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“ What do you think about that?” Dain asked.

Rohan looked over to find the Dark Elf’s gaze on him. “ You’re asking my opinion?”

“ I am.”

Rohan was once more faced with the fact that not all elves could be lumped into one category. He hadn’t expected anyone but Farah to consider his thoughts. But he was grateful. “ The Masters ’ time has come to an end.”

“ Without question,” Dain said. “ But that isn’t what I asked.”

Rohan swallowed, the last of the food settling heavily in his stomach as he realized that Dain wanted his thoughts on Farah’s statement. “ I think Farah is going to do whatever she needs to do. I take responsibility for my part in all of this. It’s why I’ll be beside her when she enters Mortham .”

“ You don’t understand what they do to people there,” Salil stated. He swung his head to Farah . “ You need to tell him.”

“ I did,” Farah replied.

Rohan nodded. “ Even Savita says I’m to go with Farah . She also said we shouldn’t tarry.”

“ I don’t like this. If no one else will point out the obvious, I will. You’re human,” Salil said.

Rohan might have taken exception to such words before, but he now realized that not everything was meant as a criticism. Salil simply spoke the truth. He knew the horrors that awaited Rohan should he be caught. So did Farah . It was why she had thought to leave him behind.

Maybe Salil found him lacking because he didn’t have magic. Maybe he didn’t. But Salil’s words came from a place of concern. Rohan’s outlook had been skewed by the words of his father. Sure , there were elves who did harm. Those who worked with the Masters were proof of that. But others treated him with respect, like those at Amberstar . Even Dain and Salil were decent. The more he was away from Siguk , the more he recognized his biases.

Rohan looked into Salil’s eyes. “ I may not have magic, but I can fight. They’ll never suspect me.”

“ He has a point,” Dain agreed.

Salil’s lips twisted. “ It’s risky.”

“ Everything we do is uncertain and dangerous. It’s what we signed up for,” Farah argued.

A noise to the side had everyone swinging their head in that direction.

“ We’ve lingered here too long,” Dain whispered.

Rohan looked around at the dark rainwood. He didn’t like journeying through the trees at night, but they had ground to make up.

“ How are you getting into Mortham ?” Salil asked softly.

The hairs on the back of Rohan’s neck stood on end. Something was close. He kept his voice at a whisper and said, “ There’s an entrance on the east side of the waterfall past Rannora . It’s just beyond the edge of the mesa.”

“ East ?” Farah asked, her brow furrowed.

He shrugged. They had been headed to Rannora . There hadn’t been a need to tell her where the secret entrance was until after the city.

“ I’ll find it,” Salil said.

Dain used his shadows to move next to Salil . “ You have to get to the city. I’ll take these two as far as I can.”

“ The intel is too important. Take Salil ,” Farah insisted.

Dain’s lips flattened, but he said nothing as shadows closed around him and Salil . Then , they were gone.

“ Let’s go,” Farah mumbled.

Rohan rubbed the back of his neck. He’d be happy to put some distance between them and whatever was approaching. They didn’t rush through the trees like before, though. Instead , they moved furtively. He thought it would make jumping easier, but it actually made things worse. He was too intent on the sounds around him and trying to be stealthy. He slipped every landing and fought to keep his balance. Each time a limb swayed beneath him, he scowled at the noise that sounded thunderous to his ears.

It took some time, but the feeling of being watched finally faded. That didn’t make him feel better as he’d hoped, though. Maybe Farah should’ve taken Dain up on his offer to travel with the shadows. At least she would have gotten to the entrance without being discovered. But Dain was gone, leaving the two of them as it had been from the start. They had made it through so far. They would make it the rest of the way.

He hoped.

Inside Mortham would be a different story. He didn’t allow himself to think about that place yet. There would be time enough to let apprehension and nervousness chill his blood. He needed to remain focused on landing each jump and remaining hidden. They still had a long way to go.

The food he had eaten helped to keep him going, but he was bone-tired. He thought about the remaining herbs. A little taste would give him a boost. But what if one of them became injured in the fort? The herbs should be kept for that.

Farah stopped ahead of him. He moved silently across the branch to the trunk and rested against it wearily. “ What is it?”

“ Look .”

He leaned to the side and spotted the tree across from them. The distance appeared considerable. Easily twice the distance he had jumped before. Maybe more. He looked to each side for another alternative.

“ They’re covered with poison cutleaf,” she said without looking at him.

Rohan had never heard of it, but the fact that it was toxic, and Farah kept clear of it told him all he needed to know. “ All of them?”

“ Regrettably . It’s why I chose this route.” She turned her head to look back at him. “ We either double back to find another way or cross.”

“ Can you get across?”

She nodded once.

He was the reason she hesitated. Rohan assessed the distance to the ground. It was difficult to see through the turning leaves in the dark, but he knew it was far. He’d already fallen a few times, and it wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat. This was worse.

“ We’ll double back.”

He held up a hand to stop her. “ You cross. I’ll go down and up.”

Before she could answer, her face slackened as she looked past his shoulder. “ We have to move. Now .”

Rohan glanced behind him but didn’t see anything. He spun back around just as Farah ran across the limb and launched herself into the air. She caught a branch above her with both hands and used momentum to swing her legs up and in. She released the branch and flipped over to land without a wobble. She immediately spun toward him and waved him over, her eyes wide, her unease clear.

It was all the motivation he needed.

