Page 12 of Alien on the Moon (Thryal Mates #3)

Rylan

Waking up next to Elena quickly became Rylan’s favorite thing. Her even breaths puffed warm air on his chest while her head rested in the nook of his shoulder. Rylan lifted his head and placed a kiss next to her messy bun.

Elena groaned as he shifted. “Not yet,” she mumbled, throwing her leg over him and cuddling closer.

Rylan chuckled. “I guess the soil samples can wait a bit longer,” he mumbled into her hair as he pulled her in tighter.

Elena giggled. “Cuddles trump soil samples right now,” she agreed. She hummed contentedly into his neck.

“Last night was great,” Rylan said. “Though I don’t appreciate the pain in my head this morning.”

Elena laughed. “I can’t believe how good you are at beer pong! A true master.” She poked his side. “I declare from here on that you shall always be my teammate.”

Rylan grinned at the praise. “Is that a royal decree, Princess?”

Elena gasped and propped herself up on an elbow. “I thought I told you not to call me that!”

He laughed. “I can’t believe how casual you and your sisters are. Even Arccoo has become less formal. The Flores sisters will be the downfall of Thryal royalty,” he said with a smirk. Elena scoffed.

“You clearly never met Arccoo’s brother. Man, that guy was a piece of work.”

Rylan winced. Growing up as a commoner, it was unheard of to speak ill of anyone in the royal family—whether they were disgraced or not. Elena didn’t seem to notice and flopped onto her back.

“I need a greasy breakfast. Do you think there’s still some rupen strips left?”

Rylan smiled. The meaty strips were often fried in oil, and Elena had compared it to something she called “bacon.” It was strange to have it at breakfast.

“I’ll speak to the cooks. I’m sure your sisters will appreciate it, too.”

Elena smiled back at him. “Have I mentioned how great you are?”

Rylan grinned and kissed her. “A few times, but I’m not opposed to repetition.”

They dressed quickly, stealing glances at each other and grinning each time they were caught. The way Elena bit her lip as her eyes roved over him made him want to drag her back into bed and never leave.

The sun was cresting the horizon as Sofia and Carmen stumbled into the common room.

“Life-juice, please,” Sofia said. She made grabby hands, her eyes barely open. Rylan smirked as he poured her some of the caffeine-rich ruava tea.

“Too many shots, Sofia?” he asked cheekily.

Sofia glared at him. “Too many words, Rylan. Gimme!” She grabbed the mug from his hands and immediately sipped, ignoring the heat of the drink. Carmen was significantly more composed, smirking as she thanked him for her mug.

“What do you have planned for today?” Elena asked, pushing two breakfast plates toward her sisters. There was a huge stack of fried rupen strips between them, and Sofia moaned as she bit into one.

Sofia held up a hand to Elena, signaling her to wait until she’d consumed more caffeine. Elena shot Rylan an amused look.

“Looks like this Earthling is still adjusting to Thryal wine,” she fake-whispered to him. The comment earned her a fierce glare. Rylan was slightly terrified, but Elena just laughed.

“I’m going back to bed after breakfast,” Sofia said.

“Arccoo mentioned wanting to have a picnic later. Are you two free to join us?” Carmen added.

Elena bit her lip, pulling up her to-do list. Rylan watched the crease in her forehead, a slight despondent air to her. He placed a hand over her device and smiled at her.

“We have some things to work through this morning, but I’m sure we can make time for a picnic later.” Elena beamed at him and finished the last of her breakfast.

“Let’s get to it then. Come fetch us when you’re ready to go?” she asked her sisters, who both nodded absently, focused on their breakfasts.

Sofia was already pouring a second mug. Elena snickered at her obvious discomfort.

Rylan smirked. Elena had been in a frighteningly similar state only an hour ago, yet she teased her sister for it. He knew better than to mention his thoughts, though. He wasn’t prepared to receive another installment of the Flores dagger glares.

When they reached their desks, Rylan stifled a sigh. His desk was covered in untested samples, test results from other scientists, and various updates from the compound. Elena wrinkled her nose at the sight.

“No rest for the wicked, huh?” she said, clapping him on the shoulder. Rylan frowned.

