Coop’s phone buzzed annoyingly. He ignored it and pulled Skye’s sleeping frame closer to his, hooking one leg round hers as if to hold her in place and prevent her from ever leaving. She murmured something and reached behind her, her hand seeking the warmth of his skin.

The phone buzzed again. Skye shifted slightly, the sound finally penetrating her sleep, and her eyes fluttered open.

‘Your phone,’ she muttered.

Coop propped himself up on one elbow and gazed down at her. ‘I can’t hear anything,’ he said softly.

The corners of her mouth curved upwards. ‘Nothing?’ she teased.

‘Not a thing,’ he asserted, pressing his lips against her temple. ‘Other than my heart, which is probably thudding loudly enough to wake the dead. It must be the excitement of waking up next to you.’

Skye turned towards him, wishing she could see his face and look into his eyes to read the expression there.

‘I’m pretty excited too,’ she whispered.

Coop trailed one finger down the curve of her waist and she shivered. Then the phone buzzed yet again.

‘You should probably get it,’ Skye said.

‘I should probably throw the damn thing into the pool,’ he grumbled, reaching over her to scoop it up from the bedside table and answer it.

‘Love God speaking,’ he purred into the receiver while lazily caressing Skye’s bottom lip with his thumb.

‘Where in the hell have you been?’

‘Hello, Mother.’

Skye abruptly sat up and pulled away from him, her eyes wide.

‘I simply do not have time for your flippant, devil-may-care attitude. Why didn’t you answer your phone before now?’

‘I was busy. You should be happy, mother,’ he said, keeping a careful watch on Skye. ‘I’ve done what you thought I never would.’

‘And what’s that exactly?’ Aphrodite snapped.

‘Fallen in love.’The tone of Coop’s voice was soft but, nonetheless, Skye’s entire body tensed and her mouth dropped open.

There was a moment of engulfing silence. Coop reached out and squeezed Skye’s hand, barely registering the fact his mother was no longer speaking. His concern was the woman in his bed.

It wasn’t long, however, before Aphrodite found her voice. ‘Interesting,’ she said, in a tone which conveyed entirely the opposite. ‘And would this be the reason why I’ve just discovered you missed a target yesterday?’

Coop frowned. How in the hell did she manage to find these things out?He shrugged. ‘I suppose so,’ he answered eventually. ‘It wasn’t a problem though. I corrected it immediately. Besides,’ he chided, ‘you should be happy for me. I’ve finally discovered the meaning of love. True love. It turns out it does exist, after all.’

Aphrodite failed to notice the sincerity in her son’s voice. ‘I have had enough of your cynicism and antipathy towards everything our family stands for,’ she said. ‘You have an hour to present yourself at Olympus.’

Coop opened his mouth to retort, but she had already hung up. He sighed heavily.

‘What’s wrong?’ Skye asked anxiously.

‘It’s my mother,’ he answered. ‘She insists I show my face at Olympus within the next sixty minutes. Frankly, I’m tired of being at her beck and call.’He leaned over and kissed her. ‘I’ve got you, Skye. Why would I ever need anyone else?’

She pulled back. ‘You’re going to go, though?’

‘And leave this “hallowed temple, this soft bed”?No way.’

Skye wasn’t going to be distracted, even by the poetry of John Donne.

‘She’s your mother.’

‘I’m not a little boy. And she can’t treat me like I’m her servant.’

Skye was silent for a moment, then she took a deep breath and spoke. ‘Coop, do you think maybe she treats you that way because you’ve been acting like a little boy?’

He stiffened.

‘I’m not trying to be hurtful,’ Skye interjected, reaching out one hand towards him. ‘It sounds crazy but I think I’m in love with you too. I never thought…’ Her voice trailed off for a second.

‘You think I’m a little boy?’ he asked flatly.

‘I know you’re not. But,’ Skye looked down, ‘you have been a bit, um, self-centred sometimes.’

Coop moved back, pulling himself out of bed.

‘Don’t be annoyed. I’m sorry, Coop, I shouldn’t have said anything.’Skye hugged her knees to her chest, dismayed that she was already screwing things up.

