Begrudgingly, Avery agreed to stop and talk with Shane. Her first instinct was that he was a threat, but he had saved their lives. She supposed she owed him at least a ‘thank you’.

“You saw her legs, right?” Shane asked as soon as they were seated at a picnic table.

Avery nodded. “One bronze and one donkey.” She didn’t mention that she hadn’t noticed at first. In fact, the monster’s legs had looked human up until she had kicked them. It was almost like some kind of magic had been disguising them.

That unsettled Avery. With the Chimera, she had known right away that it was a monster, but the thing she had just killed had started as just a creepy lady. Now she was wondering how many monsters she had walked past without knowing.

“What was she?” Shane demanded.

Avery bristled. “How should I know? It’s not like I--”

Noah suddenly slumped against her. Worried, she put an arm around his shoulders and propped him up. She offered her other hand for him to ground himself.

“Empousa.” He whispered. After a few deep breaths, he righted himself. “It’s called an Empousa, and it’s where most vampire myths originate.”

“Are you two vampire hunters or something?” Shane joked.

Avery glared at him. “No. We’re just regular kids.” She didn’t mention that they were runaways. She didn’t trust Shane not to call the police. “I don’t know why we’re suddenly getting attacked by monsters.”

Shane was staring at her, and she realized she had said too much. “Monsters.” He repeated. “You’ve been attacked by more than one?”

“One other time.” Avery admitted. “But I’ll repeat: I don’t know why.”

Noah sat up straight. “Who?” He turned his body, angling toward an empty spot at the table.

Avery looked and gasped when a man materialized next to Shane. Shane scrambled away in surprise, but the man’s attention was on Noah.

“You’ve got good senses, kid.” He looked Noah over with scrutiny. “Or maybe it’s more than that.”

The man was dressed as a pilot, or at least that’s the first thing Avery thought of. He was wearing a dark blue uniform and hat. The hat had wings on it and the clothes looked like they were designed with ease of movement in mind.

“Who are you?” Avery demanded.

“I’m Hermes.” The man spoke as if she should have recognized him the moment he showed up. When she gave him a blank stare, he sighed. “Hermes, god of travelers and thieves.”

Avery wrapped a protective arm around Noah. This man had to be crazy. Or he was a self-important creep.

The man laughed. “Don’t worry, Avery Knight. I’m not here to steal your brother.”

The hair on the back of Avery’s neck stood on end. He knew her name. Even if he had been listening when she and Noah introduced themselves to Shane, they hadn’t given their last name.

“I’m here as the official messenger of the gods.” Hermes snapped his fingers and a messenger bag appeared. He started rifling through it. “I have a message for you.”

“From who?” Noah asked.

“From your parents, of course.”

Avery’s mouth went dry. Their parents? Their mom couldn’t possibly know where they were. She had been too careful to believe that.

And their dad? Avery didn’t have a single memory of him. He had left just after Noah was born, when Avery was only two. She assumed having a blind son had been too much for him.

Hermes cleared his throat. “Avery and Noah Knight. Your father wants you to know that he’s proud of both of you. You have faced hardships, and he wishes there weren’t more to come, but you’ve stuck together this far, and that’s how you should face what’s to come.”

Hermes frowned. “Cocky prick. He’s pushing it, warning his kids about the future. Only gets away with it because he’s the god of prophecy.”

“Uh, Hermes?” Avery had many questions, first being who their father actually was.

But Hermes didn’t give her a chance to ask any of them. He turned his attention to Shane.

“Shane Fairchild. Your mother wants you to know that she’s proud of how you handled the Empousa. You used her gift well.”

“My mother?” Avery thought Shane looked the way she felt. “But, who is she?”

Hermes scoffed, like the answer was obvious. “Aphrodite, of course.”

“And our dad?” Noah ventured.

He got the same look from Hermes, and Avery was glad he couldn’t see it. “Apollo.”

Hermes looked between all three of them. “Did no one ever tell you that you were demigods?”