Page 62 of The Alien in the Archive

“I’ll think about it,” I tell Thalara. “Promise.”

“Good,” she says. “And I suppose…well, you can keep your secrets for now, but I want to meet him.”

“Okay, okay…enough about me and my situationship,” I say. “What about you? Lyn, I’m pretty sure you just confessed you’re horny for Kaelion Rhyss.”

“Shut up,” Lyn chides, her cheeks turning rosy. “But also…the man isfine. Like, what them head tentacles do? And his mind? Even sexier.”

Thalara is doubly scandalized by that. She looks like she’s about to pass away from mortification. “You didnotjust say that out loud.”

“We’re among friends,” Lyn says, completely unbothered as she leans back in her seat with a wicked grin. “What? Don’t act like I’m the only one here who’s ever had an inappropriate thought about an older man.”

She has no idea how right she is.

“Well, I never have,” Thalara scoffs.

“Right…because you’re completely in love with Page’s brother,” Lyn says.

Thalara lowers her eyes, her opalescent skin turning more of a coral pink. She bites her lip, and I wonder for a second if we’ve gone too far. Not that it was a secret from me—I’ve been reading it in her thoughts since the first time we met.

“Hey,” I tell her. “We’re not trying to shame you or anything. Riley’s a good guy.”

“Absolutely,” Lyn says. “And he’s jacked.”

“Stop,” Thalara groans. “This is so embarrassing.”

“It’s adorable,” I say, nudging her shoulder. “You’ve got good taste.”

“Please don’t tell him,” she whispers, her voice hitching in a light panic. “I shouldn’t even…my parents would never approve?—”

“Nothing leaves this table,” Lyn assures her. “But really…are you okay? With like, the arranged marriage stuff? I know you’ve mentioned it before, and I feel like an asshole for treating it like a joke.”

Glimpses of Thalara’s inner thoughts hit me—romanticizing arranged marriages when she was young, dreading it since she left Triton and even more since she met Riley…

“It’ll be fine.” Thalara smiles softly, but the way she twists her glass tells me otherwise. “It’s just…hard, you know? Every other species seems more willing to change, even the Merati ever since Queen Fiona’s ascension on Homeworld…but my family? They cling to tradition like it’s all that matters. What I want doesn’t even factor in.”

I glance at Lyn, who meets my gaze with a rare seriousness.

“That sounds exhausting,” Lyn says. “I mean…people on Earth are like that too sometimes, but it’s brutal when it’s your family. Like, it’s not just tradition—it’s control.”

“Exactly,” Thalara sighs. “It isn’t even about Riley, right? What if I start something with someone and I’m just…dragged back to Triton anyway? I don’t think my family truly cares about what I want.”

“I believe love finds a way,” Lyn states, surprising me with her romanticism. “And I think both of you are going to find a way to happiness…and maybe I’ll find a way to get it on with a hot Nyeri’i.”

We all laugh, Thalara’s blush fading. I look around at the two other women, seeing the glow of booze on all three of us. I think it’s about time to call it a night; my head is swimming.

“Well,” I say. “I amquitedrunk and I’ve got an early day in the Obscuary tomorrow. You two gonna stick around?”

“Nah, I’ve got a lab first thing in the morning,” Lyn says. “But before we go…”

She raises her glass, and the rest of us do the same. “Here’s to putting our careers first, right ladies?”

I laugh, shaking my head. I needed that reminder. “Hear, hear.”

We clink our glasses together, then finish our drinks. But even as I smile, I feel the pull—that quiet, constant presence of Thorne lingering at the edge of my mind.

And I might say that my career comes first, but I’m already planning how I’ll drive him crazy when I get home.

23

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