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Rohan’s lips still pulsed with the remembered feeling of Farah’s mouth against his. He replayed the kiss over and over, focusing on her taste, the way her hands had gripped his tunic, and how her body had melted toward him.

“ Focus .”

The whisper jerked him out of his thoughts. Rohan realized they’d reached the watch house when Dain’s shadows parted. “ I’m here.”

“ Are you?” Dain’s yellow eyes were unwavering.

“ Is this where you tell me to keep my hands off her?”

The Dark curled his lip, his nostrils flared in anger. “ Are you trying to get punched?”

Rohan turned away, wondering that himself. The ledgers were on a set of short bookshelves located under a table. He squatted to get a better look. He never should’ve kissed Farah . Not this time, and not the first time. Everything had been off-kilter since he’d tasted her. He shook his head, trying to dislodge her from his thoughts. The lights were too dim for him to see properly. He peered closer at the spines.

“ Not all elves are against interspecies relationships,” Dain said.

Rohan paused in his scan and looked at the Dark over his shoulder. The elf had his back to him, so Rohan returned to searching for the register. He pulled out one and flipped through the pages, but it soon became apparent that he couldn’t read the writing. “ Fuck .”

“ Problem ?”

He stood and poked Dain in the back with the edge of the ledger. “ I can’t read it.”

Dain took the book and opened the cover. He flipped through a few pages before snapping it shut. “ It’s in code.”

Rohan had expected the Dark to be able to read it. He spun and began pulling out ledger after ledger, hoping to find some he could read. But they were all the same.

“ Fuck ,” Dain bit out from beside him.

“ Regroup ?”

Dain nodded. “ No choice.”

Just as they were about to stand, the Dark’s hand landed on his shoulder, keeping him down. Dain’s brow was furrowed, his head cocked to the side as if he were listening. Rohan remained still.

“ Guards ,” Dain whispered. “ Stay low. I’ll be back.”

The words were barely past his lips before the Dark disappeared. Rohan listened for sounds of an attack but couldn’t hear anything. The longer he sat there, the more concerned he became. He had no idea how to get back to the room from his current location. Dain had told him to stay, but something urged him to move before it was too late.

Just as he was about to leave, shadows moved into the watch house. They parted, but it wasn’t Dain inside.