Bound by Forever (True Immortality #3) - S. Young Page 0,53

features slackened with surprise … and then gratitude.

12

The car, to both Kiyo’s and Conall’s surprise, was still there when they left the building with Niamh. She’d cleaned up the apartment and discarded Meghan’s body as she had the man at the airport in Moscow.

Kiyo didn’t know how to react to what had happened. For now, he was focused on getting the hell out of Paris.

They drove to the airport in silence. Niamh huddled in the back of the car and quickly fell asleep as Conall drove northwest.

“You did the right thing,” Conall said, his voice low so as not to wake her.

“What?”

“Telling her the truth about your immortality.”

Kiyo wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure about anything at the moment.

“It’s a story I’d be interested in hearing one day.”

Kiyo smirked. It wasn’t a story he was interested in telling.

Conall seemed to understand his silence and didn’t take offense. “So, where to now?”

“I need to call Bran. Let him and Fionn know I have Niamh. They’ll probably organize safe passage to wherever we need to go next.”

“You’re following her visions?”

“Yeah. But they seem to be all over the place. It doesn’t make sense. Some are about what they’ve always been about—the other fae-borne and protecting the gate. It seems that since her brother died, the visions have gotten interrupted by others that have led her on this vigilante path. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Conall frowned. “No, it doesnae sound right.” He glanced in his rearview at Niamh. Kiyo turned to follow the male’s gaze, his chest tightening at the sight of her asleep. Exhausted. It took a lot to bring her down. She was wrecked inside.

The job of protecting her, not from others but from herself, felt impossible.

It frustrated him beyond bearing.

And he didn’t understand the intensity of the feeling.

“You can do this,” Conall said.

Kiyo frowned.

The alpha flicked him a look before turning back to the road. “You know this is bigger than just protecting one fae woman.”

Unfortunately, yes.

“But you can do it, Kiyo. Keep her trust, help her. No matter what you have to sacrifice to do it.”

Conall’s words brought silence to the car as Kiyo pondered exactly what they might mean … and dreaded the possibilities.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a long drive. After waking Niamh, they dropped off the rental and made their way to departures. Conall bought his ticket to Edinburgh, where he’d get a connecting flight to Inverness.

“You call again if you need me,” the alpha said, holding out his hand to Kiyo.

Kiyo shook it and found himself saying, “I admired and respected Caelan and Lennox very much. I was sorry to hear of their passing.”

Emotion flickered across Conall’s face before he cleared it and gave Kiyo a slight nod of thanks.

Kiyo gripped Conall’s hand tighter. “You honor their memory, Alpha MacLennan.”

Conall’s gray eyes turned piercing and he shook Kiyo’s hand with a firm fierceness. “Stay safe, Kiyo.”

They turned from one another, Conall’s eyes alighting on Niamh as she stepped toward him.

“Thank you again.” She held out a hand.

He took it, covering hers with both of his and he smiled. “No. Thank you.”

Kiyo assumed he referred to Niamh’s vision of the bright future he and his mate had ahead of them.

“Give Thea my love,” Niamh offered.

“I will. And you have hers. You have our loyalty, Niamh. You know where to find us if ever you need us.”

Watching as Niamh fought tears of gratitude, Kiyo felt frustrated. She had no one now. No family. And she wasn’t like him. She wasn’t built to survive without someone to love. Days ago, he would have sneered at her for the weakness.

Now he felt powerless in the face of her loneliness.

They watched Conall stride through the airport, drawing stares from almost everyone who passed him. He disappeared up the escalators toward security, and Kiyo turned to Niamh.

“We should call Bran.”

“Who were Caelan and Lennox?” she replied instead.

Still uncomfortable with Niamh knowing about his curse, he hesitated before replying. “Conall’s father and grandfather. I knew them before Conall was born.”

To his gratitude, she left it at that.

“Call Bran.” She sighed heavily, crossing her arms over her chest. “Our only lead is Tokyo. So let’s go there. As safely as we can.”

Kiyo nodded, glad to have a plan and to get her the hell out of Paris. Although she was acting calm and collected, there was a strain around her eyes and the color hadn’t returned to her cheeks. The problem was definitely Niamh’s guilt over her brother’s death. With that hanging over her head,