Page 10

10

It was dark when Farah woke. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned as she gazed out the window. The ocean was beautiful during the day, but it was stunning at night. The moonlight sparkling upon the waves was hypnotic. Even the wind felt different. Like a soft caress, tempting her to explore the water.

The inside of her quarters was dark. She didn’t recall Kalyani leaving. After Rohan applied the seaweed, Farah had dozed, lulled by the sound of the crashing waves. Kalyani had brought more broth, along with a section of flat, pale bread. It hadn’t looked like bread, but it had tasted amazing.

She pushed herself up to recline against the pillows better and watched the waves move in the dark water. Farah had never wondered where the Sea Elves lived before. They were in the water. That knowledge had been enough. Now , her mind pondered if they had settlements close to shore or if they preferred to keep far away like some of the Wood Elves .

Farah shifted her injured leg. It took a moment for her to realize there was only a slight twinge of pain. She lifted the covers to inspect the bandage. Though tempted to remove it and examine the laceration, she didn’t want to interfere with whatever the red leaves were doing to heal her. She was one step closer to escaping.

She lowered the blanket and returned her gaze to the ocean. It wasn’t long before her mind wandered between various thoughts. She contemplated her parents. They had tried to persuade her not to go to Rannora , but Farah had ignored their pleas and demands. No one knew she had gone directly to Durga . If Mum had gotten wind of that, she would’ve locked Farah away.

Nitya’s disappearance had changed their family—as well as the village—in profound ways. It had aged her father significantly. Her mother was overly fearful and overbearing, to the point where Farah had to set boundaries in order to continue any sort of relationship with her.

Everyone was devastated about Nitya — Farah included. She had walked around in a fog for weeks, waiting for her sister to come home and say it had all been a joke gone wrong. But she never returned. It wasn’t until a few others in their village mysteriously vanished that they had to face the fact that the horrors in the city had finally reached them.

They weren’t the only Wood Elves who had believed they would escape the abductions. They soon learned that no place in Shecrish remained untouched. Well , except for maybe the mountains. No one wanted to be there but the Mountain Elves . The peaks were hostile and inhospitable.

Farah hadn’t seen her parents in years. She sent messages from time to time—or she had during her training before she went undercover. They would undoubtedly be worried. She should’ve gone to see them before her assignment in Mortham , as Durga had urged, but Farah hadn’t wanted to deal with her parents begging her to come home. She had important work to do—work that might include discovering Nitya’s location and bringing her home so they could be a family again.

What would her parents think if they learned of the things Farah had done at Mortham ? She barely knew what to do with any of it. Facing it, admitting it, was like conceding that she was as unscrupulous as those she pursued. How would she ever face her parents again? Or Durga ? Or anyone ?

Rohan knew what she was. He had seen it clearly. He’d even said the words, branding her.

Even if she got away from the humans, made it to Rannora , and delivered the intel to Durga …what then? She wouldn’t be able to go back undercover. Durga might find something for her to do if she remained part of the DIA , but it wasn’t as if Farah could return to her village, especially without Nitya . Not after what she had seen—and done. Where did that leave her? Nowhere .

She could go with the human and worm her way back into Mortham somehow. She had time to come up with a story. Once she secured her place there again, she could return to looking for her sister. There was still the issue of Rohan , though. He wouldn’t leave without getting what he wanted. She would find some way to give him that. If he got caught in Mortham , that was on him.

Apprehension curled cold, hard fingers around her chest. Had anyone at the fort really trusted her? The fact that Golshan and Amarjeet followed her at all times said they didn’t. How would she convince anyone that she hadn’t been a part of the explosion? It didn’t help that Rohan had taken her from Mortham . That made her look like an accomplice.

Nay . She didn’t look like one. In their eyes, she was an accomplice.

Farah thrust her fingers into her hair, shoving it away from her face. She couldn’t give up looking for Nitya , not when she was so close. She’d lost precious weeks and months sinking into the day-to-day at Mortham when she should’ve been hunting for her sister.