‘No,’ he answered, sounding distant. ‘You’re right. I have been acting like a petulant, spoilt brat. The way I treated you proves that.’

‘Coop…’

‘Shh,’ he said, opening his vast wardrobe to hunt down something suitable to wear. ‘You need to say what you really think, Skye. I need you to say what you really think. Because being with you makes me want to be a better person. A more mature person. You deserve the best and you shouldn’t be afraid to tell me what you think. I’m going to go to my mother and prove to her that I’ve changed.’ He licked his lips. ‘Or at the very least that I’m changing.’

Skye blinked, at a sudden loss for words.

‘Get dressed,’ he instructed.

‘What?’

His voice was gentle. ‘You heard me. You need to come with me to Olympus so my mother can meet you for herself. Then she’ll understand.’

‘I can’t come to Olympus!’ Skye squeaked.

‘Of course you can. I want you to meet her. I want to show you Olympus and where everything really happens. I want you to know everything there is to know about me, Skye.’

She bit her lip. ‘She sounds a bit scary.’

‘My mother?She’s a bloody dragon of a woman.’He bent over and kissed her forehead. ‘But she’ll also love you as much as I do. “Come away, O human child”,’ he quoted, ‘“To the waters and the wild. ”’

‘Well if W. B. Yeats thinks it’s alright, then I suppose I can’t argue,’ she answered, smiling up at him and trying to ignore the whirlpool of trepidation building up in the pit of her stomach.

‘It’ll all be fine.’

Skye had never seen anything like it. The golden gates which led into Olympus were vast. They swung open noiselessly as she approached hand in hand with Coop, revealing an even grander courtyard within. Standing next to the gates was a motionless guard, clad from head to toe in shiny armour. Even his face was obscured by a helmet. Intricate eyeholes were carved into the bronze, but all Skye could see through them were dark shadows. She shivered.

‘Oh my God,’ she whispered.

‘Oh my gods,’ Coop corrected with a laugh.

She dragged her gaze away from the sinister guard and looked around. The guard didn’t move a muscle, allowing the pair of them to walk through. ‘Everything’s so pristine and perfect.’

‘Believe me, it gets rather tiresome after a while,’ Coop said as they passed a gigantic statue of Zeus glaring down at them with a thunderbolt clenched in his frozen fist. ‘All this white marble and gold opulence. Spend too long here and you’ll find yourself longing for something more mundane and down-to-earth.’

‘Is that why you don’t live here?’

‘It gets a bit stifling,’ he admitted.

Skye stared around her. ‘I can even see my reflection in the stone. Who on earth does the cleaning?’

Coop pursed his lips. It had never occurred to him to wonder. The pair of them turned left down a sweeping corridor. Several giggling girls dressed in swathes of white fabric passed by, giving Skye curious glances.

‘You’re still invisible,’ she commented. ‘They can’t see you either.’

‘No, they can’t.’He squeezed her fingers gently. ‘It’s only temporary, Skye. Does it bother you?’

‘I’d like to know what you look like,’ she said softly. ‘To look into your eyes.’

‘You’ve got little green chips.’

‘Eh?’

He smiled. ‘In your eyes. You’ve got flecks of green. They become brighter when you’re angry. Or happy. Last night, when we were together, they were the brightest I’d ever seen. You know, when you…’

Skye went bright red. ‘Okay, you don’t need to spell it out.’

Coop laughed. ‘Don’t be embarrassed. I’m going to need to make sure I do a lot of things to make them stand out that much again. Lots and lots and lots of things.’

Skye went even redder.

Coop tugged at her hand. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘I’ll give you the guided tour later. After I’ve made your eyes go greener and after we’ve faced my mother. She’s just down this way.’

Swallowing hard, and praying the flush in her cheeks was going to die down quickly, Skye nodded and let Coop lead her down the next corridor, past open gardens with elaborate fountains and grand-looking rooms which she only caught brief glimpses of. She could have sworn that in one she spotted a man who looked as if he had the top half of a muscular man and the bottom half of a goat. She shook herself. This was certainly all a far cry from life at home. Unfortunately their short walk was over far too quickly and they were soon standing in front of an unassuming door, which was engraved simply with a single rose.

