Arrows Read Online Free Page A

guard, who took it with robotic-like stealth. “Phoebe is part of this whole mess, just as much as you. But you’re the one going to Earth.”
    Deep down, I’d been waiting for someone to find out. That’s the thing about guilt. You don’t want your secrets exposed, but the guilt keeps you up at night. The guilt changes who you are and throws you into a dark corner, alone. Even my flawless work ethic since finals couldn’t make up for what we’d done.
    My father pawed through a folder full of papers, almost as if he didn’t understand what he was doing, either. “Ninety days. There’s no Blackout for anyone if you can fix this.”
    “But how do you get someone to fall in love without an arrow?” I asked.
    Dad froze for a long time before answering. The room felt humid, almost eerie, as if fog had crept down the mountain to conceal us. “There’s more to love than arrows.”
    “Like what?”
    “Here.” He handed me a photo. “Her name is Karma Clark. She got pregnant. The couple—the two from that night—they have a family now.” She had these pretty, deep-set big eyes and a mouth that turned up at the corners.

    My father held out a second image. “Danny Bader. Get him to propose. Talk to him, reason with him, talk to the girl, too. Karma. Help him fall in love with her.”
    I shook my head slowly. “This isn’t going to work.”
    “You’re going to Earth as a human.”
    Diorthosis, the god who fixed things, stepped into the room but didn’t meet my eyes. He had the features of an ornate sculpture and appeared to be chiseled from gold.
    “Everything will be taken care of while you’re there,” Dad said, sliding another item from the folder. Bold letters were typed on the card. We’d learned in prep school about IDs and other objects humans use on Earth. Never thought I’d need them, though. “Use the name Aaryn Jones when you need help. Diorthosis will keep everything straight. He can influence humans to help you.”
    “To an extent,” Diorthosis said.
    We turned to the sound of someone running toward the door. The curtain snapped aside.
    My mother. We hadn’t spent much time together since she and Dad split. The fact that she was here scared me a little. Dark hair billowed around her face—her face, always a source of scorn among the goddesses; a face too beautiful, they warned, like that was a bad thing.
    “Aaryn!” She hugged me.
    “It’s time to go,” Dad said.
    My mother reached to cup my face, an action that showed the golden sun tattoo on her upper arm—the mark that reminded us she was once human. “Promise me you’ll try to enjoy it,” Mom said. Her hand relaxed. She absently touched the tattoo. “You will feel much different than you do now, and…there will be so much to see and feel.”

    “Tell Phoebe I’ll be back for her,” I said.
    “You’re destined to be powerful,” Dad said. “I know how hard you’ve worked to learn everything. You can do this.”
    One of the guards filled a syringe. It didn’t resemble the needles I’d seen on Earth, clear tubes with pinprick noses. This device was made of metal, its end the size of a drinking straw. The liquid that filled its gut was thick and yellow. Mom held three fingers to her mouth and looked like she might cry.
    “I love you so much,” she said.
    My father’s grim nod was the only command needed for the syringe to be plunged through my skin. I yelled as the serum seared through my body like fire. The world exploded before my eyes.
    All I could see after that was Mom’s face leaning toward me, whispering, “You deserve to know the truth.”
    And then blackness.

“What did Jen want?”
    My face must have given away my worry, because Peyton hitched her hand on her spandex-covered waist and read over my shoulder. Her face scrunched. “ ‘I heard about Danny’?” she read. “What is that supposed to mean? Heard what?”
    I arched my back and gave a little roll of my shoulder. “Who knows. Probably