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If only it was over. But they still had to get out of Mortham .

“ Farah ?”

She blinked and found Dain in front of her. It took her a moment to bring his scarred face into focus. His brow was furrowed, and his golden gaze was filled with worry. Did she look that bad? She certainly felt it.

“ I’ll get you out,” he said.

Savita’s words about Rohan came back to her then. Farah took a step back and shook her head. “ I can stand.”

“ Barely .”

“ But that means I can walk. Where are the others?”

“ See for yourself,” Dain said and moved aside.

Farah saw several humans of all ages huddled together in the corridor. A young, dark-haired girl broke from the pack and rushed into Rohan’s arms. The relief on his face said it all. Farah smiled at the sight of the brother and sister reunion. Beyond them, she spotted Nitya’s arm where it had fallen after Farah had yanked off the rings, and her smile faded. She and Rohan had ventured into Mortham for their sisters. At least he was able to leave with his.

Suddenly , she stiffened and hurriedly looked around. “ We need to get them out. Now . Before more guards come. Are you, Jai , and Arya able to take the wounded?”

Dain glanced at Rohan before his eyes locked on her. “ Aye . They sustained a few injuries, but we should be able to cover it. And you?”

“ I’ll lead the ones who are able to walk back through the tunnel.”

“ Have you forgotten it’s warded against us?”

Farah suddenly felt very depleted, as if every ounce of her energy had been drained. “ The humans can get it open with the right tools.”

“ We don’t have time to look for those tools.”

“ We don’t have time to argue,” she reminded him.

His lips flattened. “ You don’t look well. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“ I’ll make it. Just get Rohan and the others who can’t walk.”

Dain hesitated before whirling around, his long, black coat billowing out behind him as he stalked down the hall. Everyone was silent and looked terrified. It wouldn’t be long before more guards came—if they weren’t already on the way. She took a careful step forward, praying she remained on her feet. Her leg ached from Amarjeet’s strike, but it still held her. That injury was nothing like her arms or her chest. She felt the blood rolling down her arm and along her fingers before dripping from her fingertips. She wouldn’t look. It wouldn’t do any good to see the severity of the wounds.

As long as she could remain standing, she was fine. She was getting out of Mortham if she had to crawl. The abhorrent place had already taken one member of her family. It wasn’t getting another. She tried not to think of the hundreds of other rooms and the individuals locked inside. She wanted to free everyone, but no one would make it out now if they tried.

Rohan’s eyes swung to her after Dain reached him. Lata looked from her brother to Farah and then back at Rohan before taking a purposeful step out of his arms. She was hurt, but like Farah , she could still walk. That meant she would remain behind. Rohan and Dain exchanged words before Rohan shook his head. Thankfully , the Dark ignored him. A heartbeat later, shadows moved around them, and they were gone.

Unexpected tears filled Farah’s eyes. She couldn’t shake the feeling that it might be the last time she saw Rohan . Her heart felt as if it had been ripped out of her chest. She didn’t want to love him. She’d even tried to tell herself she didn’t. But she did. Deeply . Passionately .

Completely .

He would survive the horrors of Mortham and live to tell the tale. To his family. That was more than she could’ve hoped for.

The room spun. Farah tried to reach out for a wall to hold herself up and swallowed a cry of pain. But the agony pulled her out of her thoughts and back to the present. Arya shot a troubled look at Jai as he took a couple of the injured. She then enveloped the remaining hurt with shadows and vanished.

Farah shook herself. It was up to her now to get the rest of the Siguks out. She walked as fast as she dared to the eleven who’d remained behind, including Lata . Her lip was busted, one of her eyes was blackened, and there was a trail of blood down her face from a broken nose. Her clothes were torn in places and bloodied, but she stood ready and eager to leave. Farah looked at the group. This was all that was left of Rohan’s people. The number was shocking, but at least she could get them home.

“ We must move soundlessly. Stay together and move swiftly,” Farah whispered as she led them to the stairway.

No shadows led or followed her this time. She was on her own with eleven other souls to think about. Lata was two steps behind her, and the others lined up behind her . Farah reached the first landing without incident. She was fine as long as she didn’t try to move her arms or take a deep breath. She turned the corner to continue down the switchback stairs when the floor suddenly tilted.

She grabbed the banister on instinct. Pain exploded through her arm, drawing her to a halt. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out as her stomach roiled. Fresh blood gushed down her arm to drip onto the steps—enough that she heard it splatter. Her breathing was deafening, and nothing she did could slow it. It was surprising that she heard approaching footsteps coming up the stairs. She looked at Lata over her shoulder and jerked her chin for them to stay hidden. Lata quickly backed up and had the others do the same.

