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The throbbing in his head made thinking difficult. Rohan tentatively touched his forehead at his hairline and bit back a curse when pain exploded. His stomach roiled threateningly, and for a moment, he was sure he would be sick. He rested his head back against the tree and lowered his hand. There was no point in making things worse since he couldn’t see how badly he was wounded or even see to it. He wasn’t sure how far into the rainwood they had gone. It might be farther than he had been before, and that would mean doubling back to the area that he was familiar with to find plants that would help with the pain and nausea.

“ I …uh… Thank you,” Farah said softly. “ For …um…earlier with the man.”

Rohan didn’t look her way. It hurt to breathe. It was better to keep himself—especially his head—as still as possible. If he was feeling better, he might have replied sarcastically, but he just didn’t have it in him. “ You’re welcome.”

“ Why did you help me? We were about to…you know…”

“ Fight ?” he offered.

“ Mm -hmm.”

He stared out into the trees, watching the play of moonlight filter through the dense foliage to sprinkle throughout the forest. He had never been this high up in a tree before. It gave him a different perspective of the world that would be profound if he weren’t hurting. “ I don’t know,” he finally answered.

“ If you’re thinking of taking me in for the reward money, that isn’t going to happen.”

Rohan wiped away the blood on his cheek when his skin started to itch. “ I hadn’t even considered that until you mentioned it.”

“ You would need one of those slave necklaces, and you tossed it off the mesa.”

“ Don’t worry. I’m not going to try it.” Shite , his head hurt.

“ So ? Why did you help me?”

“ A lapse in judgment,” he said, throwing her words back at her.

She laughed softly. “ I suppose I deserved that. How’s the head?”

“ Fucking throbbing.”

“ I was afraid you were going to say that,” she replied, resignation in her voice.

He frowned and made the mistake of turning his head to her. “ Why ?”

“ Because that means two things. The first, we can’t remain here in case you fall asleep.”

The thought of trying to walk was so abhorrent that bile rose in his throat. “ And the second?”

“ I know where to get some herbs to heal your head injury.”

“ There’s no need for that. I just have to find some…” He frowned as the word he was searching for slipped from his mind.

“ And that’s why we’re getting the herbs,” Farah replied as she got to her feet.

He looked up at her silhouette. A beam of moonlight found her hair, but her face remained in shadows. “ Why ?”

“ Because I was wrong. There is one place I will be safe.”

“ And why does that concern me?”

“ Because it’s where we were headed.”

Rohan couldn’t have heard her correctly. It must be the pain. “ You want to go to Mortham ?”

“ No one will be looking for me there.” She tugged on his arm to get him to stand.

He rose when she wouldn’t stop pulling him. “ I don’t understand.”

“ I know. I’ll explain once you’re feeling better. For now, we need to move.”

“ I don’t think I can.”

“ You must,” she insisted.

Rohan looked over the side of the tree. It was a long way down. He didn’t look forward to the descent. He was having trouble following their conversation. How would he climb?

“ Don’t worry. We’re not going that way. Follow me.”

Farah moved onto the same branch he was on before stepping to another. Then she walked along the thick limb until it mingled with another from a different tree. There , she crossed over with a small leap.

She paused and looked back at him. It seemed simple enough. And it was better than attempting a descent. This was simply walking. It would be one thing if this was during the day, but he stood on a tree branch hundreds of feet in the air at night. If he fell, he would hit multiple limbs on the way down. But he had to move eventually. It might as well be now. Particularly if it meant finding something that would ease the ache in his head.

“ Don’t look down,” Farah warned.

He scowled as he kept his focus on the dark limb below his feet and slowly put one foot in front of the other. With one arm stretched out for balance, he kept the other on the trunk until he had no choice but to let go. He swayed precariously and held both arms out at his sides as he backed up a step. His heart thudded at the scare, which only made his head throb more.

Rohan calmed his breathing and attempted to follow Farah a second time. He didn’t try to hold on to the trunk, which helped him keep his balance. He made his way bit by bit. It wasn’t long before the limb began to narrow. That’s when he felt it bend beneath his weight.

“ Keep coming,” Farah urged. “ Don’t stop.”

That was easier said than done. Specifically , when he saw the gap between the two branches. From the trunk, it had seemed a short distance. Now , as he approached, it was much wider than he’d anticipated.

“ If you think about it, you won’t do it,” she told him.

He couldn’t spare even a smidge of mental capacity to answer her. All of it had to be focused on staying upright and balanced as he kept walking. His heart lodged in his throat when the limb he was on dipped considerably. Now , he would have to jump up as well as across.

“ Stop ,” Farah told him.

He gritted his teeth. “ You told me not to.”

“ I need you to back up.”

Maybe she’d found another way for him to cross. Rohan would gladly take it. Right up until he realized the limb was too narrow for him to turn around. Which meant he had to walk backward. In the dark. On a branch.

The groan of the limb got him moving. He placed his foot behind him and shifted his weight onto it before repeating the movement over and over.

“ That’s far enough,” Farah called out.

The branch no longer bowed under his weight. That was a vast improvement from where he had been. “ Now where do I go?”

“ The same way you came. I just need you to do it faster.”

