Bound by Forever (True Immortality 3)

“There are no English signs anywhere.” She turned to him at one point.

He frowned in query.

“All the signs are in Japanese.”

Kiyo smirked. “Shouldn’t they be?”

She blushed. “Of course, it’s just … somehow it’s more disorienting in a language that’s so unfamiliar.”

“Don’t worry. The Japanese love to practice their English. You’ll get by. Plus, you have me.”

She gave him an irritatingly unhappy look and turned back to watch the world fly by.

He didn’t want to think about what that look meant. He didn’t want to think about much, but between telling Niamh his mother’s story and being back in Tokyo, memories and nostalgia threatened to pull him under.

While it had been almost thirty years since he’d returned to Tokyo, it had only been a few years since he’d visited Japan. For a nomad, Kiyo was willing to admit, at least to himself, that he liked to touch base with his homeland often. Perhaps it was because when he moved to the States at the end of the nineteenth century, he did not return to Japan until the 1970s. It was only then he’d realized how much he’d missed it.

Tokyo had become a no-go zone because he’d pissed off some very powerful people there, which was one of the reasons he needed an inconspicuous place to stay. But that didn’t stop Kiyo from traveling elsewhere. The one place he’d never returned to was Osaka. Instead, over the decades, he’d developed a fondness for Kyoto. The city on the island of Honshu had kept much of its tradition, even as it developed into a modern city. Moreover, it was surrounded by the bounty of Japan’s natural beauty, and on the full moon, there was no better place for Kiyo to roam freely. He owned a home in the mountains just so he could.

He wished like hell Niamh’s vision had taken them to Kyoto and not Tokyo. The full moon was in three days. He’d have to travel to the mountains to make the change and avoid his enemies at the same time.

Drifting back to the world from his thoughts and memories, Kiyo was startled to realize they were approaching their station. He’d sat in silence with Niamh the entire hour. Her expression was remote as he relayed it was their stop.

“The station will be packed.” He gripped her by the biceps as they descended from the express train. “Stick with me.”

Although she felt tense beneath his touch, she didn’t resist as he guided her through the crowded station, following the signs for the bullet train to Chuo City. He glanced at Niamh as he led them through the station. Her face was full of wonder and curiosity as she drank in every inch of their surroundings. For someone who knew of the supernatural underworld, of Faerie, who had powers beyond any human’s imagination, who had seen visions of the worst atrocities humans and supernaturals could commit, Niamh Farren had “the wonder.”

She was a person of immense mental and emotional strength to have the knowledge she had and yet still be able to find beauty and newness in the world.

So busy looking at her, Kiyo bumped into someone, a businessman who snapped at him in Japanese. The impact brought Niamh’s eyes to his, and somehow he found himself drowning in her.

“What is it?” she asked softly in that lilting Irish accent.

No human could have heard her over the din of the station.

“Nothing,” he lied, and forced his gaze forward again.

At the platform for the bullet train, he released Niamh’s arm and stared stonily up at the departure information.

“What does it say?”

“Our train will be here in a few minutes.”

Seconds later a bullet train whizzed past them on the opposite platform.

“Wow!” Niamh nudged him, seeming to forget she was irritated. “Is that how fast I am?”

Humor bubbled on his lips but he kept it under control. “You’re probably faster.”

“Really?” She considered this and then grinned, pleased. “I guess I’m kind of epic.”

“I guess you kind of are.”

Something must have slipped in his tone because her answering look was much warmer than any of her expressions had been since the plane. The urge to lean in and kiss her lush mouth was suddenly overwhelming. He’d been fighting it for days, and he was tired of resisting.

Kiyo definitely needed to get laid.

But it wouldn’t be with Niamh.

The woman was far too dangerous.

Niamh’s eyebrows furrowed and her attention flew back toward the platform behind them.

A warning shiver skated down his spine. “What is it?” he echoed her words from before.

Before she could speak, their train appeared, slowing to a stop at the platform. Niamh moved toward it, shooting a troubled glance over her shoulder.

“Niamh?”

“Get on the train.” Her voice was cool, authoritative.

Kiyo followed but Niamh didn’t move away from the doors. She stared out at the platform as people boarded.