by S. Young
Tears burned in Niamh’s throat. “Astra did this.”
“Astra?” Bran’s voice cut through the air, reminding them he was on the line. “Why would Astra take out one of the largest packs in the world?”
“Because she couldn’t risk the idea that any one of them might have known what Sakura knew.” Niamh’s tears escaped as she thought of all the people who had just died because of her. “That I’m fae.”
A muscle flexed in Kiyo’s jaw and he shook his head. “No. You are not going to blame yourself for this.”
“I am to blame.”
“Niamh—”
“Someone want to catch me up?” Bran interrupted.
Kiyo let out a growl of frustration but answered Bran. He gave him a quick run-through of the events of the night before, never taking his eyes off Niamh.
She needed him to anchor her to his heart, a place that held no condemnation toward her.
Technically, she knew she wasn’t to blame for what Astra had done. But with the knowledge hanging over her head that Ronan’s death had been intentional just to get to Niamh … it was hard not to succumb to overwhelming guilt. Especially now. There was no getting around the fact that Astra had destroyed nearly an entire ward to keep Niamh’s identity a secret, just as she’d destroyed Ronan to make Niamh more vulnerable to her.
“Jesus Christ,” Bran bit out when Kiyo was done. “Well, that explains much. Before Shinjuku was blown to bits, I was alerted to high magical energy use in Tokyo. And so was every other fucker paying attention. Including the Blackwoods. I guess that was you, Niamh, when you were fighting Astra.”
Niamh sighed wearily, slumping onto the bed. “I guess so.”
“The Blackwoods have ties to the Yamamoto Coven and they’ve called in a favor. They’re watching the airports and stations in and out of Tokyo. On top of that, while the humans think this is a terrorist attack, the supes can feel the epic fucking magical signature coming off the explosions. The coven knows this is supernatural. As does the East Asian Council. They’re on their way to investigate.” Bran referred to the council of witches and warlocks who acted as a governing and policing body against dark magic users.
“It was definitely Astra, then.” Kiyo cursed under his breath.
“Yeah, but Niamh might get confused for the evil shrew, so I’m thinking you need to get your arse out of there—now.”
“Niamh is going to get us on the next bullet train to Osaka. We’ll bypass the station. We need you to book us flights out of Kankū Airport.”
“Going where?”
“Surprise us.” Kiyo hung up and strode over to Niamh. Lowering to his haunches, he rested his hands on her knees. “We need to leave. By the looks of it, we’re in Musashino. I’ll get us to the nearest station, you get us on the train.”
She nodded.
It felt like her heart was breaking.
“Komorebi.” He gripped her knees now. “You are not to blame for what Astra did.”
“I know. But in a way I am.”
“You’re not going to do this to yourself.” Kiyo stood and took her hands in his, pulling her with him. “No mourning. No self-recrimination. Astra is to blame for Ronan and for this and one day, you’ll mete out justice for it. But not today. Today I need to get you to safety. There are too many powerful people on the way to this city who could try to take you from me.”
Hearing the plea in his voice, Niamh threw off her guilt to focus on getting out of Tokyo.
For her mate’s peace of mind, but also to protect him too.
Plans to bring Astra to justice for the atrocities she’d committed would need to wait.
Determination hardened through Niamh as she followed Kiyo out of the room. If Niamh had to wait decades or a century or a millennium, she would. She had all the patience in the world.
But Astra would one day answer for what she’d done to Ronan, to this city, and to the people in it.
38
Four weeks later (late March)
Kamala rainforest, Phuket, Thailand
* * *
Niamh’s scream of agony wrenched him out of sleep.
Kiyo flew up in bed, damp sheets clinging to his body. His eyes flew to his side and panic suffused him at the empty spot where his mate should be.
“I’m here.”
Her soft voice soothed him as he followed it and found her outside the bedroom, climbing out of the small pool attached to the tree house. Niamh loved the precariously positioned pool that dangled over the rainforest from their deck.