‘Her quarters are in here,’ Coop said.

‘Okay.’

‘Don’t be afraid, Skye.’

‘Okay.’

‘I mean it. I won’t let anything happen to you.’

She nodded. ‘Okay.’

He squeezed her hand once more and pushed open the door. What was revealed within was extraordinary. Skye gaped up at the high ceiling adorned with a painted landscape of cherubs and clouds dancing across a blue sky. The walls were, surprisingly, not the marble white of the corridors but instead a soft rosy pink. In the centre of the room there was a gilt table with ornate legs and a huge display of exotic flowers. And standing next to the table was the most beautiful woman Skye had ever seen. Her face was unlined, although she had a maturity about her that suggested years of wisdom and experience. Long golden hair flowed down her back, almost reaching to the floor, and her hands were clasped in front of her. She was staring at Skye with an icy blue expression in her eyes.

‘Mother,’ said Coop.

‘You’re late.’

‘I got here as quickly as I could. You didn’t give me much time to get myself and Skye ready.’

Aphrodite’s lip curled ever so slightly. ‘I didn’t ask you to bring your latest girlfriend. I asked for you.’

Skye stiffened. Latest girlfriend?

‘She’s not my latest girlfriend,’ Coop said, with a dangerous edge to his voice. ‘She’s my soulmate.’

Aphrodite folded her arms. ‘I’m not in the mood for your jokes, Cupid.’

‘And I’m not joking.’

Skye felt a tremor run through her. Coop’s goddess mother wasn’t scary; she was absolutely terrifying.

‘Well, she’ll need to wait out here. You and I are going to have some words together first.’

‘Anything you say to me, you can say to Skye also.’

Aphrodite glared. ‘We’re going to do this alone.’

Skye let go of Coop’s hand. ‘It’s okay,’ she said, giving the invisible shape beside her a small nudge. ‘I’ll wait here.’

Coop would have continued to protest to the contrary, but there was a flicker of fear in Skye’s eyes which made him relent.

‘Fine then,’ he snapped to his mother, softening his tone when he spoke to Skye. ‘I won’t be long.’

He leaned towards her, his lips gently brushing against hers. Despite her surroundings and Aphrodite’s glare, Skye still felt a shiver of pleasure run through her.

‘I won’t go anywhere,’ she promised.

Aphrodite sniffed, and turned her back on them, her sandals slapping against the cool floor. A door ahead of her opened and she entered. Coop brushed Skye’s cheek with the back of his thumb then followed his mother in. The door closed firmly behind them. Skye exhaled audibly and leaned against the wall. Coop’s mother was certainly nothing like her own warm and friendly parents. Part of her was starting to understand his relentless need to kick back against Aphrodite’s authority.

Skye shook her head to herself. This was probably going to be even more complicated than she had realised.

As soon as the door closed with a dull thud behind him, and Coop registered who else was in the room, a snarl escaped him. ‘What in the hell is he doing here?’

Apollo grinned lazily. ‘Your mother is concerned about you, Cupid. I suggested I might be able to help out.’

Flickers of hot anger ran through Coop. ‘This is ridiculous. I’m not about to let this jumped-up prick of a god give me a scolding.’

Aphrodite’s answer was cold. ‘You’ll do as I damn well say. Apollo’s been kind enough to offer us his time. You’d do well to show some gratitude.’

The scowl on Coop’s face grew. It was probably just as well he was invisible; at least it meant he didn’t have to mask what was written all over his face. His bloody mother had always had a soft spot where Apollo was concerned. If only she’d see him for what he really was, then she wouldn’t be so quick to admit him into her inner sanctum. But Coop still had Skye’s admonishment about his self-centred nature ringing in his ears. No matter what it cost him, he was going to act like someone she could be proud of. He straightened his shoulders. How hard could it be to play nice?

