15.

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN.**

After what feels like an eternity, the rocket begins its descent toward our destination: Planet Xyriel. The turbulence jolts me from my thoughts about Xyriel—who I haven't stopped thinking about since we left Earth—as the entire cabin shakes, making it hard to breathe.

“Sergeant Douglas speaking, brace yourselves,” he commands over the intercom. I tighten my harness and grip the armrests tightly, my heart pounding as we plunge through the atmosphere.

The rocket shakes violently one last time before it begins to steady, then lands with a heavy thud. My ears ring from the sudden silence that follows, the only sound being the distant hum of the rocket’s systems winding down.

“We’ve arrived,” Sergeant Douglas’s mechanical voice crackled over the intercom, breaking the stillness. “Welcome to Planet Xyriel.”

The cabin is a swirl of activity as everyone begins to unbuckle their harnesses and gather their gear. I move slowly, almost robotic, still lost in thought. I know I should be focusing on the mission ahead, but my mind is elsewhere. Xyriel. I wonder what he's doing right now.

I put on my helmet, shutting off every thought about him as I pick up my gear and step into the aisle. Alongside the six people I rode with, we file out of the rocket in a single line.

Stepping onto the surface of Planet Xyriel for the first time feels almost uncanny. I can’t believe that I'm really on another planet. Somewhere outside of earth.

It's morning here, I can tell with the lights. However, the sky is a bit strange, it's like the northern lights— a swirl of multiple colors which reminds me of a rainbow. It's weirdly just like how Xyriel described it, but I don't really think much about it. The ground beneath us is covered in what looks like a fine layer of baby pink dust. It’s eerily quiet, the kind of silence that feels like a calm before a storm.

Sergeant Douglas and Sergeant Major Nicolas are already in position, scanning the horizon with their weapons at their side. Their space suits are distinct from ours, so I can easily tell them apart from us.

“Sergeant Major Nicolas is checking if the oxygen here is safe,” Sergeant Douglas's voice booms through the intercom. “Give us three minutes.”

In the due three minutes, we're all given the permission to take off our helmet and I rip off mine, feeling the rush of fresh air — just like Earth's — against my face. The helmet clinks against my side as we form a line while Serge Nicolas and Serge Douglas begin to discreetly talk over on a radio. I'm standing next to Amanda who has entered into a conversation with London. As they converse, I can't stop looking around every recruit here, in search of Xyriel…and then I see someone.

It’s a figure, standing alone not far off, slightly hunched.

No. It can’t be—

Xyriel doesn't hunch. Still, I decide to give it the benefit of my doubt.

“Xyriel?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

But as the figure turns around to meet my gaze, my heart leaps into my throat. It’s him.

“Xyriel!” I call out louder this time, breaking formation and my hands tremble as I run towards him before anyone can stop me.

“Ophelia, wait!” I hear someone shout behind me—maybe Amanda or one of the officers—but I don’t listen. I can’t. Not when he’s right there.

He’s standing still, watching me approach. His face is unreadable, his eyes distant. But he’s here. He’s alive. Dr. Alericap didn't pull him out.

My heart races as I skid to a stop, breathless. “Xyriel…” I throw him a playful punch, a smile breaking through my earlier worry. My voice trembles with relief, and I catch myself biting my lip, suddenly aware of how… “You —”

…I've missed him so much.

“—got me so worried,” I say, and I can't shake the feeling that I might like him more than I thought.

His gaze meets mine, and for a split second, I think I see a flicker of something—recognition, relief?—but it’s gone as quickly as it came. He opens his mouth to say something, but just then the sound of what seems like an aircraft invades the scene. My breath catches in my throat as I squint against the harsh light reflecting from the distance.

“What the hell is that?” I mutter to no one but myself as I continue to squint, feeling my heartbeat accelerate as I wonder if we're being intercepted for entering into alien territory.

However, Serge Nicolas and Serge Douglas look very much unfazed by it, so I suppose it's not a threat — which helps calm my racing heart, if only slightly. Still, I'm still reeling from the joy of having Xyriel with me on the planet.

The sound of the spacecraft finally stops when it lands, and I find Xyriel’s hand, squeezing it through the space suit. I glance at him and see him staring at the spacecraft with an expression I’ve never seen before… and he’s smiling?

A ‘whoosh’ is followed by a ‘clang’ as the spacecraft door opens. I look away from Xyriel just in time to see five silhouettes approach us. I can’t clearly make out their faces, but as they draw closer, I see them more distinctly. They halt when they reach Serge Nicolas and Sergeant Douglas, seeming to converse, but the distance muffles their words. Then, one of them glances toward where Xyriel and I are standing.

Out of the five, he stands out, perhaps because of his towering height. He’s even taller than Xyriel, who’s 6’9. He begins to approach us while the others remain with Serge Nicolas and Sergeant Douglas. My hands get sweaty inside my suit as he comes closer, still I study him. He has pointed ears like an elf, and aside from that, he looks almost human. He’s dressed in a gold robe that looks too heavy, adorned with huge golden hoop earrings and other accessories. His ginger hair reaches past his back and looks silky. He has two noticeable birthmarks above his thick eyebrows, and his eyes are just like… Xyriel.

I panicked — it can't be, right?

“Xyriel,” the man says, a huge smile forming on his face as he reaches us.

My eyes go wide. *They know each other?*

Xyriel pulls his hand away from my grip as he steps forward, while I remain dumbfounded. I notice the stare of the other recruits, everyone equally shocked as I am.

“*Xyz Ïçū hœnöm,*” the man adds as he pulls Xyriel in for a hug. “*Xüzik gônœm, ukitük brother.*”

Brother.

I might not understand their language, but I sure as hell know he just called Xyriel his brother.