The distant groan of the garage door opener proved him right.
“Damn,” she muttered. Of all the days for Mom to come home early.
Aelyx drew a deep, shuddering breath. “My sentiments exactly.”
Cara sat up and scrambled to button her pants. “Hey,” she said, “come here real quick.” She gave him a grin that made it clear what she wanted.
He matched her smile and didn’t hesitate to kiss her one more time while she pressed her fingers against his throat to count the beats. Fifteen seconds later, she multiplied the number by four and had her answer.
“One-forty!” she said. “I beat your high score!”
Aelyx laughed. “How does it feel to defeat me?”
Cara licked her lips and tasted him again. “Pretty sweet. I’ve waited a long time to bring you down.” Instead of releasing his hand, she laced their fingers together and gave a squeeze. “Listen, I don’t want things to be weird between us.”
He returned the squeeze. “Me neither.”
“We’re okay, right?”
“Only okay?” he teased. “I think we just proved that we’re quite gifted.”
“Oh, totally.” She pointed back and forth between them. “The world’s not ready for our talent.” Also, I think I’m falling in love with you.
While her heart rushed, Cara reminded herself that Aelyx wasn’t here to stay, and she should probably try pulling back a little. But as she watched him smooth the wrinkles from his sweater and resecure his hair, she realized it was much, much too late for that.
Chapter Eighteen
Aelyx reached out and quickly silenced his alarm before it woke Cara or her parents. Seconds later, his com-sphere buzzed to announce his scheduled check-in with Syrine and Eron, and he stumbled out of bed toward the dresser to retrieve it. While rifling through the top drawer, he noticed his mug of tea from yesterday, still half filled and resting beside his mirror. An automatic grin curved his lips when he whispered “Elire” and set the sphere on his nightstand.
“What are you smiling at?” Instead of two fingers, Syrine greeted him with folded arms and a scowl.
Aelyx stretched and yawned, feigning innocence. “Nothing. Where’s Eron?” Usually his image appeared in tandem with Syrine’s.
“In China with his brother,” she sneered.
“You know what I mean.”
“He won’t join the conversation.” Her brows lowered. “Not while I’m part of it.”
Aelyx had a good idea what had caused the argument between his roommates, but he asked anyway. “What happened?”
Syrine rolled her eyes, something he’d never seen her do until she came to Earth. “He’s punishing me because I won’t uproot my sh’alear. He’s completely lost his mind.” Then she tipped her head and studied him. “You didn’t uproot yours, right? Eron said you promised to consider it.”
“No,” he said. “Nothing’s changed.” Which was a lie. Yesterday had changed everything.
Reflexively, his gaze darted to the wall that separated him from Cara. She trusted him; all the while, he was destroying any hope of a future between their worlds. Maybe Eron was right. Maybe Aelyx should uproot his sh’alear. He honestly didn’t know anymore. In eighteen years, he’d never felt so conflicted, his thoughts always circling back to the same basic question: would mankind harm the future of L’eihr more than help it?
“That wasn’t a very convincing no,” Syrine said. “Please tell me that flame-haired dolt isn’t draining your wits.”
Aelyx’s spine went rigid, and he ordered, “Watch your tongue!”
Syrine’s mouth dropped into an oval. “Why? Because I implied you could be swayed by a human, or because I insulted yours?”
“Cara’s not a dolt. She’s brilliant and compassionate and—”
“Bleeding Mother.” Syrine gasped and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You want to fash her!”
Aelyx couldn’t deny the statement, so he ignored it. “We’re friends. She’s loyal and I trust her.”
Syrine didn’t seem to like that. “Just how much do you trust her?”
“Enough to tell her about the iphal.”
At his words, Syrine’s face went slack. Her eyes widened and she gaped like a dying fish. It took three tries for her to force out the words, and then Aelyx wished she’d remained mute. “You idiot! What if she puts it on her blog? The whole world will know in an instant, then The Way will punish us all!”
“Cara would never do that. She promised.”
“I don’t trust her!” Syrine shouted. “And the fact that you told her something so sensitive proves you can’t be trusted, either!”
“You don’t know Cara like I do. She’s—”
“This is treason!”
“Don’t be ridicu—”
“You’ve betrayed us!”
Before he had a chance to defend himself, Syrine shut down her sphere. He tried reaching her several times, but she refused to answer.
Spectacular. Syrine wasn’t speaking to him, and Eron wasn’t speaking to her. They were fostering more drama than the humans at Midtown High. Since arriving on this planet, they’d slowly come to embody the same traits that had always repulsed them. The Elders had hoped to restore their own emotions by living among humans, but for the clones, who didn’t suffer the same malaise, would they transform into what they hated most?
Just then, his sphere summoned him with a distinct frequency that indicated the ambassador had finally received his message. Aelyx took a deep breath and attempted to slow his pulse before whispering his passkey.
Stepha’s image flickered to life on the bedside table. He barely lifted two fingers, as if he couldn’t spare the energy to complete the gesture. “How can I help you, brother?”
“I’ve discovered a problem with the water,” Aelyx said. “Each time I collect a sample, I find plant life reproducing at an unnatural rate.”
“That’s not possible,” Stepha informed him. “I think you mean Eron has found plant contaminants in his samples.”
Aelyx was confused. The ambassador didn’t seem shocked by the anomaly, only that Aelyx had discovered it instead of Eron. “Actually, both our findings are similar. Syrine confirmed it as well.”
In a rare display of emotion, Stepha’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You’re certain?”
“Absolutely. I repeated the analysis three times because I didn’t believe the original results.”
“Interesting,” Stepha said, sounding anything but interested. “This means the contamination is more widespread than we thought.”
“So humans are aware?” If so, why hadn’t Aelyx heard of this before?
“Not the general population. This is a closely guarded secret, so keep your findings private.” When Aelyx nodded, Stepha continued in his sleepy monotone. “The World Trade Organization requested our assistance last year. Human scientists rushed to begin experimenting with our nanotechnology without exploring the possible consequences, and they’ve tainted some of the water supply with growth particles.”
“What kind of growth particles?”
“They’d hoped to create a fertilizer to foster crop growth in harsh climates. Their intentions were pure, if naive. The nanoparticles seeped into underground rivers and eventually the Pacific Ocean, causing an explosion in plant growth.”
“But if the water in Midtown is infected, that means . . .” Aelyx turned on the light and grabbed his World Studies textbook, then flipped to the world map in the back. “The particles have reached the Atlantic Ocean and the Saint Lawrence River.”
Stepha nodded in confirmation. “It’s not yet at the chronic stage, but it is increasing exponentially. Within a decade, we estimate the contamination of all water supplies and the destruction of most aquatic life-forms.”