The sun blazed against her back through the thick trees as she crossed the balcony, water trickling down her long, bikini-clad body.
Still gripped by the terror of his dream, he wanted to haul her into the bed and prove to himself that she was alive and well and safe.
“Another nightmare?” Niamh asked, stopping to lean against the sliding door that closed the bedroom off from the deck.
Kiyo ran a hand through his hair, letting out a slow exhale. He didn’t need to answer. She already knew that it was. He’d been having the same nightmare since they left Tokyo. Memories of the night Sakura stuck iron in Niamh’s spine. Except the dream changed the memory at the end. After taking the iron out of her back and grappling with Astra for the pendant, Niamh didn’t win.
Astra twisted in her arms and drove an iron blade through Niamh’s heart.
And he launched out of sleep, adrenaline coursing through his body, until the reality of his mate sleeping at his side soothed him.
“They’ll go away eventually.” Niamh crossed the room to sit down on the bed. Magic tingled in the air along with a cloud of heat as she dried herself before pushing him back onto his pillow to snuggle into him.
Kiyo wrapped an arm around her, his fingers finding the scar on her spine and massaging it.
“It’ll just take time. It’s only been four weeks.”
Four weeks. It felt longer and shorter in equal measure.
By the time they arrived in Osaka, Bran had sent information that there would be a private plane waiting for them. The plane would log false passenger information and itinerary. Kiyo didn’t ask questions. A private plane with a false itinerary was the safest way for them to get out of Japan.
He’d been feeling grateful to the vampire—until they’d landed in Thailand.
In Phuket, to be exact.
Where a young Thai man awaited their arrival to drive them in his four-seater jungle buggy and left them in the middle of the rainforest next to their own jungle buggy. When he tried to contact the vampire for answers, he got a single text from him.
Look up. Tree house and buggy belong to Fionn. Consider this a honeymoon present. Enjoy. You lucky fucking dog.
In a sense, Bran and Fionn had forced Kiyo to take his first-ever vacation.
Whatever aggravation he felt about that had melted away because of Niamh. She had the wonder in her eyes again as their driver shot through the forest, and her excitement hit new levels when they looked up and glimpsed the building far above their heads. There was no way to get to it unless you were fae and could travel. Taking hold of his hand, Niamh traveled and then oohed and ahhed over what Kiyo had to admit was a pretty impressive tree house.
It took three weeks for Kiyo to believe Niamh when she said Astra had no idea where they were. Bran had contacted them to confirm that they were safe. The East Asian Council was investigating the Yamamoto Coven for the attack against Pack Iryoku and seemed pretty happy to lay the blame at their door since there was a long history between the magic users and the wolves. There was evidence of strained relations over the past twenty years since Sakura took over as alpha, including the murder of a high-ranking coven member. The attacks had been ruled to be the consequences of a secret cold war. The coven would pay for the crimes despite their protestation of innocence.
Tokyo was slowly recovering from the devastation. Human governments publicly investigated terrorist organizations while those in the know about the supernatural
world grew more ruthless in recruiting supes to their secret armies. If the supernatural world was beginning to cause devastation in the human world, they wanted to be prepared if war was coming.
It felt like the world was changing beneath most humans’ very noses.
Kiyo hurt for Tokyo, but he didn’t like to talk about it with Niamh. She already blamed herself for it. Instead, he’d distracted her with explorations of Phuket with its stunning beaches, aqua waters, and amazing food. And there was the sex. They’d indulged in a lot of sex this past month.
However, the restlessness he felt within himself, he also sensed in Niamh.
They were waiting for Niamh to have a vision. Something that would tell them what their next move should be.
So far she’d been visionless. Not that Kiyo minded. He hated witnessing her experience a vision. But it was driving his mate insane with frustration.
She sighed beside him. “As beautiful as it is here, I think we should leave.”