The damage had been done, though. There was no going back, no undoing what had happened. Nothing she could say to Rohan would change his mind. She couldn’t tell him that she understood his pain at the disappearance of a sibling, the emptiness that never faded. He intended to take her back to Mortham —to the very place she couldn’t go now.

Once she was in the trees and her magic returned, she’d have a chance to escape. Then , she could deliver the information she had to Durga . From there, she didn’t know. There wasn’t a place for her anywhere. But that was a worry for another day. First , she had to get away from Rohan and his insane plan.

She curled the toes of her left leg, testing her injury. There was only a slight twinge of pain. Apparently , the red leaves did heal. It was amazing. She hadn’t realized humans had anything like that at their disposal. There was much about them she didn’t know.

The sky was turning gray when she heard someone approaching. Farah’s gaze slid to the door. Rohan likely wanted an early start. To her surprise, Kalyani’s head appeared.

“ How are you feeling?” she asked. When she saw Farah sitting up, she walked inside.

Farah shrugged. “ Better .”

Kalyani rested a hand on the table. “ Do you think you can stand?”

“ I’d like to find out.”

She threw off the blanket and swung her legs over the side of the bed as Kalyani reached her. Farah placed her bare feet on the woven rug. The fibers were cool and soft against her skin. She scooted to the edge of the bed and contracted her thigh muscles as if she were about to stand. Only a dull ache greeted her. That encouraged Farah to push to her feet, though she kept most of her weight on her right leg. She wobbled slightly before quickly gaining her balance.

“ Well done,” Kalyani stated happily.

Farah grinned and decided to put more weight on her left leg. She did it in increments and had no resistance or pain. It was incredible and not at all what she had expected from humans.

“ Care to walk to the back of the room so you can wash?”

Farah’s head snapped up in excitement. She would love to bathe. “ Please .”

“ I thought you would say that,” Kalyani replied with a smile.

She headed to the back, deeper into the cliff. Farah took her first tentative step. Then another. Each step without pain gave her more confidence as she followed Kalyani around a wall made of stalks to find a hollowed-out area in a small semicircle. She stared in awe at the simple but elegant area. The gray rock was worn smooth on the walls and the floor. Another woven mat, this one thicker, sat next to a stool slightly off to the side.

It would’ve been dark except for the light pouring in through the wall of stalks. The dim lighting gave the stone a dark look, making it feel relaxing and soothing.

“ Pull this string to get the water,” Kalyani said as she demonstrated.

Farah watched water pour from one of the hollowed stalks sticking out of the wall onto the stone floor. It only lasted a short time, which meant she would have to keep pulling the string for water. Still , it was an ingenious design.

Kalyani pointed at the long, narrow stool. “ The soap is there.” She turned and motioned to a pointed shell protruding from the rock wall. “ The drying cloth here. I’ll be around the corner if you need me.”

“ Can I remove the bandages and the seaweed?”

“ Aye . I can do it for you if you’d like.”

Farah shook her head. “ I can handle it.”

Kalyani dipped her head before walking away.

Alone , Farah propped her left leg on the stool and unwrapped the bandages before peeling away the layers of red seaweed to reveal a raised, pink scar. She traced a finger along the large, ugly mark.

She shook herself and set her foot on the floor before removing the tunic. Farah tugged on the string, bracing herself for cold water. Instead , she was met with delicious warmth. She stood beneath the spout, pulling the string repeatedly so the water poured over her head. Once her hair was properly soaked, she grabbed the soap to lather her hands. Then she plunged them into her hair and massaged her scalp.

Her fingers moved the soap through the long lengths of her hair. She rinsed and repeated twice more. Only then did she turn her attention to her body, scrubbing it twice. Even after all the soap had been rinsed, she continued to pull the string and enjoy the water.

Finally , Farah wrung out her hair and used the drying towel. That’s when she saw the pile of folded clothes, along with some boots. They hadn’t been there before, and she hadn’t heard anyone come around the corner. She hadn’t asked what’d happened to her clothes or her boots when she found them gone. They had most likely been ruined.