‘I apologise,’ he said stiffly. ‘It is very kind of you to interrupt your busy schedule to offer some counselling.’

A shadow of surprise crossed Apollo’s face, affording Coop at least some satisfaction. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

‘I fully understand,’ said the Sun God suavely. ‘It’s not easy to accept advice from others.’

‘And I’m sure your advice will be golden,’ interjected Coop.

Apollo’s eyes narrowed for a heartbeat then his features smoothed over.

Aphrodite clapped her hands. ‘Excellent. Now that’s out of the way, explain to me exactly what happened yesterday.’

The missed shot. Coop shrugged and decided the truth was his best option. ‘Skye was with me. I suppose I was trying to impress her. Or perhaps I was a bit distracted by her presence.’His voice grew earnest. ‘I really am in love with her, Mother. It’s just crept up on me. I get it now. I’ve never felt so,’ he paused, ‘so contented before. I want to make her happy. I want her to be by my side forever. I even want others to experience what I’m experiencing. If I can do that by shooting them, then I will damn well shoot them. Because nothing feels like this. It’s indescribable.’

Aphrodite studied her son. ‘You’re telling the truth.’

He looked her in the eyes. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I am.’

‘So how long have you known this Skye girl, Cupid?’ interrupted Apollo.

‘My name is Coop,’ he answered through gritted teeth.

‘Coop then. But you’ve still not answered my question.’

Apollo knew full well just how long he’d known Skye; he could hardly bring up that fact in front of his mother, though. He rolled his eyes in exasperation instead.

‘A couple of weeks. What of it?’

Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb, looking troubled. ‘Oh.’

‘What is it?This is good news, Apollo. This is all I’ve ever wanted for him.’There was a glint of happiness in Aphrodite’s eyes.

‘You’re right,’ he said slowly. ‘It’s good news. Of course it is. It’s just…’

‘What?’

Apollo shrugged. ‘It’s really not my place to say, you know. You should celebrate your good fortune.’

‘Apollo,’ Aphrodite said with a hint of steel.

He pasted on a look of embarrassment, while Coop glared at him suspiciously. Clearly Apollo was out for revenge; Coop just had to work out what he was planning so he could stop him in his tracks.

‘We don’t want to embarrass him further, Mother. Why don’t we let Apollo get back to his busy lifestyle and you can come out and meet Skye properly?’

Aphrodite, however, wasn’t paying attention. ‘Come on. Speak up,’ she insisted.

The Sun God shrugged. ‘It’s just, well, we know that Cupid – sorry, Coop,’ he corrected, ‘has made a few mistakes lately.’

Coop growled. ‘What of it?’

‘Well, if I’m not mistaken, true love on its own needs time to develop. Isn’t that right, Aphrodite? Obviously you are far more of an expert on the subject than I am.’

‘You are right,’ she answered slowly. ‘There are exceptions but without an arrow or bullet from Coop, it does usually take time. Sometimes a long time.’

Apollo gave her an innocent smile. Her eyes widened and she gasped. ‘Coop, you didn’t!’

‘Didn’t what?’ he said, not entirely sure where Apollo was heading.

‘You shot yourself!’

His mouth dropped open. ‘No. Absolutely not.’

‘How did it happen?’

‘Mother, I did not bloody well shoot myself!’

Apollo shook his head. ‘There’s no harm in admitting your mistakes, Cupid. You’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. But with the fact you shot the wrong person a couple of weeks ago, then missed someone entirely yesterday…’

Coop couldn’t help himself. He lunged towards Apollo, launching a tightly clenched fist in the direction of his face. Even though the Sun God must have known it was coming, he didn’t attempt to get out of the way.

‘Cupid!’ exclaimed Aphrodite.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Apollo. ‘Clearly the passion he feels is strong. It can only mean it’s not real.’

‘It’s bloody real, you wanker!’Coop thought quickly and switched tactics. ‘And do you know what?Even if it’s not what you call real, it doesn’t matter. You keep telling me, Mother, that the love bolts are meant to be. That they create true love. Well then, here you go. True love. What does it matter either way?’