“Who are you calling wicked?” he teased. He really enjoyed her Earthly sayings, though they never made much sense. He’d learned to just go with it.

Elena laughed, though the sound died quickly as she started up her machine, and a million messages pinged through. Rylan couldn’t hold back his snicker.

“Karma, was it?” Elena had taught him about the strange concept. That one actually did make a lot of sense.

Ah, there it is , Rylan thought as Elena’s glare prickled over his skin. He bit his lip to hold in his smirk.

The morning flew by as both of them caught up on admin. With the royals visiting, they’d been away from their work for the better part of two days, and it showed. Rylan massaged his forehead as he read through what felt like the fiftieth report.

“Doesn’t look like there are many changes in the soil or the atmosphere,” he said to Elena.

She blinked as she looked up from her screen. “The plant samples look the same, too. I expected faster results with the squigs working on the soil.” She frowned and pushed her glasses up her nose. “We should go check on them.”

Rylan nodded as he stood and stretched. Elena’s eyes roamed over him hungrily.

“Eww, table that look, sis.” Sofia strolled in, looking considerably fresher.

Elena scoffed.

“As if you don’t look at Z the same way,” she retorted.

A pleased flush warmed Rylan’s skin. Did she realize she’d compared their budding relationship to her married sister’s?

Before he had time to process that, Carmen and Arccoo entered the lab. Rylan automatically straightened, patting his head even though he had no hair to flatten. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Arccoo smiled at him. “At ease, soldier,” he teased. “We’re here to collect you for lunch.”

Sofia scoffed. “In truth, we need you guys to pick a picnic spot. We have no idea what’s out there.” She waved toward the window.

Carmen elbowed her. “We just want to spend time with you,” she corrected her blunt sister diplomatically. “And… maybe we don’t know where to go.” She looked up sheepishly.

Elena laughed and threaded her arm through Rylan’s. His chest warmed at the familiarity. “Let’s go then.”

The picnic took them away from the lab for almost three hours, and they returned to chaos. Jaku, normally found with a grin or a smirk, had lines of worry on his face. The sight sent shivers of discomfort down Rylan’s spine.

“Rylan, where have you been? Your comm is off.” He shot a careful look at Arccoo and Elena’s sisters. “Can I show you something in the lab?” he asked pointedly. Rylan checked the comm device on his wrist. The battery had died. He swore softly.

Distracted, he offered vague apologies to the prince and the sisters before following Jaku to the lab. He was halfway down the corridor when hurried footsteps followed him.

“What’s wrong?” Elena asked, her voice tense.

Rylan shook his head. “We shouldn’t have stayed away for so long. Go back to your sisters. I’ll find out what happened.” He almost winced at how terse his tone was but worry overtook his senses. Elena stopped, hands on her hips.

“Nope, we don’t talk to each other like that. I’m coming with you, and we’ll figure this out together,” she said.

Rylan drew a deep breath into his lungs and kept walking, making Elena almost jog to keep up with his long strides.

“We’re going to talk about this later,” she promised ominously.

The lab was a flurry of activity that quieted somewhat when they entered. Everyone flashed them grim looks. Rylan’s stomach tightened with anxiety.

He strode to Jaku’s desk with Elena hot on his heels.

“Well? What is it?” he asked impatiently. Jaku looked up from the sample box on his desk, where a few squigs were lazily wriggling around. No, not lazily, more… sluggishly. Rylan frowned as he leaned closer.

“Why are they green?” he asked slowly, lifting his eyes to take in Jaku’s somber face.

“It started this morning. They seemed off when I checked on them, so I took a few to test. It’s like they’re…”

“Dying.” Elena finished for him, covering her mouth with her hand. “Well, shit.”

“Have you tested the soil?” Rylan asked brusquely.

Jaku nodded and pulled up test results on his screen, tilting it so Rylan and Elena could see. “This is why I tried to call you. The soil is reverting back to what it was before we introduced the squigs.”

“Oxygen?” Elena asked.

“Decreasing steadily.”

Rylan cursed and started pacing. The squigs were meant to be the answer to most of their problems. It had been working, so why did it stop? What happened to them?

“Have you tested for diseases?”

