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He traced the edge of the table with his finger, and wouldn’t look me in the eye. “Will you be in Vienna long?”
I exhaled hard. “No,” I admitted. “I’m leaving later tonight for Antwerp, Belgium. I have a mission to protect a target.”
“Who?”
I lowered my voice. “Rudolf Diesel.”
“Is it a dangerous mission?”
“Obviously.”
“I wish I could come with you.”
“Wendel, I’m a mercenary. It’s my job.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure. Less than a week. Will you be here when I return?”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”
My stomach plummeted, my appetite vanishing into thin air. “Why?”
“The Order of the Asphodel won’t stop until they have found me.”
After dinner, Wendel walked me to the train station. As if the sky remembered, it began to rain again. I drew Chun Yi. Raindrops hissed and died on the blade. The steel remained cool and smooth under my fingertips.
How much blood did my sword want to devour?
“Enchanted?” Wendel said. “I didn’t know.”
“The swordsmith unlocked the enchantment.”
“What kind?”
“Blood magic.”
He arched his eyebrows. “Be careful with blood magic.”
“I will.”
Neither one of us wanted to keep talking, I could tell.
I bought a ticket for the next overnight train from Vienna to Frankfurt. From there, I could travel to Brussels, then Antwerp. I wasn’t traveling first class this time, but of course Wendel wasn’t coming with me.
Was this goodbye forever? I didn’t dare speak the words out loud, afraid they would summon that conclusion.
A train’s shrill whistle pierced the air.
“I can’t miss my train.” I turned away, ready to flee from our inevitable farewell.
“Ardis.” Wendel caught me by the arm. “Wait.”
He kissed me in the rain, a long, slow kiss as bittersweet as chocolate.
I clung to him, wanting to hold on until the last instant. When he broke the kiss, the depths of his eyes contained sorrow.
“This isn’t goodbye,” I said.
