Davin started towards the door of the Oracle's office, his suit whispering behind him. He would start searching. He wouldn't stop until he had seen this girl, this beautiful and mysterious girl, for himself.

He wouldn't stop until his arrow was embedded in her heart, sealing their fates forever. Everyone deserves happiness, don't they? And after years of never having it, Davin wanted it so badly that it made his entire being shake.

The picture of Skylar Kaine was still clutched in his hand, an image in red of what his future could be. Davin wanted that future more than life itself. His life has fallen into the same, dreary routine. The world had lost its color and vivid splendor as Davin traveled every corner of it. He had visited every place the planet had to offer: soared over mountains and oceans and valleys and cities... there was no wonder left for him. Not until now.

Not until he knew of Skylar Kaine's existence.

"Cross, you can't do this!" Beck cried, stepping in Davin's way. "It's against the law! Cupids are forbidden to shoot unauthorized targets!"

Davin glanced down at The Oracle who was lying flat on the littered floor.

"His vision was authorization enough." He responded. "But you can't stop me from doing this, Beck."

His friend gazed up at him, scarlet frustration creeping into her face.

"Get ahold of yourself!" She screeched, folding her arms across her chest. Her back was planted firmly in front of the door. "Aphrodite will have your wings for this, Cross. She'll take away your rank if you break a rule like this." Her jaw tightened. "Aphrodite can even remove your immortality. She can take away everything that makes you a god."

Davin stared Beck down, his golden eyes colliding with her green ones. He was aware of how close they were, two friends daring each other to make the next move.

"What if I don't want to be a god anymore?" Davin whispered.

A curl of Beck's hair lifted and settled against her blouse as her face paled. Her lips opened and closed, no words coming out.

That's when Davin gently settled a hand on her shoulder and steered her out of the way. He pushed past her through the door, exiting the engulfing gloom of The Oracle's dark office.

His strides were large as Davin picked up the pace, determinedly navigating through the labyrinth of cubicles surrounding him like a gray jungle. With each step, he felt more empowered. With each step, he felt more free.

The hushed whispers had faded to a steady hum in Davin's ears as he quickly rounded a corner. Reaching a thick, metal vault, Davin simply stuffed his hand into his pocket and extracted his ID. Swiping it in front of the scanner, the vault swung open with a heavy hiss. Decompressed air caressed his face as Davin stepped inside.

The vault was a top-security room with sterile, white floors and metal shelves that showcased hundreds of assorted bows. The entire place was empty and cold, an atmosphere that automatically forced Davin to straighten his shoulders and breathe quietly. The weapons that gleamed in the harsh fluorescent lights were crafted in every style: some of the bows were modern and sophisticated, others were simplistic and ancient.

Davin chose a case and random, satisfied at its weight. He felt the absence of his own stolen bow more than ever, but this replacement would have to do. He squared his shoulders, determinedly reaching towards a gleaming, golden box behind him.

The moment Davin's fingers neared the lock, he felt the unmistakable surge of magic. It engulfed him in a warm, caressing song, making his entire heart feel as if it were bleeding. He bit his lip, controlling waves of passion that streamed through his blood.

Magic was always a temptation nearly impossible to resist; it took Davin years of training to learn how to block out its sickening hold on his soul.

Once he opened the box, Davin gently selected one arrow, placing it inside his black case along with his bow.

"It only takes me one shot, after all." He murmured to himself with a ghost of a smile.

Zipping up his case, he shut the golden box with a metallic click. The moment the box sealed, the overwhelming presence of magic faded from Davin's senses and was lost in memory.

He let out a shuddering breath and swiftly left the vault. Davin couldn't help but glance down at the ink drawing of Skylar Kaine as he quickly weaved through the office towards the elevators. Slowly surfacing on the paper, he spotted shadowy letters that rose and faded almost instantly.

Ten minutes-Time's Square.

Davin's heart leaped and sped up rapidly. He had only ten minutes to find a girl in the most populated city in the country.

"No big deal." Davin muttered, darting past the other Cupids. He glanced over his shoulder; no one was stopping him from leaving. He headed straight into one of the elevators, adjusting his tie as he stepped inside.

The air conditioning hit Davin in a welcome blast, sweeping across his face. His co-workers gave him puzzled glances as they took in his matted hair and disheveled suit. None of them said a word.

Elevator music chimed awkwardly in the background as various Cupids cleared their throats. As the elevator descended, Davin impatiently drummed his fingers on his leg, watching the lights finally blink at the ground floor.

The moment the doors slid open, he darted out of the confined space and into the lobby of Cupid headquarters. Davin didn't give the elegant vaulted ceilings any attention as he sprinted out of the building.

Outside, New York City buzzed and hummed like an insect in flight. Despite night's hour, people milled around the streets as cabs honked in heated anger. The dazzling city lights glittered above Davin's head like neon stars as his wings furled together and vanished.

Racing down the crowded streets, Davin checked his watch. Eight minutes. He had eight minutes to find his soulmate.

In the occupation of a Cupid, timing was everything. Unless you were in the exact meeting place at the exact time, two soul mates could drift past each other and never come close to intersecting with each other's lives ever again.

Davin shoved past the hoards of people, fighting like a fish against the current. As his shoes pounded against the pavement, as seconds ticked by, he had never felt more free. For once in his hundred years of existence, Davin felt as if he were finally chasing his own life.

Chasing life. In eight minutes.

