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“Take care, Gwen,” she said. “And if you ever need anything, anything at all, I’m just a phone call and a train ride away.”

I laughed at her black humor. “I’ll try to stick to the phone call. I haven’t had the best luck with trains.”

She joined in my laughter, but then her face turned serious. “I’m so glad I got to meet you and be a part of your world, even if it was only for a day.”

“Me too. And I’m going to take you up on that offer of a free meal at the Pork Pit. I want to come see what Ashland is like.”

Gin tilted her head toward the open SUV door. “Just be sure to bring your talking sword. He’ll probably come in handy again.”

“According to Vic, he always comes in handy, remember?”

We both laughed, then stared at each other again.

“Good-bye, Gwen.”

“Bye, Gin.”

The assassin nodded at me, then stuck her hands into her jeans pockets and ambled away with that smooth shark-like stride, heading over to the SUV where her friends were waiting.

Logan stepped up beside me. “You ready to go?”

I watched Gin slide into her vehicle and shut the door behind her. The soft thump echoed through the parking lot, but it didn’t sound like a good-bye to me. No, it was more like a promise of further adventures to come—for both of us.

I turned to Logan and smiled. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

Logan held out his hand, and I threaded my fingers through his again. Together, we headed toward the Mythos convoy. I stopped at the open SUV door and glanced back over my shoulder.

Gin was sitting in her vehicle with the window rolled down. The assassin winked at me, then the engine rumbled, and the SUV cruised away.

I waved at her until the vehicle was out of sight, then slid into my own seat, with Vic on one side of me and Logan on the other.

“Well, I, for one, am looking forward to getting back to the academy and taking my afternoon nap,” Vic said. “You wouldn’t believe how that Spider assassin lady manhandled me today. I know she’s a really good warrior, but she didn’t even bother to oil me or shine my blade after she got through with me . . .”

I let the sword’s words wash over me. In the front, Carson was driving, while Daphne was fiddling with the radio, trying to find a song she wanted to listen to. Behind me, Oliver and Alexei were talking in low voices.

The Reapers had been defeated, the artifacts were safe, and I was surrounded by my friends. So I leaned my head back against the seat and soaked up everything that was happening around me, especially the warmth and strength of Logan’s fingers intertwined with my own.

It was good to know that some things would never change, whether I was in Mythos Academy, Ashland, or somewhere else.

Gin Blanco will return.