“As you thought, they are hoping that Cien is the lever they need to move the empress.” He sighed. “I suspect they turned Cien’s bodyguard long before the attack, and that’s how they knew when he would be here alone. My house is easier to breach than the Imperial Palace.”

“Does your nephew stay with you often?”

Torran shrugged. “Often enough.”

So the team had been on-planet for a while, but maybe weeks rather than months. Humans weren’t exactly forbidden on Valovia, but they weren’t encouraged to visit, either. The number of full-time human residents was probably in the low thousands. Without special flight authorization, visitors had to take approved ships from Bastion in order to reach Valovia. A team of nine would’ve likely come in on several different ships.

Even with an inside informant, planning an operation of this size and complexity took time and skill. Disappearing wasn’t easy. Disappearing with a Valovian child on a planet full of telepaths was even more difficult.

“Tavi, are you armed?” Eli asked over the comm. His voice was tense and urgent.

“Just a blade,” I responded subvocally. I’d left my guns behind this morning because I hadn’t planned on leaving the house.

“I need you to come to the war room. Ditch Fletcher if you can.”

A glance at Torran revealed his eyes were distant. Whatever Eli had found, Torran already knew about it.

I stood. “Eli needs my help for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

Torran stood as well. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just inclined his head in acknowledgment.

Then he followed me out.

Kee, Lexi, and Anja were crowded around Eli’s station. All bristled with weapons but none of them was drawn. Whatever Eli had found, he’d relayed it to the others first, which meant he expected trouble with Torran.

Chira, Havil, Varro, and Nilo stood nearby, expressions guarded. The lines had been clearly drawn, and it was humans versus Valoffs.

That was proved true when Eli leveled his flat, cold, killing gaze on Torran the moment he walked through the door.

“Tavi, you need to see this,” Eli said without taking his eyes off the threat.

I eased closer. The screen showed the outside of a low building. The video was likely from a traffic or security camera. “What am I looking at?”

“I’ve been tracing the origins of all the transports that entered the garage in the hours leading up to the attack. This is one of them.” He pressed a button and the video began to play.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then a transport pulled up outside the building. The entrance door opened and nine people walked out. They were dressed in suits, but the clothes couldn’t disguise the fact that they moved like soldiers.