Chapter 316 - To the rescue

Chapter 316: Chapter 316 - To the rescue

Jian had spent most of the morning preparing the guest room for his grandfather.

The palace servants had already arranged everything, but he still walked around checking the bed, the temperature controls and the windows as though Grandpa Rue’s comfort depended entirely on him. He even had several kinds of fruit brought in, including the Luma fruit he had recently discovered, wondering whether Grandpa would like it.

His grandfather was finally coming.

After years of not knowing where the old man was or whether he was even alive, Jian would see him again in a few hours. Just thinking about it kept a smile on his face.

He was examining the strange Farian temperature controls when the doors opened.

Celaus walked in.

One look at his brother’s face made Jian’s smile disappear.

"What happened?"

"The transport carrying your grandfather lost contact with the capital."

Jian stared at him.

For a second, he thought he’d misunderstood.

"What do you mean, lost contact?"

"The craft disappeared from our tracking system while crossing the Veyr region. We’ve lost communication and the emergency beacon as well. I’ve already ordered search units to prepare."

Jian’s fingers slowly fell away from the control panel.

"Was there a distress signal?"

"No."

"Then how long has it been missing?"

"Less than half an hour."

Celaus had barely finished speaking when Jian headed for the door.

"Jian."

"Where are the ships?"

Celaus caught his arm before he could leave. "The search units are preparing now. You need to wait."

"I’ve waited enough."

"Jian, the Veyr Forest is restricted. Rushing there without preparation isn’t going to help him."

Jian pulled his arm free.

He knew Celaus was being reasonable. He knew trained soldiers were already being sent and that charging into an unfamiliar part of Gia wasn’t the sensible thing to do.

But he couldn’t sit here.

Only a few days ago, Jian had been trying to accept the possibility that his grandfather might already be dead. Then Celaus had told him the old man was alive and safe. For the first time in years, Jian had allowed himself to stop worrying.

Now the transport bringing Grandpa Rue home had simply vanished.

"I need to go."

Celaus saw that there was no changing his mind.

"Then wait for me to arrange an escort."

But Jian was already walking away.

"Jian!"

"I’ll meet them there."

He broke into a run.

The western hangar was on the other side of the palace. Jian got lost twice on the way there, became increasingly irritated with the size of the place, and finally grabbed a passing guard to ask for directions.

By the time he reached the hangar, he was breathing hard.

Several royal crafts were docked inside.

"Your Highness?"

The hangar commander hurried toward him.

"I need a ship."

"Of course. Where are you going?"

"Veyr Forest."

The man’s expression changed.

"Your Highness, that region requires—"

"Which one is ready?"

The commander hesitated.

Jian looked past him and spotted a smaller craft with its boarding platform still lowered.

"That one?"

"Yes, but—"

"Good."

Jian walked straight past him.

"Your Highness!"

"I’ll bring it back."

"That isn’t the problem!"

Jian climbed aboard.

He reached the controls and stared at them.

There were far too many.

"Okay."

He could figure this out.

Probably.

He had just found what looked like the main ignition when the closing door suddenly stopped. A hand caught the edge, and Xing Yu pulled himself inside.

Jian looked back.

"Xing Yu?"

Xing Yu took one look at Jian sitting in front of the controls.

"Do you know how to fly this?"

"I was about to learn."

Xing Yu stared at him.

Jian pointed at the controls. "You know how?"

Xing Yu sighed and walked forward. "Move."

Jian immediately surrendered the seat.

"You’re not stopping me?"

"If I dragged you back to your room, you would escape the moment I turned around."

"Probably."

"Then sit down."

Jian obeyed.

Xing Yu entered the coordinates Celaus had sent and powered up the craft. The hangar doors began opening ahead of them.

Only after they were airborne did Jian finally feel some of the tension leave his shoulders.

Xing Yu glanced toward him.

"Your grandfather’s craft disappeared here."

A map appeared between them, showing the route the transport had taken from the countryside toward the capital.

The signal ended abruptly above a vast stretch of wilderness.

"No emergency beacon," Xing Yu murmured.

"Could the crash have destroyed it?"

"It could."

Jian looked at him.

Xing Yu didn’t soften the answer.

"But royal transports have several emergency systems. Losing all of them at once is unusual."

Jian’s stomach tightened.

Someone had done this.

He didn’t say it yet, but the possibility settled heavily in his mind.

A communication request suddenly appeared.

Celaus.

Jian accepted it.

His brother’s face appeared on the display, visibly irritated.

"I told you to wait."

"I know."

"I already have search teams leaving."

"Send them to the same coordinates."

Celaus stared at him for a long moment before apparently accepting that ordering Jian home was pointless.

"The Veyr Forest is dangerous. Do not land blindly. Wait until you locate the wreckage."

"I will."

"And listen to Xing Yu."

Jian glanced sideways.

Xing Yu looked suspiciously pleased by that instruction.

"Fine."

Celaus’s expression softened slightly.

"Bring him home."

Jian swallowed.

"I will."

The communication ended.

They traveled the rest of the way quickly. As the capital disappeared behind them, the landscape gradually changed. The bright crystal forests became darker until enormous black trees began covering the land below.

Jian moved closer to the front window.

"So that’s Veyr?"

"Yes."

Even from above, the forest looked strange. The black crystalline canopy was so thick in places that almost no light reached the ground.

Xing Yu slowed the craft as they approached the final coordinates and activated the scanners.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

"No craft?" Jian asked.

"Not on the scanner."

Jian stared down at the forest.

Waiting for the search teams suddenly felt impossible.

"Take us lower."

Xing Yu glanced at him.

"My perception might find them."

That was enough.

Xing Yu lowered the craft until they were skimming above the black canopy.

Jian closed his eyes.

He forced himself to ignore the engine and the fear twisting through his stomach. His dimensional perception spread outward, first through the craft and then far beyond it.

The forest opened inside his awareness.

It was almost overwhelming.

There was life everywhere. Creatures moving through the canopy, smaller things beneath the soil, enormous roots twisting deep underground. Jian ignored all of them and searched for something that didn’t belong.

Metal.

A broken craft.

Humans.

His awareness stretched farther.

Pain began building behind his eyes.

"Come on, Grandpa..."

Then he found something.

Jian straightened.

Several trees had been broken in a long path through the canopy. Something large had torn through them before hitting the ground.

"There."

Xing Yu immediately turned toward the direction Jian indicated.

Jian kept searching.

The wreckage became clearer as they approached. Twisted metal lay scattered between the trees, part of it buried beneath shattered black branches.

But the craft wasn’t empty.

There were living people nearby.

Jian’s breath caught.

"I found them."

Xing Yu immediately increased their speed.

Jian concentrated harder, trying to count the figures. Several were moving. At least one was lying still.

Then he noticed something else.

Large shapes were moving through the forest around the survivors.

Slowly closing in.

Jian opened his eyes.

"Get us down there."

Xing Yu saw his expression and immediately began descending.

"What did you see?"

"Something is surrounding them."

The craft dropped toward the black forest.

Jian was already reaching for his weapon.