Page 51 of Alien on the Moon

“It can be arranged. We can accommodate that.”

“What’re you saying?”

“Rylan is an intelligent scientist, too. You two fixed the issue here together. He’s already proven himself on one project, so why shouldn’t he also get an assignment at the institute? Especially if it’s the condition by which they get you. And if not, well, I can just make it an order.”

“Are you serious?” Elena started to get excited again. Her dream position, with Rylan by her side. It was almost too perfect. “You can do that for me?”

“Of course. His next assignment will not be far from you. I promise.”

“Thank you…”

“Don’t mention it,” Arccoo said. “Now, let’s get back to the party. We have even more to celebrate now.”

Arccoo and Elena rejoined the party. As Elena slid back into place next to Rylan, she decided to hold on to the good news for now. He’d find out soon enough, and she could wait to see the look on his face.

The rest of the party would go by in a blur, thanks to Arccoo supplying everyone with shot after shot. But Elena would still remember a few moments.

Everyone danced to the music. Rylan got close to her. Both of them felt each other’s bodies as they moved to the beat. She looked deep into his eyes and felt herself slipping away.

Rylan stopped the fun for a moment to grab them both water. They retreated to a quiet part of the party to rehydrate. Their gazes never left each other’s eyes.

Rylan and Elena teamed up for one of the party games, a match in human darts against Sofia and Zaraq. Rylan stood behind her and helped throw the darts properly. The cool touch of his hand against her skin was driving her crazy.

The two lovers laughed at each other’s jokes. They got food and drinks for each other, already knowing what the other liked. They had fun while looking after each other.

And that’s all Elena would remember of the rest of the party in the morning. Surely at some point, she and Rylan stumbled back to her quarters, but she didn’t remember.

Though, she didn’t care. She remembered the important things. How sweet and caring he was. The fun they had. It was all she really needed.

And it made her excited for the future. If memories and moments like last night were what she had in store, the future was bright.

Together, with Rylan, she was happy.

Chapter 18

Rylan

“Right this way,” said one of the royal courtiers as they led Rylan and Elena toward the throne room.

The two of them were shown through a grand hallway in the palace, with ceilings higher than Rylan had ever seen. Stained-glass windows decorated the walls, telling the story of Thryal’s past.

Rylan didn’t need to look at them. Every Thryal was told the stories time and time again, starting from the moment they were born. But Rylan still gawked at the craftsmanship of the royal palace. Even as a man of science, he was blown away by the artistry.

He’d only been back on the home world for less than an hour, and Rylan had already been subject to more luxury than he had in his whole lifetime prior.

The palace, of course, had a private landing bay for their ship. They were greeted with a finely prepared meal on the flight, and when they arrived, a servant promptly took their bags. A speeder was brought out to them at the ship so they wouldn’t have to walk to the palace, and Rylan was informed that a royal spa treatment was waiting for them after their meeting.

He knew that most of this was only happening because they arrived with Prince Arccoo. But that didn’t stop Rylan from enjoying it all. He had to. There was no telling when he would ever experience anything like it again.

And now they were approaching the throne room of the king and queen. It was an honor Rylan never imagined he’d have. He was almost too shocked to move when he heard they requested an in-person meeting with him and Elena to get an update on their work on the moon.

“You ready?” Elena asked him as they reached the end of the hallway. A huge set of doors stood before them.

“No… I don’t think so…”

“Don’t worry,” Elena said, placing a reassuring hand on the small of his back. “They’re perfectly nice people. Just be polite.”

“They will see you now,” the royal courier said. On cue, the huge doors slowly began to swing open.

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