Farah swallowed and bit down hard on her tongue as she bent her elbows, drawing her arms up at her waist. It was either suffer a little pain now or never-ending torment if she were caught. She chose to deal with a little now. Tears welled in her eyes from the agony of that small movement. Blood flowed freely down both arms now. Too freely. She was growing weaker by the second. She thought about Lata and the others and refused to give up.

A Dark female came around the corner and looked up to find her. Surprise flashed on the guard’s face. Farah didn’t hesitate to call to her magic. Hers was depleted, but there was still some in the rings. The magic was so repugnant that she wanted to recoil from the feel of it, but it had already left her hands and struck the guard. The female fell back, dead before she hit the ground.

“ Come ,” Farah whispered.

She didn’t look back to see if Lata followed. There wasn’t time. She had to get down both flights of stairs and to the room before the last of her strength disappeared. She kept her elbows bent because she couldn’t handle any more pain. The humans moved as stealthily as she had asked. Her throat tightened with gratitude when they reached the second floor without encountering anyone else. Her joy plummeted when she heard movement outside the stairwell in the hallway.

Farah flattened herself against the stair wall, and the others immediately did the same. She listened for footsteps, trying to discern how many she had to go through to get to the room. Her eyes dropped to the rings. Of the eight, only two still glowed with magic, but even they were dim. They had one, maybe two uses left. It had to be enough to get the group into the room and give the humans time to open the lock. No other moment in her life had meant more than this one.

She looked over at Lata . “ We need to get to the first door on the left.”

“ I can do it,” the girl said.

“ On my mark.”

Lata nodded.

Farah peeked around the corner and saw an empty corridor. “ Now .”

Lata moved around her with the others right on her heels. Half got through before Farah heard footsteps and halted them while the first group reached the room safely. Lata had the door open a crack, looking at her.

Farah waited another moment to ensure the hallway was quiet before she urged the others forward. She moved in behind the last one and glanced furtively around until Lata shut the door softly behind her. They’d made it. Just a little farther to go. She leaned against the door and briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them, the humans were staring at her. They were waiting for her to tell them what to do next, she realized. She had wasted precious seconds when they could’ve been opening the lock.

She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. “ We need to open the small access door in the back.”

“ It’s locked,” a woman said.

Lata shouldered through the others to the back. “ I can get it.”

The need to slide down the wall to the floor was overwhelming, but Farah knew she wouldn’t get back up if she gave in. It would take too much energy. She propped herself up as best she could and kept one ear at the door in case someone tried to open it. She hadn’t asked Dain where he planned to take Rohan . There hadn’t been time. She could find out later, after they got out of the tunnel. Dain would be in the cave behind the waterfall. She was sure of it.

Her eyes closed on their own. Before she knew it, she was sliding down the door. She gasped in agony when she stopped herself. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes closed to fight the anguish that seemed to go on forever.

“ Farah ?”

The feminine voice punctured the haze of pain. She opened her eyes to find Lata standing before her.

“ I got it,” the girl said with pride.

Farah held back a grunt and straightened when she spotted the access door ajar. “ Good job. Get everyone inside. It’s going to be dark. They’ll need to use their hands on the wall to guide them on the ascent.”

Lata nodded and passed on the information to the others. Farah watched how easily the young girl took over. She was a natural leader, just like her siblings. Lata quickly got the others into the tunnel before turning to her.

Farah made her way over. “ Go on. I’ll follow.”

“ I think it’d be best if I followed you.”

Did she look that bad? Farah didn’t have the energy to argue. She ducked under the low door and into the tunnel. The meager light shining into the passageway was quickly doused when Lata closed the door behind her. Farah carefully turned her hand out until she felt one side of the wall. It was all she could manage.

They trudged upward for what felt like an eternity. She wanted to stop so many times, but knowing Lata was behind her kept her going. She heard the waterfall’s thunderous rumble long before she exited into the murky cave. Farah stumbled without the wall’s aid, and Lata moved quickly to steady her.

“ What now?” the girl asked.

No matter how hard Farah looked, there was no sign of Dain , Arya , or Jai . No one was there. She was comforted that guards from Mortham weren’t waiting for them, but the disappointment she felt in the absence of her friends overshadowed it.

“ Farah ?”

“ There are stairs there,” she said, nodding to the left. “ They go up the face of the mesa to the top. It’s a dangerous climb, but the sooner we get up there, the better.”

Lata bit her lip. “ We can’t stay here?”

“ We shouldn’t.”

“ You won’t make it.”

Farah grinned at the girl’s frank assessment. “ I will. I just need to rest.”

