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Infuriated , her blood running like ice in her veins from shock, Farah faced off against the human. She had expected to fight him eventually, but not this soon. Perhaps it was better this way. How had he discovered her secret? She widened her stance and beckoned him to her. “ You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The night hid his features, but she didn’t need to see his face. She watched the outline of his body. He took a step toward her. They both stilled, hearing the approaching footsteps at the same time. Farah swiveled her head toward the sound. She saw the lantern light through the darkness first. It illuminated a grizzled face peering at her.

The man’s gray hair was stringy and disheveled, his beard long and unkempt. His clothes had seen better days. When he saw her, his eyes flared, and his mouth widened into a smile, showing several missing teeth.

“ Ain’t you a surprise?” he said.

She glanced at Rohan , but he was gone. Farah inwardly seethed. Arsehole that he was, he had hidden. She focused on the older human. She was still weak, but she thought she could take the man on her own. “ Does that mean you don’t often see elves this far south?”

“ The occasional Sea Elf , but not one of your kind.”

His voice was friendly, and he seemed nice enough, but something about him made Farah’s skin crawl. “ Now you can say you have.”

“ Aye , I suppose I can.” He raised the lantern and stepped closer.

She instinctively moved back.

He let out a bark of laughter. “ An elf afraid of little ol’ me? Bless my bones, this is a fine day.”

Her strength had improved throughout the day, but her magic hadn’t regenerated enough to use more than one good shot.

His smile tightened. “ Or is it that you don’t want me to get too close? Perhaps the thought of a human touching you repulses you.”

“ That isn’t it at all.”

Farah saw something drop into his free hand from beneath his long sleeve. The light glinted off metal. She recognized it as one of the necklaces put on elves at Mortham to impede their magic. The thought had barely registered before he lunged at her and slammed his fist into her jaw.

Her legs buckled as pain radiated outward, dazing her and causing her vision to double. He released the lantern and fell on top of her, the rigid gold band aimed at her throat. She raised her hands to block him, but he straddled her hips, keeping her firmly in place. He leaned back briefly before punching her in the abdomen. All the breath left her in a whoosh. It was instinct to lower her arms to her sides, but she fought to keep them extended and the necklace from locking around her.

“ There’s a high price for you, elf,” he sneered.

She felt the gold metal touch her skin. Without hesitation, she gathered what little magic she had and released it. Green bands shot from her hand and slammed into his throat, knocking his head back. Something crashed into him from the side. The moment she was free, she rolled to her knees and dragged in air, hoping her lungs would stop seizing.

She heard the loud pop of a bone breaking and got to her feet, finding Rohan behind the man, his arms locked around his neck. Rohan hauled the dead body to the edge of the mesa and tossed him over. He then strode to the discarded lantern and blew out the flame before tossing it and the necklace over the side, as well.

“ More are coming,” he whispered, darting into the brush behind her.

Farah whirled to follow him, not keen on finding out if he was telling the truth. She bent and grabbed her bag as she ran past. Rohan was ahead of her, somewhere in the dark. Her leg twinged with each step she took, but she kept running, the reminder of the necklace at her throat pushing her past the pain.

Large leaves slapped at her face as the brush got denser. She spotted the tall trees in the moonlight and headed for them. Inside the rainwood, she rejoiced. But she couldn’t celebrate yet. Not until she was deeper into the woods. Then she remembered the man’s words about the price on her head. So much for safe. The Masters would’ve put out a flyer with her face on it. There was nowhere in all of Shecrish she could go now.

She heard a loud grunt ahead of her and halted to listen. Going deeper into the forest meant running into other elves—some who might be hunting her. She slid to a halt and closed her eyes, tilting her head to listen. She should be able to hear Rohan , but there wasn’t anyone ahead of her. Had he doubled back and returned to Siguk ? She thought of the sound she had heard. It had been a pained grunt. Maybe it was Rohan .

This was her chance at freedom—whatever kind she might have with a price on her head. Then there was Rohan . Somehow , he had discovered she was an undercover agent. She needed to figure out how. If there was a leak in the intelligence agency, then it needed to be plugged. And quickly before other names were disclosed.

Of course, the human would have something significant to use as blackmail. He was as much the enemy as those at Mortham now. If she ran, she had no doubt he would spread the word about her being DIA to any and all. That would double—if not triple—the price on her head. The reveal would ensure she didn’t work undercover again. The DIA would likely cut her loose since she wouldn’t be an effective agent any longer. And returning home…well, that wasn’t really an option.

She couldn’t run, but neither could she remain. If Rohan had his way, they would return to Mortham —the last place she should be.

The image of him tackling the man trying to collar her played in her mind. A little voice in her head also reminded her that Rohan had healed her injury. Though she could also argue that he was the reason she had been hurt in the first place, and that she wouldn’t be in her current predicament if he hadn’t taken her from Mortham .

Her intuition told her to investigate the sound she had heard. She carefully picked her way across the ground. She would rather be up in the trees, which was exactly where she would head as soon as she figured out what had grunted like that. It didn’t take her long to find Rohan sprawled out on his stomach, unmoving.

She ran her gaze down his body and found his feet tangled in some vines. He must have tripped and fallen. She glanced around, searching the darkness for anyone before sinking to her haunches. She gave him a not-so-gentle shove in the shoulder, but he didn’t respond. Farah then rolled him onto his back, spotting the blood trickling from a cut at his hairline. It was as she had suspected. He had struck his head.