“And go where?”
“Maybe the US.”
“Why there?”
“It’s where Elijah is.”
“The last of the fae-borne?”
Niamh nodded.
As restless as he was, Kiyo replied, “You’re safe here. No one but the people we trust know we’re here. And it’s not exactly a crappy view.” He gestured the stunning blue sky beyond the tops of the trees.
“I know.” But she sighed heavily again.
“Those are big sighs, Komorebi.”
Niamh pushed up off him, her palm pressed to his chest. “I can sense your restlessness, too, Kiyo. This place isn’t exactly full-moon friendly.”
She referred to the fact that he’d been relegated to a small section of the jungle to run in during the full moon. There were too many tourists in nearby resorts for it to be safe for him to venture any farther. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t bear.
“This isn’t the life you’re used to. You’re not used to hiding from anybody and … I don’t want you to come to resent me.”
Her worries baffled him. Hauling her across his body so she straddled him, he plucked at the ties on her bikini top as he growled, “I can’t listen when you talk nonsense at me.”
Grabbing her bikini to stop it from falling away from her breasts, Niamh’s expression turned mulish. “I’m not talking nonsense.”
Kiyo pulled at the ties at her hips holding the bikini bottoms on.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” she huffed, but he could feel her mood changing to meet his. “We’re in the middle of a conversation.”
“Well, I feel bad after my shitty dream and I need my mate to make me feel better.”
Her eyes narrowed but she dropped her hands, letting the bikini fall away. Her nipples pebbled even in the thick, warm air of the bedroom. “You’re a manipulative bastard, Kiyo-chan.”
He launched upward to drag a delicious nipple into his mouth and sucked it hard until she rocked into him. Releasing her, he kissed his way up to her mouth and whispered against her lips, “I will never resent you. All that matters is keeping you safe. If you want to leave, we’ll leave. But I want a few orgasms out of you first.”
Kiyo pulled away the sheet that acted as a barrier between them and then flipped her onto her back. He crawled down her body, spread her thighs, and nuzzled into her sex to make good on his promise.
Later, after she’d returned the favor and made his eyes roll back into his fucking head, they laid sprawled across the bed, staring at the mosquito netting they never needed to use because mosquitos apparently hated supes.
“What do you want to do today?” Kiyo asked lazily.
Niamh pushed off him and gave a sexy, sweet smile. “I’m going to go for another swim and then maybe we can eat at that place I like on the beach.”
He nodded, feeling replete from their fooling around but unsettled by the uncertainty he still sensed in her. Leaning up on an elbow, he watched her strut outside, her bikini magically back in place, and he wished he knew what the next right move was.
Just as she walked toward the steps that led down to the overhanging pool, she faltered, swaying.
“Kiyo,” she moaned in distress. And then her head slammed back on her neck with the force of an incoming vision.
“NIAMH!” Kiyo was a blur across the room to the deck, catching her in his arms seconds before she would have fallen over the security railing around the balcony. It was a hundred-foot drop.
Pulse pounding, he restrained her hard judders as he hauled her backward, fearing if he connected to the vision, they’d both go over.
This time, however, he saw no flooding of images; he felt no overwhelming swarm of emotions from Niamh that usually triggered his connection to what she was seeing.
Instead he fell on his ass on the floor, cradling her tight to his body as the vision seized hold of her. When she grew still, Kiyo’s pulse slowed.
Niamh’s eyes fluttered slowly open, and her eyes focused. Kiyo brushed her hair off her face, patiently waiting for her to return to herself.
“You caught me,” she breathed out in relief. “Would have survived but I didn’t fancy a broken neck this morning.”
His tone was bland, belying the terror he’d felt at the thought of her going over the edge of the tree. “Turns out this place isn’t so safe.”
She saw right through him. “Did I give you a fright?”
He glowered at her.
“I gave you a fright,” she answered her own question before pressing a reassuring kiss to his throat. “Sorry.”