Aphrodite looked troubled. ‘Yes, but Fate decrees…’

‘Not for gods,’ he interrupted. ‘We make our own fate.’

‘That’s true,’ said Apollo. ‘And there is, of course, another way to find out whether this is meant to be or not.’

‘What’s that, genius?’ snarled Coop.

He smiled. ‘The girl.’

Coop’s stomach dropped. The last thing he wanted was for Skye to have to deal with Apollo any more than she already had.

‘You’re right,’ Aphrodite said. ‘Has she told you she loves you?’

‘Of course she has!’

‘Are you sure?’ asked Apollo. ‘What were her exact words?’

Coop thought back, then cursed inwardly. Damn it to hell. ‘She said she thought she loved me this morning.’

‘Thought?’ There was an unpleasant gleam in Apollo’s eyes.

He sighed. ‘Yes. But I know she does. She’s shy. She wouldn’t have wanted to say it outright. She was prevaricating and thinking out loud…’

‘I don’t like this,’ said Aphrodite.

‘No,’ Apollo added. ‘Neither do I. And she is human, as well.’

‘What the fuck does that mean?’

‘Coop!Language!’

Apollo shrugged. ‘Humans have been known to twist the truth from time to time to get close to us and the seat of power. To obtain immortality. They can be very manipulative.’

The rage inside Coop boiled over. ‘She is not like that!’

Apollo met Aphrodite’s eyes; she nodded back at him, concerned.

‘There are many humans who would do almost anything to avoid the fleeting nature of their lives. The prospect of immortality is a desirable one.’

‘You can’t believe this idiot, Mother!’ Coop yelled. ‘Skye is the kindest, most trustworthy person I’ve ever met. She’s not after sodding eternal life!’

Aphrodite tapped her mouth thoughtfully. ‘Far be it from me to stop the course of true love. Especially when that love involves my son.’

Coop breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.

‘But,’ she continued, ‘we need to be sure she is genuine. That this love is genuine. There have been too many mistakes lately, Coop. I don’t need to spend any more time picking up the pieces after you. And I don’t want to see you get hurt.’

Stung, Coop took a step back and folded his arms. Let his mother and bloody Apollo do whatever they wished. All they’d discover was that he and Skye were in love. He tried to push away the tiny voice of doubt that was whispering inside his skull. She did love him; she had to.

‘So what do you propose?’

Aphrodite paused. ‘Has she ever seen you?I mean, you met her after Zeus put on the invisibility spell, right?’

‘Right,’ Coop said tiredly. ‘She doesn’t know what I look like.’

‘Well then, we use that. I’ll lift the invisibility for the next three nights between the hours of dusk and dawn only. If she can avoid sneaking in to catch a glimpse of you, then we’ll know it’s true love. It’ll mean she trusts you completely and you can trust her.’

‘She’ll have to know the spell is lifted,’ said Apollo sternly. ‘And most definitely not realise that this is a test.’

Aphrodite nodded. ‘Yes, you’re right, Apollo,’ she said.

Fuck off, Apollo, thought Coop. ‘This is ridiculous,’ he said aloud. ‘It will prove nothing.’

‘No, I think it’ll prove a lot. If she can overcome her fallible human nature, I think we can safely say her love is real.’

‘And if she fails the test,’ Apollo interjected, ‘you’ll have to agree to leave her to live out the remainder of her human life without you.’

A twist of pain wrenched at Coop’s heart. ‘What’s to stop me from leaving right now, taking her with me and never returning?’

‘You’re a god, Cupid,’ Aphrodite said softly. ‘You’ve got responsibilities. You know things don’t work that way. Sooner or later you’d be forced to return. And things wouldn’t be pretty for either you or your girlfriend. Zeus would see to that.’

Coop clenched his teeth, avoiding the expression of smug self-satisfaction on Apollo’s face. ‘Fine.’

‘Give me your word.’

‘Do you really need me to say it?By Olympus, you have my sodding word. But in three days’ time, you’ll be sorry you ever made this happen.’

Aphrodite sighed. ‘I hope so. For your sake, I really hope so.’