Bound by Forever - (True Immortality #3) Page 0,130

gone from his side and standing behind Astra, one hand gripping her by the hair, the other hovering above her chest. She wielded one of the iron daggers she’d conjured back at the hotel room.

“Give me the pendant or I’ll kill you,” his mate promised.

Astra laughed. “Oh, Niamh … you wouldn’t hurt your sister.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I’ve seen it.”

“Yeah?” Niamh leaned closer, the iron dagger now touching Astra. “That’s the thing about visions … they’re only guides to what can be. They’re not absolute. Do you know why?”

Astra winced as Niamh pressed the dagger deeper.

“Because none of us are Fate’s bitch. Even true mates make the choice to be with each other. And I choose Kiyo. It’s the kind of choice that leads to other choices … and if you don’t hand over that pendant, I will choose to end your pathetic existence.”

Of all the many emotions Kiyo was feeling right then, pride was at the forefront.

His mate was the most majestic female on this world, or any.

Astra, sensing Niamh’s sincerity, lifted the pendant. Niamh let go of her hair to grab it, and the pendant immediately disappeared.

Now it’s somewhere no one can find it, she told Kiyo telepathically.

He wanted to feel relief, but they still had a pyschotic fae to deal with.

“You’re coming with us,” Niamh ordered.

Something glittered in Astra’s eyes, something that had Kiyo lurching forward, alert. Her lips curled as she glanced down at the iron still hovering above her chest. “One last thing before we go … a confession, really.”

The hair on the back of Kiyo’s neck rose in warning.

“Why do you think a seemingly good coven would kill an innocent human, like Ronan, knowing that one human couldn’t create enough power to take out a fae?”

Niamh’s eyes hollowed. “What?”

It wasn’t us. She made us do it.

Realization dawned on Kiyo as he remembered Meghan’s babbling. “Niamh.” He took a step toward her.

“I got inside their heads,” Astra grinned. “Just like I got inside yours, sister. I needed Ronan out of the way. I don’t like to share.”

Niamh’s eyes flared bright gold as a wave of fury blasted out of her. She lifted the dagger as if to plunge it into Astra’s chest and suddenly, Astra was gone. She reappeared behind Niamh with the dagger in hand, and his mate whirled in outrage to face her.

“You would have done it.” Astra seemed pleased. “You would have taken that final step into the shadows for vengeance.” She looked at Kiyo now, smug. “One day … she will choose me.”

Then she was gone, Niamh’s cry of frustration ringing across the basement as she stumbled back from clasping at air.

Before she could do or say anything else, Kiyo breached the distance between them and gathered her into his arms. His nose hit her throat, right at her pulse, and he trembled against her to feel her alive and warm.

Niamh held on to him, her voice soothing in his ears, even as he heard the tears in them.

A shift in the surrounding space caused him to lift his head just as everything went dark. Then color blurred, and they were in an unfamiliar room. His arms tightened on Niamh as his questioning gaze found hers.

“We’re in a hotel as close to the station as possible,” she explained. “It was as far as I could get us. We need somewhere safe where I can recharge and we can heal from our wounds before we get the hell out of here.”

Kiyo was lost for words. Where did he begin to apologize for Sakura? He was supposed to protect Niamh from the people who wanted to use her, and he’d led one of them right to her.

“None of that.” She seemed to sense his thoughts, nestling against his chest in weariness. “No guilt, no blame. Just healing and sleep. Please.”

“What about Astra finding us … What about Ronan?”

Niamh’s face crumpled. “I don’t … I can’t think about that right now. As for her finding us … something happened to me tonight. Like some part of my power unleashed that’s been sleeping. I can feel her, Kiyo.”

His arms tensed around her. “What do you mean?”

“I think that’s how she’s been able to keep tabs on me. Anytime we’re in the same city, she’s been able to feel me. It wasn’t about my scent at all. You changed the alchemy of my very being when our souls bonded. That’s what threw her off. Now she knows how this new me feels, she can sense me