The sandwich was like eating sawdust, but knowing anything would taste like crap to her at that moment, Rose forced the food down along with two bottles of water.
Afterward, she found a bench against a wall amongst the central hubbub of the station, clutched her backpack to her body, and sat vigilantly watching while she waited for her train to arrive.
The hours passed like days, slow, laborious, and irritating. Her nerve endings felt tweaked, her feet curling in agitation in her sneakers. Thankfully, no one seemed to want to approach the angry woman glaring at strangers, so she kept the bench all to herself.
Despite attempting not to, Rose couldn’t help but replay the past few days in her head, disbelieving it had only been days since she’d met Fionn. How could she have been so sure of someone and yet been so wrong? Not once, after their initial meeting, did she believe he wanted to harm her. At no point had she felt danger from him, which was weird, right? If she caught up with Niamh, she hoped the young fae might have answers to her unanswered questions.
It was as if the thought conjured her.
One minute Rose had been looking a little unseeingly at the passing travelers, and the next her gaze met and locked with Niamh Farren’s.
Rose’s breath caught and she blinked hard, multiple times, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.
Nope.
Niamh Farren stood beside the elevator doors, her brother, Ronan, at her side.
What were they doing here? Had Niamh discovered Rose’s need to see her in one of her visions?
Follow me, Rose. Niamh’s voice sounded in her head. Rose jolted with shock.
That didn’t just happen.
No way.
Niamh nodded. Yes, I can speak to you telepathically. Now follow me.
Rose was flabbergasted. Could she do that? Or was this a gift only the psychic had? Fionn had never mentioned telepathy.
With a slight tip of her head, Niamh began to walk, Ronan following like a silent bodyguard. Rose launched to her feet and urged herself to stay calm and not hurry after the woman. She kept a casual distance and followed Niamh toward the restrooms. The ethereal blond disappeared inside the ladies’ room while Ronan stood guard at the door.
Ronan’s expression was tight with suspicion and warning as Rose approached him.
Trying to look reassuring, she passed him and entered the restroom.
Two of the stalls were occupied. A woman dried her hands at the automatic hand dryer, and Niamh stood at the farthest sink, running her fingers through her lovely hair, studying herself in the mirror with a casual interest.
Stomach fluttering, Rose approached, leaning against the wall by Niamh’s left side. “Hey.”
Niamh leaned a hand against the sink and turned to her.
The last time she’d seen the young woman, Niamh had been wearing a long, paisley-print dress with billowing sleeves. Today she wore low-slung, flared jeans and a turquoise turtleneck with long sleeves and a cropped hem that showed off Niamh’s flat stomach and belly piercing. A purple jewel winked against her pale skin.
Her hair was a mass of waves and curls and thin plaits. As she flipped it over her left shoulder, she revealed peacock-feather earrings that were long enough to touch her collarbone.
Back in Zagreb, Niamh had reminded Rose of a bohemian fairy princess. Now she was a hippie fairy princess.
It occurred to Rose that beautiful Niamh Farren, who would not look out of place on a runway, was not an inconspicuous person. How was that not a problem when you were on the run?
“You can… you can talk to me in my…” Rose leaned forward. “Can I do that?”
No, I don’t think so. We all are born with our own special… gifts. Niamh shrugged.
Oh. That disappointed her. Telepathy sounded like a handy talent to have in her arsenal. “How did you find me?”
“Two days ago, my brother and I were in Italy—Rome. Then suddenly, I just felt the need to be in Munich.” Niamh smiled sweetly. “Didn’t know why but I made him come here with me. And then last night, I got a vision of you at this train station and knew I had to be here. So, what’s going on, Rose? Last I left you, things looked like they would work out how they were supposed to for you.”
Rose didn’t understand what that meant. “Niamh, the guy you’ve been running from, the guy who came to me … he plans to kill one of us to open the gate to Faerie.”
“I know.” Niamh’s frowned. “But meeting you was supposed to change that, and I haven’t had a vision to say otherwise.”
“How was it supposed to change it?”
“Because—” Niamh stiffened at the same time Rose felt the tingle down her neck.
Heart racing, dread in the gut, they stared at each other in tense silence.
“We need to go,” Rose said, moving past Niamh.
They hurried out of the restroom and Niamh took hold of Ronan’s arm. “Trouble,” she warned, searching left and right as Rose did.
“What did she do?” Ronan accused as they began walking.
Rose scowled at him as she followed, hoping the siblings knew where they were going. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Well, who is after you?”
“The Blackwoods, the Garm, the O’Connors, and Fionn.”
“I know who the Blackwoods and the Garm are, but who are the others?” Niamh asked.
“The O’Connors are the coven I was born into in Dublin.”
“You’re Irish?” Ronan asked as Niamh gasped, “A coven?”
“As for Fionn, he’s the guy you thought I’d be safe with.”
“So that’s his real name,” Niamh murmured. She then drew to a halt, clutching at her brother’s arm, halting him too.
Ronan was tall, broad-shouldered, and strong-looking. Niamh was tall but willowy with feminine curves. She did not look like she could pull her brother to a stop with what amounted to a gentle tug. But, of course, neither did Rose.
There may be danger all around them, but Rose felt relieved to be with someone just like her. Deceptively, unnaturally strong and fast. And powerful.
“What is it?” Rose followed Niamh’s gaze.
Two men stood out from the crowd, their legs braced, arms crossed over wide chests, as they blocked the exit the siblings had been hurrying toward.
The hair on her neck rising on end, Rose’s instincts had her whipping her head to the right. A woman and a man were approaching them, determination etched on their faces. There was something about the way they moved that was familiar.
That was a little like … Kiyo.
“Werewolves?”
“Yes. The Garm,” Niamh told her.
But how had they found her? Rose’s immediate thought was of her parents. What if someone had tracked them down?
Shit.
“I told you we shouldn’t have come here for her.” Ronan gripped Niamh’s arms tightly, scowling as he gave her a hard shake. “Look what you’ve done.”
“Hey!” Rose pushed him none-too-gently away from his sister. “Watch it, pal.”
Fear flickered across his face before he cleared it. He looked past Rose to Niamh. “Well, what do we do now you’ve got us into this mess?”
Niamh flinched, guilt clear in her expression. “I’ll distract them while you run. Rose, follow Ronan. I’ll catch up.”
“No way. Why can’t we just travel outside the building?”
“Travel?”
“You know … poof! One minute you’re here, next minute you’re there.”