Page 45

Two days later…

Rohan nodded to Farah , who was below and to the left of him on the cliff. “ You’re doing great. Stay vigilant.”

“ And don’t look down,” she replied tartly. “ I know. You say it every few minutes.”

He chuckled and remained where he was as he waited to make sure she had the next handhold. She had taken to rock climbing just as easily as he had thought she would. Her arm strength was building rapidly, too. Soon , he wouldn’t have to wait for her. But they weren’t there yet, which was why he still had a rope connecting them.

She made her next two moves with ease. He climbed higher and glanced up. They were near the top of the mesa. Farah didn’t look down, but she also didn’t look up. She kept her attention directly around her. The next time she placed her hand, she moved it twice before finding the right hold and pulling herself up. That gave him enough rope to get over the top. He kneeled at the edge, watching as she easily scaled the last few feet. She wore a huge smile when he helped her over the ledge.

“ I did it!” she shouted with a laugh.

He got to his feet and tugged her up before wrapping his arms around her. Shadows moving out of the trees into the sun caught his attention. “ Farah .”

She tensed and turned around as they watched the shadows part and Dain step out. They both relaxed at the sight of him.

“ You could’ve announced yourself,” she stated.

The Dark grinned. “ What would be the fun in that?”

“ What brings you here?” Rohan asked.

Dain shrugged. “ You two.”

“ How did you know where I’d be?” Farah demanded.

Dain gave her a flat look. “ You two were obvious with your affections. We just had to sit back and wait.”

“ We ?” Rohan asked.

Farah grunted. “ He’s talking about Durga .”

“ That’s right,” Dain said. “ We have a proposition.”

Rohan glanced at Farah . “ We’re listening.”

“ Several of us now have landed strikes against the Masters . Each of us also has a price on our head. The problem is, we’re all over Shecrish . We want to gather in one location. Somewhere no one would think to look,” Dain explained.

Farah shook her head. “ The Masters know about Siguk , remember?”

“ I’m not talking about Siguk itself. But perhaps somewhere close by.” Dain turned and pointed down the coast to the east.

Rohan grinned. “ I think I know just the place. It’s secluded and difficult to get to. How many of us are we talking?”

“ Ravi and Yasmin are leaving the kids hidden, but they both have exceptional skills they want to put to use. Then there is Arya and Jai , along with me and Salil . Plus , the two of you. If you’re both up for it.”

Farah slid her hand into Rohan’s . “ We’re definitely up for it.”

“ Count me in,” Kalyani said as she popped up from the ladder. “ I saw we had company and wanted to say hello. And I mean it. I want to help. They struck my family and village, remember? I won’t sit back and wait for it to happen again.”

“ Kal …” Rohan began. Farah and Dain looked at him, waiting for him to finish the sentence.

The Masters were a large and powerful group. They needed as many supporters as possible.

Rohan blew out a breath. “ All right.”

Salil squatted on a branch and peered through the limbs of an evergreen as he followed two elves hunting for the ever-growing list of people the Masters wanted. He and Durga had had a long talk about what he should do next. She had sensed his need to take direct action instead of sitting by and gathering intel.

He eyed the female Sun Elf and her male Moon Elf companion. The male deferred to the female on everything. By the way she sneered at him, they weren’t lovers. Nay , their relationship was purely mercenary. And Salil would bet the savings he had stashed that she planned to kill the Moon Elf if they captured anyone on the Masters ’ list.

Salil waited until the Moon Elf walked away before silently dropping down several branches until he stood directly over the Sun Elf . He didn’t use magic. Instead , he dropped a noose over her head and yanked her up.

She gasped and struggled. She even attempted to call to her magic, but she couldn’t concentrate enough to use it as she fought for breath. He wound the rope around the branch and left her hanging until she no longer moved.

When he heard the Moon Elf coming back, he grabbed the next noose.

Dain knew it was wrong, but he just wanted to get a glimpse of Reva to make sure she was all right. He waited until nightfall and used his shadows to get as close to The Crossing as he dared before looking inside. He heard her laugh before he saw her.

Then she came into view. Her smile was bright, her eyes shining. She had on new clothes. The dark circles under her eyes were gone. She walked to the bar and talked to someone. Dain slid his gaze to where she looked, expecting to find Sidiq . Instead , he spotted a blond man behind it with Sidiq . Reva and the man shared a few words before she laughed again. She walked away with a tray of drinks. The blond watched her.

Dain growled, not liking the human at all. And he wasn’t the only one. The man had no idea that Sidiq was glaring in his direction, too.

Thank you for reading STORM WOOD . I hope you enjoyed Farah and Rohan’s story as much as I loved writing it.