Voices carried on the wind, coming from the direction they had run from. Was it coincidence that they were there? Or were they looking for the human who had attempted to collar her? The latter was the most likely answer.

Her eyes returned to Rohan . He still breathed, which meant he was alive and could spread word that she was a DIA agent. He’d do it, too. She would in his place. He didn’t believe she understood his desperation to find his sister, but she did. Probably better than most.

There was no easy decision here. Regardless of what she decided, she would be running.

Two people from different worlds, trying to find their kidnapped sisters. What were the odds? Her heart skipped a beat as a thought took root. The voices were getting louder. She had to decide what to do and quickly.

She grabbed one of the thick vines and wrapped it around Rohan’s legs, his middle, and under his arms. Then she stood and braced her right leg against the trunk as she pulled on the vine to hoist him up. He was heavier than she had thought he would be. Her energy stores were mostly depleted, but she had to hide them. The only place she could was in the tree branches. Humans never looked up.

Farah’s arms trembled by the time she got Rohan high enough. She hurriedly wound the vine around the trunk a few times before tying it off, then carefully released first one hand and then the other. Thankfully , the vine held. Now , she had to climb. It had never been a problem before, but she had never been so weak or had a leg wound before, either.

She looked up at the limbs. They were too high for her to jump, and she wasn’t sure her arms would hold her, even if she could reach them. She scanned the trees around her, searching until she found what she needed. Farah hobbled over to the tree and put her foot in the hollow. She pushed up and grabbed hold of the trunk until she could straighten her leg. From there, she was able to reach the branch and swing herself up.

Farah leaned against the trunk for a moment and soaked in the feel of the forest. Then she took a deep breath and jumped the three branches to get to Rohan . All she wanted to do was sit down and rest, but the men were getting closer. If she didn’t get Rohan situated properly between the branches, they would see him, and everything would be for naught.

By the time she grabbed hold of the vine and pulled Rohan toward her, her legs were quivering from the effort. She couldn’t get him to her on the first try because she hadn’t gotten him quite high enough. That meant she had to swing him—and hope the knot she’d tied in the vine held. All the while, she listened for the men.

Rohan was getting closer, but it wasn’t quite enough. She attempted to pull him up the last few inches, but her arms gave out, and she nearly tumbled off the branch. Farah stopped trying to force things and braced herself properly. Finally , she got him close enough to drag him atop the massive limb. It should’ve been an easy maneuver, but her body had been under too much strain the last few days to do it quickly or efficiently. Her position on the branch—where she needed to place him—made it even more difficult.

Sweat rolled down her face as she struggled to keep Rohan from swinging out while not falling. But she finally got him onto the branch. Just in time, too, because the men’s voices grew louder. She couldn’t release Rohan because he would tip over. Instead , she lay on top of him, hiding them both. The lanterns came into view first. Then the men.

“ I told you not to let him get ahead of us,” one of them said.

“ Firoz does what Firoz wants. You know that.”

A third said, “ We don’t even know where he went.”

“ Fuck ’im,” the first replied. “ If we find the elf, we split the money between us three. Because you know he wouldn’t split it with us if he found her first.”

The other two muttered in agreement. They were directly below her now. She held her breath when they stopped and looked at something on the ground. If they were good trackers, they would see her footprints as well as the drag marks from Rohan’s body. She strained to hear their words as their voices dropped to whispers.

Time stretched for what felt like an eternity before the men straightened and doubled back, returning to the mesa’s edge. Farah dropped her head onto Rohan’s chest and sent a silent prayer of thanks to the gods. She could fall asleep right here if given the opportunity. She considered that for a heartbeat, but she needed to get Rohan situated better.

Farah sighed and lifted her head. She looked up at his face and found his eyes open and watching her. She pushed off him and put her finger to her lips. He said nothing as she unwound the vines from his body. Then he sat up and slid into a better position on the branch. She let the end of the vine fall to the ground.

Rohan’s gaze remained on her, even when she nimbly walked along the limb to the trunk and settled herself for the night. Her eyes were heavy, and she was tired of holding them open. No sooner had she closed them than she heard Rohan moving.

Farah cracked open an eye to see him rising to his feet. They were very high in the tree, and while the limb was large, he wouldn’t survive a fall. She watched him stretch out his arms to the sides to balance, then put one foot in front of the other until he reached her. She didn’t move to make room for him. Eventually , he got around her to the branch next to her and rested his back against the trunk as she had.

“ Thank you,” he whispered.

“ I bet that was hard to say.”

“ Can’t you just take my gratitude?”

Farah winced at his sharp words. But he was right. “ You’re welcome.”

Two beats went by before he said, “ You probably could’ve left me. They were looking for you, not me.”

“ I’ll keep that in mind next time,” she bit out.

“ Why did you help me?”

She blew out an exasperated breath. All she wanted to do was sleep. At this rate, she wouldn’t get any rest. “ I had a lapse in judgment as you’ve so eagerly pointed out.”

“ Where did the men go?”

“ Back toward the edge of the peninsula.”

He grunted. “ What was that thing the other man tried to put around your neck? I saw it on some of the others on the ship.”

“ It binds an elf’s magic.”

“ There’s a bounty on your head.”

Farah opened her eyes and looked out into the woods. “ Everyone will be looking for me now.”

“ Is there somewhere you can go?”

She rolled her head to him. “ What ? You don’t want to use me anymore?” Farah laughed softly at her jest. “ To answer your question, nay. There’s nowhere anyone can go. That’s the kind of hold the Masters have over Shecrish .”