Mismatch. At first, my hope surged and heart gleefully flipped at the thought that he really hadn't abandoned me. But he was so far away in the night sky, too far to help me. Is he here to watch me die?

I wanted to cry at the thought. The connection between us left me rattled and emotionally raw, unable to know which way was up when it came to him. I could protect myself from anyone but him.

The leader appeared in my view, the gun pointed at my head.

"Wait!" I cried and held up my hands. My ribs and back hurt, and the slashes in my abdomen and thigh burned. "Just ...wait."

He did.

"I'll jump," I said quietly.

"Good girl," he said and stepped back without lowering the gun.

A commotion started towards the rear of his gathered men. I glanced towards it but away quickly, more concerned with the man before me. With some effort, I climbed to my feet and tossed my long hair over my shoulder.

"There is another "

"I'll count to ten. If you're not dropping to the ground, I'll bash your head in and toss you."

I had no idea what kind of gun he held, but it had knocked my body into a state of sluggishness I wasn't able to shake. Blood streamed down my leg and soaked my t-shirt. I raised my hands and glanced up at his ribbons again. I didn't know how to use them. I either brought something to life or robbed it of life and didn't know how else to use my power.

If I survive this, I'm going to ask the Oracle how it all works.

"Four," he said.

"What happened to one through three?" I retorted.

"Six." He motioned towards the edge.

"I'm going!" I clasped my hands behind my head and walked to the edge of the wall. Small lights were visible in the distance. Otherwise, it was dark, almost as dark as the wall in my dream. I couldn't even tell how tall it was and I doubted I'd be able to defy gravity as I had when recovering my memories.

"Eight."

"Zeus, man!" I muttered, unsettled at the prospect. "You won't recon"

"Nine."

I closed my eyes, more aware of the ruckus from the direction of his men but not about to spend my last second alive giving them the time of day. Instead, I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath.

"Ten."

My instincts screaming, I stepped off the ledge and began to fall.

But I didn't fall for long. At about three meters down, I hit something hard as a rock. Soft wings grazed my body, and we spun in midair. His strong arms were around me, my legs locked between his, and the rest of me pressed against his muscular form.

My eyes flew open. Mismatch had caught me flying on his back and twirled us several times, until I started to get dizzy and nauseated.

Hang on, he instructed me. Disoriented, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into the nape, breathing his scent. The wings flared out on either side of us, catching us and putting an end to the spin.

My Mismatch. What part of me truly believed if I sent him away he'd stay away? Why did I bother, when being held in his arms felt so natural? We were connected and had been since I awoke him. No matter what emotions left me in a constant state of confusion, he was always and would remain my Mismatch.

"Lyssa!"

I jerked at the familiar voice coming from above on top of the walls.

I'll take you home then deal with these idiots, Mismatch said.

"Wait," I murmured. "That's Herakles."

"Lyssa! These fools didn't get the message you're hands off."

I listened, thrilled to hear his voice yet sorrowful as well.

"Tell that thing to bring you back here."

I debated what to do for a moment. Mismatch hovered. "Take me back, please."

They hurt you. I won't let anyone else do that.

His words touched me on a level I hadn't expected. I lifted my head from his shoulder and gazed at him briefly. His tension was clear in his hard body, and his eyes glowed with a feral flare. He cared no matter what he was during the daylight. No matter how scared of him I was.

"I'm sorry for sending you away. I won't do it again," I whispered. "Please take me back."

Mismatch hovered for a moment longer before relenting. He landed a safe distance from the men, and I slid to the ground. Before I had a chance to turn, he had a palm pressed to my ribs.

"Ow," I muttered.

He lifted my shirt to peer at the spot and the slash. The sensation of his warm hand on my bare skin made me shiver. Bruised, not broken. The gash on your thigh needs looked at. I pushed my shirt down self-consciously. I'd been aware of my relative state of undress with the others, but with him ...

My face burned as hot as my blood.

Meeting his glowing gaze, I studied him briefly. "You came for me. That's pretty cool."

I will always come for you. His tail flicked the wall, and his wings were held out in a show of what I took to be readiness combined with intimidation.

It was working. The others wouldn't get near us.

"I've seen this thing before." Herakles was the nearest, his treelike form tense.

"He's not a thing," I said and turned. "He's a grotesque."

I met his gaze. The happy glow in his faded. His arms were outstretched for a hug.

I didn't move. All I could think about was what he did to my parents.

