Page 18

18

Farah wasn’t telling him something. Rohan almost called her out on it but changed his mind. Probably because he was still uncomfortable about waking up with his head in her lap. Had she pulled him down? Or had he lay there on his own?

He scrubbed a hand down his face. His head had ached so badly the night before he’d actually prayed for death. Anything to stop the pounding. She had come through for him. He looked sideways at her. Just when he thought he understood who she was, she shocked him.

Rohan stretched his neck and shoulders. He was rejuvenated and refreshed. The little aches and pains that usually greeted him with the dawn were gone. At least for now. No wonder the magical herbs were so sought after. And why the elves were stingy about allowing humans to get their hands on them.

“ There’s water close by,” Farah said. “ We can freshen up and refill the flasks.”

“ Lead the way.”

As he climbed to his feet, Rohan viewed the distance to the ground. If he had fallen, he wouldn’t have hit the dirt. He would’ve landed on one of the thick branches below and likely broken his back or cracked his skull well before he hit the ground. And to think he had followed Farah in the dark for miles.

When he walked across the limb this time, his feet knew where to place themselves. He also learned where to jump on a branch before it started to bend under his weight. All of that allowed him to pay attention to what was around him—including Farah . She cast furtive looks at their surroundings every few moments. Wherever they were, she didn’t want to be here. Perhaps she was embarrassed to be seen with a human. It could be that she wasn’t welcome among the Wood Elves anymore. Or maybe this tribe, as she’d called them, weren’t friendly. The reason really didn’t matter. He had no wish to encounter other elves, so he willingly followed her lead.

And he was lost. Though not totally. All he needed to do was point himself south, and he’d eventually end up at the coast. But it wasn’t just about crossing the land. Tribes of unknown Wood Elves dotted the area along the way. They might allow him to move about freely, but they might not. He wasn’t keen on finding out. Not when Farah was giving him exactly what he wanted: Mortham .

She kept close to the trunks as she moved, sprinting across branches and plastering herself against the next tree. He wasn’t as nimble as Farah . Or as agile. The way she moved reminded him of Kalyani in the water. Yet he kept up, albeit not nearly as gracefully. Rohan didn’t know how to give up. He just kept plowing ahead, figuring things out as he went. That didn’t mean much in the world of elves where humans could never keep up. But among his kind, it meant something.

He leapt from one branch onto another and landed solidly. When he took his next step forward, the toe of his boot caught a knob on the limb. Rohan tried to right himself, but he overcompensated. He twisted and missed the branch he reached for. As he fell, he latched onto another limb that stopped his tumble. He couldn’t believe he had fallen again. Not to mention the loud ruckus he’d made during the whole debacle.

He looked toward Farah . She motioned for him to hurry before her gaze darted to the side. He didn’t wait to see if something was there before he pulled himself up and hastened to reach her. She shook her head and motioned for him to stay. He followed her lead and kept absolutely still and silent. She didn’t even swat away the bug that buzzed around her.

It wasn’t easy to see through the foliage, but with what little he could make out, he didn’t see anything. Nor did he hear anything. Then again, Wood Elves were nearly silent when they moved. Once again, he put his trust in Farah . He wondered at his sanity in that. Sure , she was running for her life, but that didn’t mean her decisions would benefit him. Likely just the opposite.

Long minutes passed without anything. Then , he caught sight of the first elf. The male was several feet below them on a tree to their left. His long, brown hair was pulled away from his face. He wore brown clothing that allowed him to blend in, but the quiver of arrows slung over his back, and the bow in his hand, announced him as a warrior.

After the first, Rohan spotted three more. Two were on lower limbs, but the last was nearly even with them. Rohan was sure the elf would see them. He stiffened, ready to react. If they acted now, they could take the four by surprise. He could get to at least one. She , another. It wouldn’t be easy, but it could be done.

Farah appeared to think differently. He wanted to look in her direction but didn’t take his eyes off the two elves closest to him. They scanned from limb to limb, searching for whatever had caused the noise. Elves likely didn’t fall as he had. He couldn’t imagine many humans trying to traverse the trees like the Wood Elves , though.

The four didn’t make a sound. Rohan watched with interest, taking in the hand gestures exchanged before they shifted positions. He lost sight of one that moved to the side. The only way to track him would be to turn his head, and Rohan wasn’t chancing that. He kept his gaze locked on the other elf. Rohan’s breath caught when the elf’s gaze moved over them. Farah’s fingers tightened on him. She must have seen it, too.

The tension mounted moment by moment. Suddenly , the elves exchanged another round of hand signals before turning and leaving. Farah didn’t move for another five minutes. Then she released his hand and raced silently across to the next tree. Rohan was right on her heels. They crossed six more trees before she began to descend.

