Junyv made a noise in her throat, and my gaze sliced to hers. She glanced at the captain and then quickly dropped her gaze to the ground.
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you know?”
A tremor shook her wings. “Nothing. They seemed content when I last saw them.”
I pivoted my attention. “Captain, search their quarters to see what they took. I want to know how prepared they were.”
If he thought the task was beneath him, he didn’t show it, just clapped his wings and left, the sour look he’d been wearing for so long gone from his face.
“Speak, Junyv.” I leveled her with a hard stare.
“I heard captain Jzulyk tell Ular that he’d informed the female you spend too much time with that they would soon be killed at the festival as a sacrifice to the ancestors in the other realm, that it would be a relief to rid us of their vile presence.”
A snarl ripped from my chest and I bared my fangs. Junyv flinched, still not looking at me, and stepped toward her father instinctively.
Vuldrex stretched his wing out to touch her. He watched me calmly.
“We will spread out and search in every direction. Rattle if you find anything showing the direction they’re traveling and we will focus our efforts on that area. They’re human and bound to the ground, they won’t have made it far.” I ordered.
“What about Jzulyk?” Kyvar asked cautiously.
“Go confine him to his house and then join us. I will deal with him personally after this.” I said coldly, knowing my fangs were showing but not caring. “The most important thing right now is to find them before they succumb to the wilds.” I turned to Vuldrex. “Do you know if they took anything?”
He hesitated, then tipped his chin down in submission to my question. “I am not sure, but a transitionor tablet was torn from the wall.”
“They’re going to try to rewire it to send a distress signal.” I said. There was no other reason for tech like that. “Fly and find them.”
Even though we had good night vision and a strong sense of smell, we were unable to find the humans’ trail among the thick foliage and pungent smells of the jungle. I called everyone back to the vorazka during the early morning hours. “They must have found shelter for the night.” I could only hope. “Rest. We will resume our search at daybreak.” They dispersed.
Kyvar joined me as I poured a drink and let it burn down my throat. I poured him a glass and he took it.
“We need to be prepared for different outcomes. What will we do if they get the tech working and can send a distress signal?”
“There is no possible way the tech they have can reach to another planet, and there likely aren’t any ships close enough to receive it.” I rustled my wings. “If by some extraordinary chance they get someone to hear them, they are our prisoners, no one can change that and no other species would even try. Their own leaders haven’t even reached out to get them back.” I scoffed.
“And if they’re injured or killed?” He watched me carefully, but I revealed nothing of my thoughts.
“Then we have three prisoners we no longer have to care for.” I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to enjoy Jacqueline’s presence until I tasted the bitterness of those words.
Chapter 20
Sweat slicked my back as we traveled along a westerly route. Who would have thought that traveling through the jungle would be so miserable? Anyone who’d ever been in the thick of a jungle, I supposed. If not for the water purifier Tatiana had, we would be in dire straits.
“I have counted seventeen different kinds of snake, so far.” Tatiana puffed out.
Jaron hissed a breath through his teeth. “There was a reason I never accepted research missions in the jungles on Earth.”
My hands itched. I'd given up trying to keep them clean, and I had nothing to wrap them with. With only the clothes I was wearing after losing our packs, I couldn’t afford to tear them apart to make bandages.
“Above.” Jaron warned.
As we had numerous times before, we all got low underneath the thickest foliage we could find and waited. A massive shadow undulated over the ground and passed us. We all waited a second longer and then kept going. For most of the day we’d managed to stay off their radar. And there were many of them. He had to have ordered most of his stewards and warriors out looking because we were always hiding and making far less progress than I would have liked.
“Maybe they’ll think we’re dead and stop hunting us soon.” Jaron said hopefully.
I hummed a response, not having the energy to say anything. We hadn’t slept well the night before, for obvious reasons, and we’d started out early today.
“Do you think we’re still on task to make it there in three to five days?” Tatiana asked.
