Dante's POV
We ran.
Maya grabbed Lily from upstairs while I called Elena, my phone pressed to my ear as we rushed to my truck.
"Marcus is at the courthouse with the judge," I said the moment Elena answered. "He's showing them the painting. We're out of time."
"Then you're out of options too." Elena's voice was grim. "If you use your Cupid powers in front of humans—in front of a judge—you'll expose our entire world. The Council will erase you from existence. No transition. No humanity. Just gone."
"I'm not letting him win."
"Then find another way. A human way." Elena paused. "And Dante? That painting is real. It exists in the historical record. You can't deny it's you. So you'd better have a damn good explanation ready."
She hung up.
Maya buckled Lily into the back seat, her hands shaking. "What if we're too late? What if the judge already believes him?"
"Then we convince them otherwise." I started the engine, my Cupid marks burning beneath my skin. They knew I was about to fight for my mate. They were trying to give me every ounce of power they had left.
The drive to the courthouse took eight minutes. Eight minutes of Maya checking her phone, Lily asking confused questions about why they were rushing, and me calculating how to stop Marcus without destroying everything.
We burst through the courthouse doors at 8:47 AM—thirteen minutes before our scheduled wedding appointment.
And stopped dead.
Marcus stood in the main hallway with three people: a judge still in her morning coffee run clothes, a social worker with a tablet, and a police officer.
They all turned to look at us.
"Ah, there she is." Marcus's smile was pure poison. "Your Honor, this is my ex-wife Maya and her... fiancé. The one I was telling you about."
The judge—an older woman with sharp eyes—looked at me with open suspicion. "Mr. Rossi, I presume?"
"Yes, Your Honor." I kept my voice calm, even though my marks were screaming to unleash everything on Marcus. "I apologize for the unusual circumstances—"
"Unusual?" Marcus laughed. "Your Honor, as I showed you, this man appears in a painting from 1823. Unchanged. That makes him either immortal, which is impossible, or running a sophisticated identity fraud scheme. Either way, my daughter shouldn't be near him."
The social worker stepped forward, her expression concerned. "Ms. Chen, I'm Linda Morris from Child Protective Services. I received an emergency call this morning about potential danger to your daughter. I need to ask you some questions."
"No." Maya's voice shook but held firm. "No, you don't. Because this is a setup. My ex-husband is manipulating you all."
"I'm manipulating them?" Marcus pulled out his phone, showing the painting. "This is publicly available historical record. A ball in Venice, 1823. And that man—" he pointed at me, "—is clearly visible in the background. Same face. Same build. Explain that, Maya. Explain why you're marrying someone who's either a con artist or something worse."
The judge studied me carefully. "Mr. Rossi, that is a remarkable resemblance."
"It's my great-great-grandfather." The lie came easily, smoothly. I'd prepared for this. "Dante Valenti. I was named after him. My family kept the portraits. I even have DNA records proving my lineage, if you need them."
Marcus's smile faltered slightly. He hadn't expected me to have an answer ready.
"DNA records can be faked," he said quickly.
"So can concern for a daughter you haven't called in months." Maya stepped forward, and I saw the moment she stopped being scared and started being angry. "You're doing this because you can't stand that I'm moving on. That I found someone who actually cares about me and Lily. This isn't about her safety. It's about your ego."
"Your Honor—" Marcus started.
"Mr. Chen." The judge held up her hand. "I have to say, showing up with a painting and demanding emergency intervention does seem... excessive. Especially before the scheduled wedding appointment. How did you even know they were getting married today?"
Marcus's confidence cracked. Just a little. "I... I have rights to information about my daughter's living situation."
"Stalking isn't a right," I said quietly. "You've been watching Maya's house. Photographing her without consent. Threatening her. There's a pattern of harassment here that has nothing to do with parenting and everything to do with control."
The police officer's expression shifted, becoming more alert. "Sir, have you been surveilling Ms. Chen's residence?"
"I'm protecting my daughter from a dangerous situation!"