He replayed her actions in his head as he raced across the branch. He locked his eyes on the limb hanging above him and pushed off. Elation spread through his chest when his hands gripped the branch’s rough bark. He drew his legs to his chest but realized too late that he didn’t have enough momentum to flip as Farah had. Instead , he thrust his legs out hard and arched his back as he pushed off the branch with his hands.

A smile formed when his foot landed on the limb. His heart lurched into his throat when his other foot met only air. He felt himself tipping to the side and tried to find purchase. Farah’s mouth opened in shock, and she leaned toward him. But it was too late. He was already falling. He looked around feverishly to find something to grab. Everything was passing in a blur. His shoulder rammed into a branch and sent him spinning. Pain shot through him, but he ignored it as he clutched wildly for something to grab onto.

He hit two more limbs before finally managing to wrap his hands around a branch to stop his descent. His hold was precarious, but at least he wasn’t falling anymore. Rohan swung his leg up and hooked it around the branch. He was in the process of pulling himself up when he felt Farah’s hands on his body, helping him.

His breath was ragged as he sat up and looked at her. She was perched on her knees, her eyes searching his as her hands cupped his face. He had the overwhelming desire to pull her against him and kiss her again. He craved her taste. Yearned for the heat of passion that had scorched his veins. Death had nearly taken him, and he wanted to feel alive like he had when their lips had met at Amberstar .

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. She was thinking about the kiss, too. He touched her hand on his face, and the spell broke with the sound of a branch breaking. They got to their feet and plastered themselves against the trunk. He tested his injured shoulder and winced at the pain that followed. He would likely have bruises on his arms and legs from the other impacts, too.

“ I made too much noise,” he whispered.

“ It wouldn’t have mattered.”

“ Who’s out there?” When she didn’t answer, he looked down at her.

Her eyes were directed into the darkness. “ Wood Elves . They’re tracking us.”

“ Are we in someone’s territory?”

“ Aye , but I don’t think that’s who it is.”

Meaning they were after her for the reward. Rohan leaned close to her ear and said, “ Take the potion.”

Farah fumbled with her bag and drew out the vial before uncorking it and draining it in one gulp. She threw the empty bottle toward the river. “ Move ,” she said urgently.

He glanced in the direction they had come and spotted movement. He had cost them valuable time by falling. She didn’t climb up to where they had been but stayed at their current height. The branches were larger and longer, making their travel easier. Now , he understood why most elves remained in the middle of the trees.

They moved so rapidly, they practically flew. There was no time to look behind him to see if the Wood Elves were gaining ground—doing so might make him lose his balance. He didn’t hear anything. That had to mean they’d put a fair amount of distance between them. At least, he hoped that was the case.

He did a double take when he expected to see Farah’s red hair and found deep brown instead. She looked back at him. He searched for her pointed ears but they were rounded now. She suddenly yelped when someone tackled her from the side. He watched as the two tumbled several branches down before stopping. She fought against whoever held her, throwing punches and kicks instead of magic to maintain her cover.

Before he could go after Farah , a rope dropped over him and painfully cinched his arms to his sides. A presence came up behind him. He threw his head back, connecting with someone who let out a string of curses.

Rohan turned to get in a kick when a punch landed in his kidney. He dropped to his knees as pain blinded him. Someone pushed him aside. He fought against the rope to get his arms loose as the ground rushed to meet him, but there was no getting free. Abruptly , he was yanked to a halt, inches from the ground.

The sudden stop forced the wind out of him, and he struggled to draw in air as he spun with his body in a horizontal position. He looked up when he heard Farah grunt and saw the Wood Elves . He counted six, including the one who had gone after Farah . As he slowly turned, he spotted another coming out of the darkness.

A branch cracked above him. He heard one of the males curse, and then both he and Farah landed unnaturally on the ground. Panic gripped Rohan when she didn’t move. Her skin no longer held the coppery sheen he had become accustomed to seeing. The elf jumped up and dusted himself off as he shoved his foot into her shoulder.

Rohan peeled back his lips and growled. The sound seemed to take everyone by surprise, including him. For a moment, no one moved.

The elf who’d walked out of the darkness squatted next to Farah . Her eyes opened, and she looked up at him. “ This isn’t something we see every day. What are two humans doing in the trees?”

When she didn’t answer, the elf looked at Rohan . He stared back.

The elf chuckled. “ Or do we have elves attempting to pass for humans? One of my team said the woman had red hair, not brown.”

Someone tossed Farah’s sack from the tree to the ground. “ There’s no vial in there,” an elf declared.

“ She could’ve gotten rid of it,” another elf said.

The leader jerked his chin toward Rohan . Someone cut the strap to his sack to remove it from around him. They dumped the contents onto the ground, but there was nothing there. Rohan chanced a look at Farah to find her gaze on him. Her hazel eyes had been replaced by brown ones.

“ What are you doing in the trees?” the leader asked again.

Rohan watched wordlessly as one of the elves suddenly disappeared into the shadows. The leader didn’t even notice since he was too intent on Farah .

A muffled cry broke the silence. The lead elf’s head snapped up, and his brows drew together as he got to his feet and turned in a circle. As Rohan continued to rotate slowly, he saw the other elves removed, one by one. The leader tried to run but only succeeded in rushing headlong into one of the shadows.

Farah carefully pushed herself into a sitting position as Rohan attempted to get his feet under him. He was about to ask her who was out there when Dain emerged from the shadows with two other Dark Elves .