"What lies have they told you?" he asked in a low voice.

Mismatch drew me into his body once more, prepared to fly, but I pushed his hand away and stepped forward.

"No lies. I learned the truth about a few things," I replied. "You're with these people?"

"I am. I already tossed their leader over the side of the wall for disobeying Mama's orders. No one else will hurt you, Lyssa."

G.o.ds help me, I trusted him. I stepped forward and grimaced at the pain then limped towards him, throwing myself into the arms of my guardian. I had done this a million times in the forest, but never had his strong embrace been so welcome.

"I've missed you," Herakles whispered fiercely into my hair.

"I missed you, too," I said. He felt like home, as usual, despite the revelation of what he had done before me.

"Is your pet dangerous?"

"Mismatch isn't a pet."

"He's one of your creations isn't he?"

I twisted in his grip to see the grotesque. Mismatch's wings were folded at his back, and his hard gaze was on the men behind Herakles. "Sort of. He kind of grew a life of his own, though."

"My Lyssa. Always changing the world around her," he said with gruff affection. "Send him away so we can talk."

"No," I replied softly. "He stays with me."

Herakles gazed down at me, and I saw his disappointment. "You have changed much already. I wanted to protect you from the ugliness of the world."

"From you?"

"Yeah, sweet Lyssa. From me and all the people like me."

My eyes filled with tears at the admittance. I wasn't ready to lose my hero, my adopted father. I wasn't ready to feel so alone facing my fate as I watched the layers between me and reality peel away. I wiped my eyes.

Your leg, Mismatch said.

"I know," I said and left Herakles' grip. "I need a doctor."

"We have one here."

I glanced doubtfully at the ruffians behind him. "Really?"

Herakles laughed. "Welcome to my world, Lyssa. We live beneath the city. Come. I'll show you." He started away.

"Are we really safe?" I didn't follow. "Both of us?"

"I give you my word."

Mismatch drew abreast of me. I didn't have to ask to know his opinion on accompanying my guardian anywhere. The two looked at each other with anger, if not death, in their eyes. Rather than try to convince him, I slid my hand into the monster's.

He glanced down at me but didn't object when I began to follow Herakles.

"Out of curiosity, what did you learn?" Herakles tone was terse. "About me."

"It's not important," I said, recalling how curious Adonis had been about my relationship with Herakles.

Your toes are curling, Mismatch said a second before Herakles spoke.

"I can always tell when you're lying."

"Oh, my G.o.ds! Can't a crippled girl get some compa.s.sion instead of an interrogation?" I complained.

Herakles stopped and scooped me up in his arms. Mismatch growled, but Herakles ignored him. "Now. What did you learn?"

I sighed. "About my parents."

Herakles stopped walking and stood rigidly in place, eyes on some point in the distance.

He killed them? The flying creature sounded surprised for the first time since we met.

I didn't answer.

"Then why are you here with me now?" Herakles' question was barely audible.

"Because I love you," I whispered. "Because you're my Herakles."

I am sorry, Alessandra.

I stretched to see the creature trailing us and offered him a small smile. He was learning how to be a better human.

"Let's get you to the doctor," Herakles started forward once more. His face had blanched, and his eyes were blank.

Chapter Twenty Two.

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.

Socrates Neither spoke the rest of the way to the medical facility. We entered the walls and walked along roughly hewn tunnels slanting downwards gradually, until they met stairs that took us beneath the ground level. Mama's men had managed to expand the sewer systems and underground bunker and tunnel network beneath Washington DC to the walls and beneath the city.

The result was a shadowy honeycomb of uneven tunnels and paths that smelled sometimes of rot, sometimes of must, and led to cavernous rooms, some as large as a city block. It was amazing yet scary, as I wasn't entirely certain the men around Herakles would listen to him.

The medical facility was its own private chamber the size of my villa and part.i.tioned into sections by curtains. Herakles set me down on a bed next to a man in a white lab coat.

I wasn't about to admit weakness in front of Herakles or Mismatch, but I was a little lightheaded. The two waited outside the exam room. Gritting my teeth, I bore through a shot to numb the area around my thigh so the doctor could clean and st.i.tch it then tugged up my shirt for him to check the slash along my ribcage.

"Lyssa, clothes!" Herakles called and stuck his arm into the room. The doctor grabbed them and set them on a stool near the table. After a shot of antibiotics, he washed his hands.