“Not your fault. I got to you in time. Vision?” he asked somewhat reluctantly. The vision had brought home the reality that Niamh’s destiny waited outside the borders of the rainforest and one day, they would have to face Astra again.
It came at Kiyo suddenly that for once, he didn’t want to face something head-on. He wanted some peace and quiet with his mate, and he wanted it to last more than a few goddamn weeks. He wanted to cling to the idea of Phuket. To a hidden nirvana where there was nothing but a safe, happy Niamh, and the pleasures they could wring from one another’s bodies.
But he knew that wasn’t their fate.
He knew that even before Niamh took a deep breath and announced, “It’s time to get a flight to London.”
39
Three weeks later (mid-April)
Munich, Germany
* * *
It was difficult to get anywhere near Margaret Lancaster. During the day, there was always at least one werewolf stalking her. At night, two vampires. The supes were well trained, and it seemed that Margaret had no idea she was under constant surveillance.
As soon as they’d spotted her twenty-four-hour guard from The Garm, Kiyo wanted to bail.
But as Niamh patiently explained to him, this was their current mission.
Margaret was a chess piece. She might not be the king or queen. Really, she was a lowly pawn … but a central one, and she needed to be moved to further the game.
So they’d gone to London where they found her and discovered she was under surveillance, which only signified Niamh’s vision was on point. Niamh had to travel into the financial building Margaret worked in on Canary Wharf to get a surveillance shot without drawing The Garm’s attention.
At forty-eight years old, Margaret Lancaster was still a very beautiful woman. And she was the spitting image of her daughter.
From there, Niamh had broken into the personnel department of Margaret’s company and stolen copies of her personal information. She and Kiyo had used it to track down photographs of her dead boyfriend, his medical files, and the death certificate for the daughter who had been stolen from them. During their own surveillance of the woman, Kiyo had discovered she visited a therapist every week. Niamh decided to break into the therapist’s office and steal copies of that file too. It wasn’t right for Niamh to look through it, but her daughter might be interested in what was in the file.
Information in
hand, they’d finally arrived in Munich.
Much to Kiyo’s disgruntlement.
Munich was the new headquarters for The Garm. Probably Niamh’s most dangerous enemy since the Blackwoods didn’t want to kill her, but The Garm most certainly did.
However, Echo Payne, the adopted daughter of William “the Bloody” Payne, new leader of The Garm, was about to become an important player for the fae-borne. She was raised as William’s adopted human daughter until she was twenty years old, and then he’d turned her into a vampire. In human years, she was twenty-six—a newbie vampire in the grand scheme of things—but rumor had it she was powerful and intelligent. She’d also been raised by William to fear the fae-borne and to treat them as the enemy.
Now that just won’t do, Niamh thought to herself as she and Kiyo stalked through the streets of Munich at dawn.
Kiyo bristled at her side with heavy tension, his ears pricked, his gaze swinging from side to side.
“This way.” Niamh gestured to an apartment building two streets over from Echo’s. Kiyo followed at her back, watching it for her, as she used her magic to break into the building. Following the stairwell up to the very top, she unlocked the door to the roof and they strode out into a rooftop garden. “Ooh, I like this. What a grand idea.”
“Niamh,” Kiyo bit out impatiently. “Focus.”
“I am. I’m just saying, those tomatoes look amazing. Ooh, and look at all these potted herbs.”
“Keep walking.”
“I’m walking,” she threw over her shoulder. “Bossy bastard.” Then she turned back around.
“I heard that.”
“You were meant to.”
“Did it ever occur to you that as I am an actual illegitimate child, I might take offense to the word?”
Niamh rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see her. She suddenly ran, leaping across the small gap between buildings. She landed silently on the next building and heard Kiyo land behind her, almost as quietly. “No,” she answered as they continued across its lackluster, bare rooftop. “The only thing you take offense to is me wearing clothes.”