Page 47

“Apparently, victory tastes like beans.” Elena grinned as she went in for another bite. “And it’s delicious.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Rylan offered his mug of satcha flower tea up to toast. After the crisis had been averted, he decided to lay off the Jolt on the advice of the base’s doctors. It was making him far too jittery and anxious, anyway.

Elena clinked her mug of tea to his. “To victory!”

“To science!” he added, toasting again.

Elena got that familiar mischievous look in her eyes. She batted her lashes girlishly. “And to romance.”

He raised his brows. “To romance.”

Instead of clinking her glass again, though, she surged forward and kissed him from across the table. He barely had time to set his drink down before her lips were on his.

“Victory may taste sweet, but you taste even sweeter,” he said.

Elena laughed and sat back down. “Ugh, barf. You’re so cheesy.”

“I don’t know what cheese is, human,” he retorted playfully. “You and your Earth idioms.”

She took another triumphant bite of the vreben. “You know you love them.”

“And you love confusing me with them.”

She nodded, conceding the point. “You’re right. I totally do.”

“Get a room,” Jaku teased as he passed by them. “You’re so cloyingly sweet that you’ve given me a cavity.”

“Oh, we’ll definitely get a room later,” Rylan replied with a wink.

“Rylan,” she chastised without any real heat. Her cheeks blushed a pretty shade of pink.

“You two lovebirds have fun with that,” Jaku teased. “If you need me, I’ll be sitting as far away from you as possible.”

Elena rolled her eyes, but the smile did not leave her face. “Enjoy your meal, Jaku. We’ve all worked hard for it.”

“We really have.” Jaku headed to a table on the opposite corner, only to pause a few feet away and look back. “Seriously, though, thank you, Elena. You saved our project.”

She shook her head. “We all did.”

As Jaku left, Rylan took her hand from across the table. “He’s right, though. If it wasn’t for you, the project would have failed months ago. You’re a hero.”

The color of her cheeks darkened even further. “Like I said, we’re a team. None of us could have pulled this off alone.”

Chapter 17

Elena

“Surprise!” the crowd all called out at the same time.

Everyone was waiting for them, all the workers of the stations—from the researchers to the sanitation staff and the chefs. Her sisters and their mates had even arrived for the surprise, which of course included the prince.

“Oh my god!” Elena said as she stepped into the cafeteria with Rylan.

Elena almost jumped out of her shoes at the shock. But luckily, Rylan was there to hold her still. Elena was starting to feel that would be the case for the rest of her life. And it made her smile more than any part of the celebration that was waiting for them.

The whole crowd clapped and cheered for them. After a moment, Elena managed to notice the banner hanging behind the crowd. It read:Thank You!

Rylan held her hand tightly as they soaked in the moment. She looked up at him and he down at her. Both beamed with unmeasurable pride.