We took the same circular route the transport had taken, passed by Torran’s front gate, and then headed away from the city. The edge of the forest wasn’t that far from the Imperial Palace, so the houses we passed were hidden behind high walls and ornate gates.

The road ended in a wide circle without much fanfare. It was like a switch had been flipped: city on one side, nature on the other. Trees and plants stretched as far as I could see.

Torran ignored the barriers at the end of the road and continued into the trees. After a dozen meters, a narrow path became visible. It was cleverly hidden from the road with plants and a natural rise, but the trees had been cleared enough to allow a transport to pass through.

I tapped Torran. “Is this route well known?”

Torran shook his head. “And the owners around here fight to keep it that way.”

“Where does it go?”

“There’s a monitoring station a few kilometers out.”

I sucked in a surprised breath. That hadn’t been in the brief. I figured the answer was obvious, but I had to ask anyway. “Did you check it?”

“Extensively.”

“Show me where they dumped the transport.”

Torran nodded and we continued deeper into the forest. The trees were tall, with glossy, deep green leaves and pale bark. Straight trunks branched into wide canopies at the top, and the dense foliage prevented any view of the sky. All in all, it was an excellent place to disappear, given the right equipment.

We continued deeper into the forest, until I could see nothing but trees. Unease slithered down my spine. This would also be the perfect place for an ambush.

I tapped Torran’s shoulder. “Is this area under surveillance now? Did you tell anyone we were coming here tonight?”

“We’re monitoring the entire area. No one has returned. My team knows that we’re out.”

Torran’s team seemed loyal, but most traitors seemed loyal right up until the hidden knife slid between your ribs. My unease crept higher.

We stopped at a seemingly random point. The only thing that differentiated it from the rest of the path was the trampled undergrowth. The lev cycle settled to the ground, and we climbed out.

The soft sounds of nature filtered through my helmet. I opened the visor and gave my eyes a minute to adjust, then waved my hand in front of my face. I couldn’t see it. I could hear Torran moving around, but I couldn’t see him, either. It made me worry about what else might be creeping through the dark.

I hurriedly closed the visor, and the night vision returned, brightening the night to daylight once again.

I waved my hand at Torran and asked, “Can you see without your helmet?” I knew Valoffs had better natural night vision, but I wasn’t sure how good it actually was.