She hung up the now damp cloth and dressed. The clothes fit surprisingly well, though their looseness was likely the reason. Even the boots were her size. Farah fastened the belt around her waist and looked down at herself before walking into the main area of the dwelling where Kalyani had fruit and more of the flat bread waiting.

“ How was it?” the woman asked.

Farah flashed a smile. “ Amazing .”

“ Thought you might need this,” Kalyani said as she slid a comb across the table.

Farah nodded gratefully and slid it through her hair.

Kalyani set the plate of food before her. “ Eat .”

She popped a piece of the diced red fruit into her mouth. It was soft and sweet, the flavor bursting on her tongue. She continued eating while working through her hair, section by section, until all the tangles were out. Then , she braided it into a single plait.

When Farah finished, Kalyani motioned for her to follow. She set down the comb but grabbed the last bit of bread as she rose, putting too much weight on her leg. Pain brought her up short. Farah held on to the table and waited for the discomfort to pass. The wound might be closed, but she wasn’t fully healed. At least not by the standards she was used to.

The next time she put weight on her leg, she was more careful. Kalyani waited at the door, watching the entire episode. Worry glinted in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. Rohan intended for them to set out on their journey that day. Nothing would stop him.

The sky was a soft gray now. A few stars could be seen, but they were quickly fading from sight. Farah paused at the door and took in the balcony crafted from more of the sturdy shrava stalks. She followed the handrail to the right and realized they weren’t near the top of the mesa as she had believed. They were actually midway down. In the far distance to her right, she could just make out one of the many waterfalls that dotted the plateau. She walked to the balcony’s edge and looked down to find dozens of huts hanging against the cliff. She turned and looked up to see even more.

“ This way,” Kalyani beckoned.

Farah’s mind was spinning when she turned and followed Kalyani to a short, narrow, hanging bridge connecting dwellings with ropes and shrava sections. It swung slightly as she crossed. Kalyani took her over three more before she halted on a platform and faced the ocean. Farah turned to do the same. Her breath locked in her throat when she saw the dazzling display of colors from the approaching sunrise.

She had to lean to the side to get a better view of the giant yellow ball cresting the horizon, but it was truly a sight to behold. Maroon , red, orange, and pink painted the sky, and the colors were reflected in the water, giving the ocean a spectacular appearance. The sight, combined with the quiet of the morning, made the entire experience feel sacred. As if she had stumbled upon something divine that was only meant for those worthy enough to witness it.

“ No matter how many sunrises I see, they always take my breath away,” Kalyani whispered.

Farah had forgotten she wasn’t alone. She took a bite of the bread and nodded, unsure if she could find words after such an experience. There weren’t such demonstrations within the rainwood. The thick canopy prevented it.

“ This is where I come each morning. Do you have such a place?”

Farah thought back to her village and dragged her gaze from the sunrise to Kalyani . “ I did once.”

“ Many of us used to stand and watch the dawn of each day.” Kalyani motioned to the huts. “ At one time, our numbers were in the thousands. Now , we are but a few. So many homes left empty, waiting for their owners to return. But no one comes. Only more are taken.”

Kalyani had said something similar before, but it wasn’t until Farah saw the number of dwellings that she truly grasped the ramifications of what had happened here. It seemed everyone on Shecrish had someone taken, but these humans were hit harder than most.

“ Now , do you understand?” Kalyani asked, her dark eyes beseeching.

“ I see you’ve lost people, aye.”

Her expression fell. “ You don’t see.”

“ What am I supposed to see?” Farah asked in confusion.

Movement above them caught her attention. Farah looked up the cliff to see someone scaling it rapidly. She couldn’t make out a form until the sky lightened more, and she found herself staring at a back she was beginning to recognize— Rohan . She watched in shocked amazement as he easily progressed down and to the side before dropping eight feet onto another platform. Then , he used one of the dozens of ladders to reach them.

He stalked toward them, and his pale gaze briefly landed on Farah before sliding to his sister. He strode with purpose and a single-mindedness that warned of what was to come. Their journey—however short or long it might be—would be anything but dull.