Davin couldn't help but glance back over his shoulder at Cupid Headquarters as he distanced himself farther and farther. The tall, imposing building was fading from his view.

Gazing up into the window of his mother's office, Davin did the unthinkable. He laughed.

Leaving everything behind had never made him feel more alive.

Faster. Run faster. Davin urged himself as he stumbled through hundreds of bodies. You can't lose her. His pulse was like a drum, keeping rhythm as the skyscrapers watched on from their thrones in the sky. Out of the kaleidoscope of hearts beating around him, Davin felt as if his heart was pumping the hardest.

He strained his legs, his workcase bumping against the sides of his thighs as he pushed past a group of burly men.

"Watch it, boy." They snarled, but Davin was already halfway down the block.

His feet were tearing up the pavement, his breaths thrashing like a caged bird in his lungs.  The drawing of Skylar Kaine was gripped in his fist, red ink smearing across his palm and fingers. Six minutes.

Don't stop running. Don't ever stop running.

Sirens wailed in his ears, colliding with his coursing blood as the clock ticked in Davin's head.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick. Tock.

Skidding past a lamppost, he found himself exactly where he wanted to be. Times Square. People were everywhere, and they seemed to fall over each other as they laughed, hooted, shouted and spoke. Noise boomed in Davin's ears as his head frantically whipped around. He struggled to make out a single face in the overwhelming crowd as he searched for the only one that mattered.

"Where are you?" Davin whispered. "Where are you?"

Three minutes.

Had she not arrived yet? Was she here and he just couldn't spot her?

Blurs of faces rushed past Davin in rivulets as he stood in the middle of Time's Square. His fingers unlocked his weapon's case, and Davin noticed with a start that they were trembling.

"I never tremble." He mused, ducking out of sight towards the outskirts of the square.

Unnoticed, he pulled his bow from his case and swiftly knocked an arrow. He let his muscles slacken as he waited. And waited.

One minute.

Then, Davin felt her presence wash over him in a tidal wave. Some cosmic connection spun his head to the left, where his gaze locked onto the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Davin may have been around goddesses all his life, but Skylar Kaine was a different kind of breathtaking. Her beauty was not some intoxicating, divine mask like that of Davin's mother. It was something more subtle, more mysterious.

Her tall boots clicked slowly against the sidewalk as she wandered towards him, gazing up at the bright city lights in silent wonder. She carried herself in a bold sort of way, with her head held fearlessly high. She had the persona of someone who could take on the world and still come out standing. Skylar Kaine was wearing faded jeans, and her mane of curled brown hair bounced on the shoulders of her hunter's green jacket. Strung over her shoulder was a worn messenger bag bursting with books, thumping heavily against her side.

Davin could only stare in awe as Skylar Kaine meandered through the crowds. She swept through the masses of people unnoticed, not earning a second glance. But to Davin, she was like a dancing flame compared to them. She was vivid and lively, making her all the more lovely.

But what hit Davin the most were her eyes. They were a misty blue, but deep within them Davin saw his own soul reflected back at him. A lonely soul. A lost soul.

Davin and this girl were both alone in this world, and he couldn't help but think that they both didn't deserve to live like this. No one did.

Before Skylar Kaine had vanished from his life forever, Davin pulled back his bowstring. He anchored it against his lips, feeling the welcome strain of the pullback in his muscles. He tightened his back, his shoulders, and aimed straight for the girl's heart.

The rules of Cupid kind frantically whined in his ear like flies, but Davin tuned them out.

"I've waited too long for this." He whispered. "I've waited too long for a girl that could finally be mine."

Hundreds of years of pain and loneliness crashed down upon him as Davin took a breath. He could make it all go away with just one shot.

"I never miss."

Almost as if she had heard him, Skylar Kaine's gaze locked on his. Surprise jolted across her face. That's when Davin felt it. Inside his eyes, stinging rose, and he knew that his eyes now possessed that look that he had seen over and over again.

Love.

And that was the moment Davin released the arrow.

In a streak of blinding light, it whizzed across the square past the unsuspecting faces of civilians. Davin watched, holding his breath, as the arrow found its mark inside Skylar Kaine's heart. The moment it made contact with her chest, her body hitched slightly, sending her books toppling from her messenger bag and onto the street.

The books were about Greek Mythology.

Davin's eyes widened as Skylar Kaine then crumpled to the pavement, clutching her chest and gasping painfully.

This isn't normal, Davin thought to himself. What was going on?

Davin crossed the street in a heartbeat, falling to his knees next to her.

Her eyes should have been beaming with happiness, with joy, at seeing his face. All he saw was pain as Skylar Kaine looked up at him. Endless pain. And there was something else as she turned her face. A long, vicious, jagged scar running down the side of her cheek.

He didn't see love on the expression of Skylar Kaine. He saw something familiar instead, another look he had seen before not too long ago.

It was hatred.

People continued to mill past them as Davin kneeled down next to her, his jaw hanging ajar with shock.

The glimmering Cupid's mark on Skylar Kaine's chest was flickering in the lights of the city, a silver mark being consumed by ugly blackness. Davin could only gape at his soul mate in horror as the symbol that tied them together was swallowed in the dark and vanished from Skylar Kaine entirely.

He then looked down at his own chest in time to watch the Cupid's mark of his own fizzle and die.

And that's when Davin knew just whom he had shot, who truly was his soulmate.

"I'm going to kill you, lover boy." said The Arrow Thief.