Jaku shook his head. “I didn’t want to dissect any of them without your say-so, sir. With your permission, I’ll pull a few and start running bloods.”

“Do it. Elena.” He turned to her, taking in her shaken expression and wide eyes. “You’re one of our best researchers. Find every possible disease squigs could have and compile a table of symptoms, prevention, and cures.” Elena nodded, happy to have something to do.

Rylan turned to the department heads listening to the conversation.

“Kyn, I need soil samples taken every hour. Analyze for nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and sulfur. Test pH every ten minutes.”

Kyn nodded, scurrying off to mobilize her team.

“Triim, I need eyes on the squigs at all times. I want to know every movement they make.”

Triim saluted him and started suiting up.

“Stiya,” Rylan heaved a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry to leave this to you, but you’re best at communicating with the royals. I need them entertained and kept away from the lab until we figure this out.”

Stiya rolled her eyes but obeyed. Rylan caught the furtive glance she shot at Elena but chose to ignore it. He’d spoken true, Elena was one of the best researchers he’d ever come across. The way she could work through data at a breakneck pace would be necessary if they wanted to resolve this quickly.

He also wasn’t entirely sure Elena’s loyalty lay with the project and didn’t want her relaying the issue to Arccoo before they had a solution. Rylan hated himself for thinking like that, but he had to manage his risks. If Arccoo shut them down, while they were so close, it would break him.

Hours passed with Rylan fielding constant updates and questions. He’d stolen glances at Elena for the last hour, his exhaustion interrupting his concentration. She was still hunched over her desk, one of her monitors displaying an extensive spreadsheet. She was meticulously color-coding each disease with the preliminary results Jaku provided.

Rylan’s gaze snapped away when Elena leaned back and stretched. He’d noticed she had only left her desk for refills of caffeine. Like him, she had to be starving by now.

He was just about to offer to grab some food when Sofia’s voice rang across the lab.

Damnit, Stiya!

Sofia dodged a scientist carrying a tray of seedlings and rested her hip against Elena’s desk.

“Woah, that’s quite a spreadsheet you’ve got going, sis. Impressive.” Elena looked up from her screen, doing her standard blink as she adjusted her sight. Her eyes grew wide.

“Sofia!” She jumped up, grabbing Sofia’s arm as if she wanted to drag her out of the lab. “What are you doing here?” she whisper-shouted.

Sofia blanched. “Uh, sorry? I didn’t know the lab was off limits.”

Elena met Rylan’s eyes with a panicked glance. “It’s not. I mean, not usually, but we have a lot going on. You’ll be a distraction, and we can’t afford that, uh, not that anything’s wrong, you know, we’re just…” Her ramblings trailed off and she led Sofia out of the door.

Rylan smirked. Elena’s cute propensity to rattle on when she was nervous provided a short respite from his stress.

The smirk dropped when Kyn delivered another report to his desk. With a quick glance, Rylan confirmed that the soil had degenerated further since the last update an hour ago. He sighed when the words started bleeding together on the page.

He wouldn’t be able to focus until he had some food and a nap.

Elena found him as he was entering his chambers. She wrung her hands together, biting her lip.

“Any update?” she asked tentatively. Rylan rubbed his forehead.

“All bad,” he replied. Elena followed him into his room.

“I’m sorry about Sofia,” she said. “She has no boundaries. I think I distracted her enough to forget about the ‘tense vibe’ in the lab, as she put it.” Rylan nodded, pulling his top over his head.

“Thank you. I’m going to take a nap.” He fell down onto his bed, the bunk squeaking slightly in offense.

“I’ve looked up all diseases, and I’m slowly ruling them out as the results come in. I’m going to head out to the field to see them.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

Elena frowned at him; her head tilted as if she couldn’t figure out his mood. The awkwardness that had faded as they got to know each other suddenly came slamming back. The door closed softly behind her, leaving him feeling strangely empty inside.

Rylan sighed, turning onto his back and staring at the ceiling. The tile squares blurred into swirls through his fatigue.

This setback really couldn’t have come at a worse time. After the celebration, after seeing Arccoo’s pride at everything they’d managed to achieve, failure would bite worse than a yurtri serpent.

What are we going to do? The thought resounded through his mind as he drifted into a fitful sleep.