"By photographing her mother unconscious on the floor and using it as blackmail?" Maya pulled out her phone, showing Marcus's threatening texts. "By sending messages saying you'll destroy me? By putting Rebecca in the hospital when she tried to warn me about your custody plans?"
The social worker's eyes widened. "What happened to Rebecca?"
"She's in the hospital." I pulled up the photo Elena had sent me. "Beaten unconscious two days ago. Right after she called Maya to warn her about Mr. Chen's intentions."
"That's a lie!" Marcus's composure shattered completely. "I never touched Rebecca! She—she fell down the stairs!"
"Then why did you text me a photo of her injuries as a threat?" Maya's voice was steel now. "Why did you say 'look what happens to people who cross me' if you had nothing to do with it?"
The judge's expression had gone from suspicious to alarmed. "Officer, I think we need to see all of Mr. Chen's communications with Ms. Chen."
"No." Marcus backed up a step. "No, you're twisting everything. I came here to protect my daughter from a fraud, and now you're—you're making me the villain!"
"You are the villain," Maya said softly. "You always have been. I was just too scared to say it out loud."
Something in Marcus's eyes changed. Darkened. And I felt it—the demonic influence Elena had warned me about, surging forward as Marcus lost control.
"You want to know the truth about your precious fiancé?" Marcus snarled, his voice taking on an edge that wasn't quite human. "Fine. Let's show them what you really are, Dante."
He lunged forward and grabbed my arm, ripping up my sleeve.
My Cupid marks blazed to life, glowing brilliant gold in the courthouse hallway. Every symbol, every ancient line of power, lit up like fire.
The judge gasped. The social worker stumbled backward. Even the officer reached for his weapon.
"What the hell—" the officer started.
"He's not human!" Marcus shouted triumphantly, even as his own eyes flickered with an unnatural red glow that the others couldn't see but I could. The demon was showing itself. "Look at him! Those aren't tattoos! He's some kind of monster, and you almost let him marry into my family!"
Maya stared at my glowing marks, at the undeniable proof of what I was, exposed for everyone to see.
The courthouse security alarms started blaring.
More officers poured into the hallway.
And I realized, with crushing certainty, that Marcus had won.
He'd forced me to expose myself in front of witnesses. In front of a judge. In front of the law.
There was no explaining this away.
Elena's warning echoed: If you expose our world, the Council will erase you from existence.
The marks on my arms began to burn, not with power, but with pain. The Council was already reacting, already preparing to make me disappear.
"Dante—" Maya's voice was small, terrified.
I looked at her, memorizing her face. Because in a few seconds, I might not exist anymore.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
Then the courthouse doors exploded inward.
Elena stood in the entrance, her white eyes blazing with ancient fury, no longer bothering to hide what she was.
"Everybody STOP!" Her voice carried power that made every human in the hallway freeze in place, unable to move.
She walked toward us, her gaze locked on Marcus. "You really thought you could use demon magic in my territory and I wouldn't notice?"
Marcus's red eyes widened. "You—you're—"
"Much older and far more powerful than the pathetic demon using you as a puppet." Elena waved her hand, and black smoke poured from Marcus's mouth and nose. He collapsed, unconscious.
The demon smoke formed into a small, twisted creature that Elena trapped in a glowing cage with a gesture.
She looked at the frozen humans—the judge, the social worker, the officers—and sighed.
"Dante, we have about thirty seconds before the Council arrives to erase you. And her. And everyone who saw." Elena's expression was grim. "So here's your choice: Let me wipe their memories and handle this, or stand here and let the Council erase all of you from existence. Including Lily."
I looked at Maya, still frozen but with tears streaming down her face.
"Do it," I said. "Save them. I don't care what happens to me."
Elena raised her hand toward the frozen humans.
"WAIT!"
A new voice boomed through the courthouse.
An elderly man in ancient robes appeared from thin air, radiating power that made even Elena step back.
The Council had arrived.
And they looked very, very angry.