Match Me If You Can (Cupids & Goddesses #4)

1. Where A Bargain Is Struck （Here We Go Again…）

WHERE A BARGAIN IS STRUCK (HERE WE GO AGAIN…)

The scent of toasted sunflower seeds was comforting. So was the sun in her face, which made the three women before her appear in a tense, radiant glow. It might’ve contrasted with their stature, but Hera thought it befitted their status.

Despite being swaddled like matryoshka dolls in warm clothes, the crones did not exude grandmotherly affection. Around them, the air cracked with inevitability.

Pale, ashen and ancient, the Fates watched Hera approach with a variety of expressions. Glee, expectation, curiosity.

The Spinner, the youngest of the three—though at their ages, did time even matter?—gave her a long stare and smirked. For once, Hera didn’t mind. She was at their mercy, no use for pride at this point.

“We are supposed to foresee all events, but I did not predict this one. Welcome, Your Majesty.”

It’s actually Your Imperial Majesty, Hera thought. She was an Empress, after all. For now. She let the shortening of it go.

“Fate.” Hera said in lieu of greeting, trying not to give away her slight trepidation.

She had only met the Fates a few times for all the epochs they had all been alive. Zeus loved to come talk to them occasionally. Apollo fancied himself their favorite, their blessed one. And yet, since time everlasting, Hera had kept her distance.

“Men always think they are someone’s chosen. We don’t dissuade fools. Why deprive ourselves of a little show when they inevitably fall to their doom?”

The middle Fate, the Allotter, reached for the bag of seeds; her thin, almost frail hand was covered in liver marks, her knuckles prominent.

Hera, at a loss for words, nodded at the comment. She had not come to debate the purpose of the men in her life.

Zeus… Dammit.

She did not know why she’d come.

“You do.”

And there she was. The third Fate. The Inflexible. Much older than her sisters. Her eyes were almost translucent. Blind and yet all-seeing.

“I… Yes.”

Where’s your bravery?

Hera stood a touch straighter, shoulders thrown back. If she were to go through with this, she’d need every inch of spine. Of courage.

She cleared her throat and pushed out the words.

“A deal. I would like to make a deal with you. Time and…” Hera trailed off, choosing her next move carefully. “Events of the last centuries diminished me, and I feel that it’s my time.”

The youngest cackled.

“We say when it’s anyone’s time, Your Majesty.”

Hera felt the title like a blow to her chest. An insult, a stab.

“And you say time? And events? Such a diplomatic way to speak around the truth of Zeus forsaking you. It’s a wonder you still have that crown. Still, you came. What kind of bargain are you proposing?” The second Fate chewed on the sunflower seeds, her voice mischievous.

“I did come. And the deal…” Hera stood motionless, the air around the stoop filling with inevitability. “Revenge. I want him to pay. But he—”

“You can’t touch him, as he is the ruler of Olympus. Go on.” The middle Fate encouraged.

“I want my revenge, and I am ready to bargain for it.” Hera watched the words dissolve into the cold air. The Fates’ faces showed no emotion.

“Is that why you keep helping everyone?” The youngest stole more seeds from her sister.

“Can’t say we didn’t notice. All this sudden magnanimity, from you of all Gods.

Are you so generous because you know what it would take?

What it would cost to pay him back? Out of character, wouldn’t you agree, sister?

” She reached out and touched her eldest sister’s hand.

The Inflexible pursed her lips. Hera closed her eyes.

“Oh no, keep them open. You came to us, after all. You came to ask for help. You came to make a bargain. A deal. The Empress of Olympus came to us, sisters. She has finally acknowledged us.”

All three cackled almost viciously.

“I always acknowledged you. I just never…”

Hera watched the trio exchange a long look.

“You just never felt like you had no control over your life.”

It was not a question. The Inflexible did not ask questions. Hera flinched.

“Yes. I am the Goddess of Matrimony, and I have been cast aside. Are you telling me that my premonition was correct? That it’s my time?”

“We aren’t Delphi, Olympian. If you want silly rhyming answers, go ask that charlatan oracle.” The middle sister laughed, slapping her knee. The youngest one joined in. The Inflexible did not.

“You are the Goddess of Matrimony, Your Majesty. And that man… That man ended said marriage, Empress. Divorced you. Ended that supposed respect. Ended your reign. They may still give you the royal title. But he will remarry and then what?”

Hera felt the knife sink deeper into her back. Ages and ages of betrayal washed over her like cold, dirty water.

“Then nothing. I will be nothing. Hence, I’m here. Before he takes my life away, I wish to get something back.” She couldn’t recognize her own voice.

“And you came up with a plan to punish him.” Old scissors had suddenly appeared between the Inflexible’s fingers, glimmering in her hands.

