Bound by Forever - (True Immortality #3) Page 0,139

top of each other as Kiyo stumbled back. He had a cut on his lip but otherwise seemed fine. The silver dagger with its protective leather hilt was clasped in his hand, the tip smeared in blood. He’d started carrying the blade since they’d arrived in Munich.

His expression was grim. “We have to go. More will be coming.”

“Okay.” She held out her hand. “We’ll travel.”

He gave her a hard look. “They’ve seen my face—and yours. If they were anyone else but The Garm …”

Understanding what he meant, Niamh’s stomach knotted with indecision. Had it just been about her and Kiyo, she would’ve let the wolves live. But no one could know what she’d delivered to Echo. Her visions led her to believe that Echo would keep her brief visit a secret from The Garm. If these guards told William, there would be too many questions.

“Where did they come from?”

“The white van. They must be surveilling the rooftops. But they probably sent communication for backup.”

Indecision and guilt pricked her as she said, torn, “No one can know about Echo.”

Kiyo was a blur of movement, sticking the silver through the other wolves’ hearts while they laid unconscious. Once that was done, he hurried to Niamh’s side. “Decision taken out of your hands. Let’s go.” He wrapped his arms around her and then they were traveling.

They popped into the grubby motel room as far away from Echo’s apartment as her gift would allow. Avoiding the station and airport, which was under heavy guard from The Garm, they’d driven into Munich—and they’d have to drive out. Niamh had naively hoped they’d finish their mission without any casualties.

Now she felt guilty that Kiyo had had to make that decision. “I—”

Kiyo took her face in his hands and pressed a comforting kiss to her lips. “Don’t say you’re sorry. We’re in a war, Komorebi,” he reminded her. “You have your job and I have mine. If I can save you from those hard decisions, I will. I don’t regret it. I keep you safe while you do what you do. I’m good with that. Okay?”

She nodded, leaning her temple against his, her love for him overwhelming.

“Did you get the files to Echo?”

Niamh stiffened. “She caught me.”

He pushed her away, a flare of fear passing across his eyes. “She saw your face?”

“Don’t worry,” Niamh assured him. “She won’t tell anyone about meeting me. Not after she’s looked through those files and put two and two together.”

Her mate didn’t argue. With a faith in her that Niamh had come to crave as much as his love, Kiyo accepted her word. “Where to next? The States?”

Niamh shook her head. “Elijah doesn’t need me. Not yet, at least. No. I have somewhere I want to take you. But it’s a surprise.”

Epilogue

One week later (late April)

Kyoto, Japan

Trekking through the mountains of Kyoto was not where Kiyo expected to be. Without Pack Iryoku, his homeland was no longer off limits. But their return, so soon, had taken him aback.

Even more intriguing was that this surprise of Niamh’s was leading toward his home in the mountains. Even though he’d been a nomad for sixty years, he’d kept an apartment in New York and his cabin in Kyoto.

He’d mentioned the spot in passing to Niamh weeks ago. Any questions about why they were here had gone unanswered, so Kiyo kept his mouth shut as they climbed through the forest.

The trees disappeared and to his utter shock, they stepped out of the woods and onto a sharp cliff. This shouldn’t be here. His cabin wasn’t anywhere near the Sea of Japan. “What the hell?”

Niamh reached for him, grinning mischievously. “Trust me?”

He clasped her hand in answer.

Then Niamh walked forward as if walking off the cliff and onto thin air. Instead of falling, however, a golden shimmer haloed her body and then she was disappearing through a seam between magic and reality. Kiyo followed and felt a shiver of heat—like Niamh’s magic—trickle over him as the bracken crunched beneath his feet again.

Astonished, Kiyo gazed at the familiar forest that led to his cabin about three miles away. He glanced behind them and saw only forest. “What?”

“It’s a spell,” Niamh explained. “Anyone approaching our land will think they’ve reached the sea edge. It’ll confuse the feck out of them, but there’s nothing they can do about it.” Her light laughter caused a pleasurable ache within him. “Fionn did it.”

“Fionn?” He knew that Niamh and Fionn had been in touch over the last few weeks. Not just because