By the time Liam, Asher, and Celia pushed toward the northern collapsed road, the task countdown had fallen to roughly four hours and thirty minutes.
They were moving fast enough that the forest did not have time to become familiar. Liam and Asher cut through the terrain below, crossing uneven ground, low ridges, root-thick slopes, and narrow animal paths without letting the route pull them too far off line. Above them, Raven carried Celia just over the treetops or through the wider breaks in the canopy, keeping pace from the air without driving so hard that Celia lost her balance or became useless before they reached the next anchor.
The route had not been empty.
