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We jolted apart. My heartbeat was pounding. Every muscle in his body tightened like those of a predator about to spring.
A man stood on the train platform and stared down at us.
Konstantin.
8
The cold night air did little to cool my burning face. How much had Konstantin seen? Why had I been so reckless?
“Release her,” Konstantin commanded.
Wendel retreated with a sneer of disdain. “Where were you, archmage? Sleeping? Did you have sweet dreams?”
“Silence, necromancer.”
“I don’t do tricks on command.”
“Stop.” I stepped between them. “Wendel, we’re not here to pick a fight. We barely got out of the last one alive.”
Wendel snorted. “Thegunsdid add an element of challenge to the battle.”
“A minor imperfection in the Hex.” Konstantin waved away his comment. “A structural repair of the underlying magic shouldn’t take me more than an hour to implement. In fact, I should start work on that immediately.”
Wendel swept his arm into a parody of a bow. “Good luck, archmage.”
He vaulted onto the platform and vanished inside the train. I climbed the stairs, but Konstantin blocked my way. He touched my arm with a concerned look.
“Are you all right, Ardis?”
“I’m fine.”
“Did he force himself on you?”
God, he had seen the kiss.
I wanted to cringe, but I squared my shoulders instead. “It was my fault. I won’t be so unprofessional again.”
He studied my face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were the one tasked with bringing the necromancer to Vienna?”
Surprise jolted me in the gut. “You knew?”
“I requested him.”
“But why?”
“His necromancy may prove invaluable to the Archmages of Vienna.”
“Am I allowed to know more?”
“That’s confidential, I’m afraid.”
They trusted me enough to find the necromancer, but nothing beyond that.
“Understood.” I clasped my hands behind my back. “Though I’m curious why you need the Prince of the Undying.”
Konstantin’s sharp intake of breath wasn’t lost on me. “He’sthe Prince of the Undying?”
“That’s what he told me. Prince Wendel of Prussia, from the House of Hohenzollern, though he was disinherited by his family.”