Thankfully , she had found a tree with several branches that made it easy for him to work his way to the bottom. It was a considerable drop to the ground from the last limb even then. Rohan landed on one knee, his hands on the ground. Farah was already gone, slipping through the thick vegetation. He straightened and followed her.

The path—if he could even call it that—was narrow and winding. Huge leaves and branches endeavored to impede his progress. He only knew which way to go by the swaying of the leaves from Farah’s mad dash through them. He was beginning to think she was trying to lose him when he burst into a small clearing and found the pool of water.

She kneeled at the shore, her hands cupping the water and splashing it on her face. Rohan bent at the waist and watched her as he sucked in mouthfuls of air. She hadn’t left him last night when she could have. Why did he think she might now?

He walked to the edge of the water and dropped to a knee. The water was cool against his hands as he eagerly splashed his face, head, and neck several times. He braced his hands on the ground and stared into the clear water. The surface rippled before settling back into stillness again.

It seemed odd to look into the still pool and see the many fish swimming around after a lifetime of rolling waves. The fish weren’t as brightly colored as those in the ocean, but that didn’t make them any less beautiful. He sat back on his haunches and lifted his gaze to the sky. The trees stood over them like guardians, their huge limbs outstretched to the others.

“ We need to change.”

Farah’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. Rohan had forgotten she was there. He glanced at her attire as he recalled what the warriors had worn. The bleached gray stood out in the rainwood. If they wanted to blend, it meant finding different clothes.

“ Where can we get more?” he asked.

Her lips twisted as she climbed to her feet. “ There is a place.”

“ You don’t sound happy about it.”

“ I’ve never been there, but most elves know of it.”

He filled the water flask before standing. They only had the one since they’d left his behind. “ What’s wrong with it?”

“ It isn’t a place we visit.”

“ But we can get clothes?”

She nodded but wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“ What aren’t you telling me?” he pressed.

“ It’s a bit of a hike. East .”

Rohan shrugged since they had already been headed east to get to the water. Once more, he knew she wasn’t telling him everything. Maybe it was just that, as a spy, she didn’t want to share too much. It wasn’t as if they were comrades. They were each after something and using the other to get it. Plain and simple.

Farah pivoted and started walking. Rohan fell into step behind her. They traveled for a time in silence.

Finally , he asked, “ How did the elves not see us?”

“ They were searching for movement.”

“ I was sure one looked at us.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “ He might have, but, like I said, we weren’t moving.”

“ Hmm . I’m not sure I believe that. I’ve heard the rumors about how the Wood Elves see everything.”

Her laugh caught him unawares. “ We’re not gods. We know our environment, just as you know yours. If you heard something you knew to be out of the ordinary, what would you do? Say , rocks falling from the top of the mesa.”

“ I would search the area for something climbing down.”

“ Exactly . Those elves knew something had fallen. They weren’t sure if it was a person, animal, or a tree limb. That’s why four came to investigate.”

Rohan missed the ocean breeze. The humidity was high this deep in the rainwood. Even with the drop in temperatures, it was uncomfortable. “ Keeping with the hypothetical, if I didn’t see anything, I would’ve begun looking for something.”

“ As they did. You also forget we were shielded by the branches. We couldn’t be seen, even with the leaves changing and beginning to fall.”

“ They should’ve looked closer.”

She snorted. “ You wanted us to be found?”

“ I’m just saying they didn’t do a very good job.”

“ We can go back and tell them if you’d like.”

He glared at the back of her head. Elves , in general, made humans feel as if everything they did was perfect and they never made mistakes—or so his father had taught him. Yet here he was, seeing firsthand that they did, in fact, make errors.

What did this say about him, though? To be so wrapped up in another species that he wanted to point out their faults. It was hard not to be when humans struggled for every little thing in Shecrish . He stared at Farah . She had shown him another side to her kind. It hadn’t done more than confirm what he had already believed, but it revealed things he hadn’t known about himself.

They walked for hours, endlessly traipsing through thick flora. No one could hear them with the birds and other animals calling out. Suffocating proximity replaced the wide-open spaces he was used to. It was unsettling, so he counted the different leaves he passed to take his mind off it. When it grew tedious, he focused on differentiating birdcalls.

All the while, Farah continued onward. It was hours before she finally stopped. He halted beside a tree and basked in the soft breeze that cooled his heated skin. They didn’t remain there long, however, before she continued. Her steps were slower and less confident now. Rohan tried to see what had caught her attention, but there was nothing but trees and more trees.

The next time she halted, he came up beside her. “ What is it?”

“ We’re here.”

He followed her finger. Rohan had to look between the leaves of a small tree to make out the outline of a building.

“ It’s bigger than I thought,” she murmured.

He glanced at her. “ Are they dangerous?”

“ Depends on who you ask.”