He glared at her across the distance knowing she couldn’t see his face. She had to be joking. “ What ?” he hissed.

“ Faster . As in…well, you need to run.”

“ Are you insane?”

“ This from a man who scales the cliffs as if they’re nothing.”

Rohan touched his aching head. “ I’ve been climbing them my entire life.”

“ You got me up the cliff. I’m going to get you over this gap.”

“ Not quite the same, now, is it? I don’t see you carrying me.”

She cocked her head. “ I got you onto the branch.”

He lowered his arm to his side.

“ You can do this. Trust your feet to know where to go.”

He eyed the gap between the ends of the branches. One wrong step, and it would be over. Farah said nothing more as she waited for him to decide. Rohan briefly closed his eyes against the pounding of his head. Then , he rushed forward.

His gaze was locked on the limb across the way. The gap grew closer. Just as he was about to jump, the limb dipped. Lines of green magic sprang forward and wrapped around him, giving him the lift he needed to cross. He landed next to Farah , and his foot promptly slipped. She righted him. Then , with a pat on his shoulder, turned and continued walking.

Rohan put his hands on his hips and stood there for a heartbeat. He looked over his shoulder. If it hadn’t been for her magic, he never would have made it. He’d gotten her up the cliff, and she got him over the gap, just as she had promised.

He followed Farah , his movements still much slower and awkward than hers. They had to cross many more gaps, and he lost count of the number of branches they traversed. He had been so focused on himself that he hadn’t paid much attention to her. But when he did, Rohan saw that she was favoring her left leg. Both of them needed healing. Yet despite her injury, Farah fairly floated along the limbs. He even caught her smiling once when the moonlight hit her face just right.

She obviously loved the forest. Why had she left it to become a spy? What could possibly have driven her from her home? Even more curious was why she hadn’t left him when he struck his head. She could’ve been long gone. But she had stayed.

He hadn’t cared what her story was because he hadn’t believed it would be worth hearing. Now , he wasn’t so sure. She had become enraged when he threatened her life, but not because of the threat. Because he had called her evil. She had retorted that he knew nothing about her. She was right. He didn’t.

The trees got larger the deeper into the rainwood they went, and he didn’t recognize any of them. Suddenly , Farah halted and plastered herself against a tree trunk. She motioned for him to do the same, urgency in her movements. He put his back to the tree next to her and followed her gaze. He didn’t see anything at first. Several long moments passed before he spotted a silhouette moving through the branches.

Farah flipped around so her front was against him briefly before she spun again to his other side. Rohan turned his head, looking up and down the enormous trees until he finally saw the second figure. Farah didn’t move, even after the two elves were long gone. Were there more he didn’t see? It was likely. He stopped looking and allowed himself to rest.

“ What now?” he whispered after several quiet minutes.

She startled as if she had forgotten he was there before closely studying the area around them and then looking at him. “ We’ll have to move quickly and quietly. We’re skirting others’ territory, and I don’t wish to alert these elves to our presence.”

“ You’re a Wood Elf . Would you not be welcomed?”

Instead of answering, she motioned for him to follow. Rohan hoped they got to where they were going soon. Between the headache and the nausea, he didn’t know how much longer he could remain upright. Keeping up with Farah proved difficult. She hadn’t been joking when she said they needed to move quickly. She was two trees ahead of him when his foot met air instead of a branch.

Rohan pitched to the side, instinctively reaching out. His palm scraped against the bark of a limb, but he couldn’t grab hold. Then , he was falling. He frantically grasped at anything he could. His fingers touched something, and he immediately latched on. His body jerked to a halt as he held on with one hand. His stomach churned, and his head hammered to such a degree that the rest of his aches barely registered.

He might have stopped his fall, but now, he had to pull himself up. His fingers were already beginning to slip on the branch. Rohan swung his other arm up and found purchase. It took a few more attempts before he could wrap his legs around the limb. He tried to pull himself up, but his body had stopped listening.

“ I’ve got you,” Farah said, clutching his arm.

Relief poured through him. He tried to help her get him up, but his strength was gone, and she ended up doing most of the work herself. He didn’t relax until he rested against the trunk. Sweat covered him, and his stomach wouldn’t settle. He thought he might be sick at any moment.

“ You’re not going anywhere else tonight,” Farah said as she looked at him. “ Stay here. I’ll return as swiftly as I can.”

He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “ Where are you going?”

“ To get the herbs. It’s vital you stay awake. Can you do that?”

He started to answer her when his stomach rebelled. Rohan leaned over the other side and emptied his stomach. He straightened, only to find his hand empty. The elf was gone. She might have left him, but at the moment, he didn’t care. He closed his eyes. Gods , he was so tired. He just needed to rest his eyes for a moment.

“ Rohan ?”

His lids lifted at Farah’s voice. She held something to his lips, but he turned his head away. He didn’t want anything. It would likely just come up again.

“ Drink this. It’ll help with the nausea.”

He tried to turn his head away once more, but she somehow got the liquid into his mouth. Then she placed something round in his hand.

“ Drink more as you need it. Remember , don’t sleep. I’ll be quick.”

His eyes blurred, losing focus. All he needed was to rest them for a moment.