s just unhappy,” I admit. “I realized that I don’t pick up any love mojo coming off of her.”

I peek up at Ronak to see how he receives this news, but he just looks resigned.

“You know that your parents aren’t in love?” I ask, surprised.

Ronak just shrugs. “Most genfin mate matches are arranged. The males put in a request for a mate, but it has to be approved by the elders. Since there are so few genfin females, it’s usually multiple coveys vying for the same female. The one with the highest social standing gets first choice.”

“Huh. That’s sad.”

“It’s just the way things are.”

“Love isn’t guaranteed just because people bond as mates. We got lucky,” Sylred says.

My eye twitches with power, and a pile of four-leaf clovers land on our laps out of nowhere.

We stare in surprise for a beat, and then my guys just simply dust themselves off, shoving the clovers to the floor. They’re used to my weird magical bouts by now. Nothing really phases them much.

I spend the rest of the carriage ride mulling over the conversation. Now it all makes sense. Why Viessa, another genfin female, asked me to help her to love her mates. Why Ronak’s mother doesn’t seem happy. How genfin mate matches are made. It’s sad to me knowing that most of them don’t even love the genfins that they’re bonded to.

Coming up with an idea, I smile to myself.

Evert narrows his eyes at me. “What’s that for?”

“I’m just smiling. I like to smile,” I defend.

“You’re planning something.”

The other guys groan. Even Okot.

I get a lot of that. Granted, some of my ideas are not the best. Like the time I planned to surprise Sylred by carving him a new instrument. I nearly lost a finger. Not mine—Evert’s. He still has a scar.

Oh, well. This time, my idea is brilliant, and there’s almost zero chance of me cutting off anyone’s body parts. At least, I hope.