Hera bit the inside of her cheek, tasting blood.

“I have. I need your help. To make it possible for me to avenge myself. And then… Then it will be over. All of it will be over.”

“And so it shall be.” The Inflexible set the tool aside before giving Hera another unseeing look. Hera trembled ever so slightly, her chest tight, her blood cold.

“Will you tell me… Once the bargain is struck, and the plan comes to fruition… Will it be then? Will I feel it? The end of it all?”

The youngest sister stopped laughing. The middle stopped moving. The Inflexible stood up.

Small and frail, the top of her head barely reached Hera’s chin.

“No, Your Majesty. Nobody knows how they will end. Not even you. Not even us. We only know when. Still, we accept your bargain. Your soul for Zeus receiving his comeuppance. We enjoy a good show, and we know you will entertain us.” The Inflexible’s eerie eyes looked up.

“My sister, the Allotter, will give you long enough to wrap up your plan. And I will not cut the thread until it is done. Until his heart breaks. You are the Empress of Olympus, and I can promise you that much.”

Hera nodded, the ice in her chest spreading outwards.

She wondered if coming here had been a mistake.

Still, Zeus was going to marry one way or another.

This woman or the next. And then, she’d be out of time and out of options much sooner.

And Hera always worked better when she knew the exact parameters in which she operated.

If she were to go, she would go on her own terms.

Before she turned to leave, the arthritic hands reached for her, their touch surprisingly careful.

“You took up with Vengeance.” The Inflexible’s tone was even. Too even.

“I… I need her. Without her, the plan will not succeed. I can do many things, but she serves the cold plate of revenge like no other. She granted me a favor.”

There was silence from the sisters. The youngest trembled visibly. Dread lurked in the blind depths of the middle one.

“Nemesis’s favors are the rarest commodity.

And she always gets repayment. Always.” The Fate shivered.

“Even we don’t trouble Vengeance. She’s the daughter of primordial deities.

Darkness begot her, darkness consumes her.

She predates the Olympians, Empress.” The Inflexible sighed.

“Your bargain with us is nothing in comparison to the havoc Vengeance can wreak. Death cannot consume a soul like hers.”

The Fates recoiled almost in perfect sync, as the Inflexible went on.

“Her favors are impossible to obtain. Inconceivable to survive. Almost unbearable to repay. Even to us, she has never granted a favor. But then you were always reckless and thought little of consequences… I’ve watched you take on Zeus’s sins for too long to worry about you now.

So be it. After all, you have nothing to lose, Your Majesty. ”

The Fate snapped her fingers, and a long parchment unfolded in front of them. Clauses ran into clauses. Hera did not bother to read, reaching for the inked feather.

“You are mighty trusting, Your Majesty.”

The Inflexible narrowed her eyes at Hera’s hand.

“A soul for him hurting, for his heart breaking.” Hera looked up from the parchment.

The Fate nodded.

“The fine print is not for decoration.” The Inflexible tsked.

“Not in this handwriting.” Hera joked.

The sisters cackled at her words.

“You have no way out of this bargain, Your Majesty.”

“I’m not seeking one.”

“There is still the matter of your heart.”

Hera shrugged at Alloter’s statement. What were they asking of her? Her heart would not save her. It had become a barren wasteland since… Since long before Helios illuminated the skies for the first time.

“You want my heart as well as my soul? You can have it.” Hera laughed. “I’ve wasted it for all of time. It’s empty and useless. Take both. I have no use for either.”

The Fates blinked at her, their sightless eyes filled with the weight of their judgment.

The youngest opened her mouth, and Hera expected her to correct something, to add a clause, perhaps, but the Inflexible clapped her hands, and her sisters fell silent.

Whatever they wanted to add remained unsaid and the new clause was enshrined into parchment, her heart being added to the soul she had already bargained for.

And so Hera felt the weight of the judgment and the secrets settle heavily over her, even as a cut opened on her palm and a drop of her blood landed on the parchment.

She blinked, and the old house, the stoop, the scroll, the three ancient Fates were all gone, and she was standing in front of the bar, her bears racking the pool balls inside. She sighed, her shoulders moving rustily, as if she had forgotten how to relax them.

Unclenching her jaw proved to be just as unfamiliar an exercise. The Inflexible’s last words sounded like a warning in her mind.

“You have no way out of this.”

She didn’t mean to ignore it. But what good did it serve her now with her palm still smarted from the cut? She shook her head slowly as she walked into the bar and towards the woman sitting there, regal and poised. There was nothing left to do but follow through with the bargain.

No, Hera did not ignore the Fates’ warning. She strolled towards the Cupid who would put her plan into motion. And she would fulfill her role, as they all did, mortals and immortals alike.