“ Then we’ll rest with you.”

“ Rohan risked everything for you and the others. Go , be reunited with everyone. I’ll be right behind you after a brief respite.”

Lata hesitated. “ I don’t know.”

“ Please . I promise I’m just going to catch my breath. I’ll be right behind you.”

“ Rohan wouldn’t leave you.”

Farah faced the girl. Lata’s face went out of focus, and it took Farah several blinks before her eyesight cleared. “ You aren’t leaving me. Go , please. The steps are tricky. I need to regain my strength before I attempt them.”

“ All right. I’ll be looking for you, though. If you aren’t there, I’m coming back.”

She sounded just like Rohan . Farah nodded and somehow remained standing until Lata found the stairs and got the group headed up them. She nodded again when Lata waved before following the last of her people. That’s when Farah’s legs gave out. She landed heavily, but she barely noticed. She was so tired. Her eyes kept going unfocused.

She leaned to the side, thinking she was near a wall, but there was nothing there to break her fall to the floor. Once on her side, she stared at the waterfall, thinking of the last time she had been here with Rohan before letting her eyes close.

“ I swear to the fucking gods,” Rohan growled to Dain after the Dark sat him on a chair in a room he didn’t recognize. “ Get to Farah !”

“ Dain ?”

Rohan’s head snapped to the side to find an elegantly dressed female Wood Elf . She raised a dark brow, and slowly set a pen on her desk.

“ Rohan will fill you in. He needs a Healer immediately,” Dain said before he vanished.

There was no mention of him returning to Farah , but Rohan hoped Dain would go there.

“ Well , then,” the elf said, pushing to her feet. “ It looks like there is a story to tell, but Dain was right. You need healing. You look a fright.”

Rohan watched her through his one good eye as she stopped before him.

“ Rohan , is it? I’m Durga . If Dain brought you to my private residence, things went badly.”

This was Farah’s supervisor. One of the high-ranking officials in the DIA .

“ Don’t talk now,” Durga told him as she walked to the door. When she opened it, she whispered something to someone before closing it and turning back to him. “ There will be plenty of time for speaking after.”

“ After ?” he murmured.

He heard two light knocks on the door. When Durga opened it, a Star Elf walked in. The female was petite with fair skin and violet eyes. Her lavender curls brushed the tops of her shoulders.

“ Lila , this is Rohan . As you can see, he’s had an ordeal,” Durga said.

The Healer ran her gaze over him. “ Indeed .” She stopped before Rohan . “ It will be better if you’re lying down.”

Rohan glanced at the expensive rug. He didn’t want to get blood on it.

“ Not there, dear man. Here ,” Durga said.

She stood next to an ornate sofa covered in light green fabric. That was even worse than the rug. “ I’d rather not.”

“ Don’t be ridiculous. Durga grabbed a throw from over the couch’s arm and spread it on top of the cushions. “ Come . Time is wasting.”

“ Farah ,” he began.

“ Leave her to Dain . We need to get you fixed up.”

Lila held out a hand. Rohan sighed as the Star Elf helped him to the couch. He grimaced when he sat. Lila’s touch was gentle when she lifted his feet after he swung his legs up. Then he was on his back, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t get the image of Farah’s blood-soaked front out of his mind. Maybe the injuries weren’t as bad as they looked.

Or maybe they were worse.

“ Close your eyes,” Lila urged.

Rohan shook his head. “ I’m waiting for someone.”

Lila pulled up a chair as Durga carried over a glass. “ Drink this.”

“ What is it?” he asked, eyeing the liquid inside.

“ Something to help with the pain,” Durga replied.

Rohan sniffed it before downing the slightly bitter-tasting liquid. The moment it hit his stomach, his limbs began to feel heavy, and he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Then , the room faded into darkness.

His lips twisted ruefully when he squatted next to Farah . He gently rolled her onto her back and looked over the ghastly wounds.

“ Nitya got you good,” he murmured.

He glanced up and sighed. The poison was already working through her system. If he didn’t do something, she would die long before one of her friends found her. He rubbed his fingers along his thumb. The best course of action would be for him to heal her, but it would take much more time than he had. He was already late.

“ Good thing I’m always prepared.”

He delicately pulled Farah’s tunic away from the wounds. Then he tugged out a packet from the inside chest pocket of his coat. After he balanced it on his knee, he carefully opened it. He placed the narrow, finger-length white leaves into each lesion, one by one.

It was up to them to do their work now. Hopefully , it would be enough until someone got her to a Healer . He folded the packet and returned it to his pocket before straightening.

“ See you soon,” he told Farah before entering the tunnel.