“Will you join me?” It slipped out, and she couldn’t hide her surprise.
“I really should get back to my lab.” She paused before adding, “When you’ve completed your repast, you may join me, assuming you still want to aid.”
“I’ll be there,” he promised.
They set out together for the stairs, but at the dining level where he halted, she kept going. He watched longer than was likely polite. In his defense, nice ass.
He entered the dining area to find the minotaur present, reading the paper and sipping from a dainty, if oversized, teacup.
“Hello, Asterion.” Grayson offered a greeting before heading to the niche, where a hot roast beef sandwich with extra pickles awaited. Sweet.
“Good day. I see you’ve already managed to injure yourself again.”
“Yeah. An alien got loose in Leila’s lab.”
Seems a man with a bull’s head could manage to look surprised. Fascinating.
Grayson grabbed the plate from the niche and sat across from Asterion, who put aside his paper.
“An alien, here? I hadn’t heard we’d captured any.”
“Not captured. Grown. Leila was playing around with a chunk she recovered from my jersey. Apparently, giving it meat proteins allowed it to grow.”
“And this ‘chunk’ became a recognizable alien?” Asterion didn’t call him a liar but rather leaned forward with interest.
“Yeah. It wasn’t as big as the ones I fought, but definitely the same ugly bastard. Was about the size of a hamster after it got through eating everything it could in Leila’s lab.”
“That type of rapid growth from such a small sample and in such a short time frame is concerning.”
“Exactly what Leila and Aquarius said. They’re supposed to warn Aries and the others so they can start burning the bodies and the area around in case of flying hunks of flesh.”
“Fire is a good plan.” Asterion nodded. “Many cultures incinerate their dead to prevent them from rising again.”
“Leila’s going to run a test by burning a sample of it to make sure it doesn’t release anything toxic. I’m gonna give her a hand getting a flesh sample from the bugger after I’m done lunch.”
“Leila’s allowing you to help her?” Asterion didn’t hide his surprise.
“Yeah. It’s way too dangerous for her to tackle alone.”
“Would you mind if I joined you? After all, two sets of hands might be better than one.”
“Sure, assuming Leila doesn’t mind.”
“She and I are friends.” Asterion scoffed. “Besides, I wish to see this creature for myself.”
“I told her I’d head over after I ate.” As Garyson mowed down the sandwich, he asked Asterion about the asteroid thing and got a full accounting. Seemed a quest for the device had been the reason the minotaur got released after centuries of being trapped. Interesting dude who retained a positive attitude despite his time in isolation.
After his meal, they headed up the steps, Grayson’s thighs burning at the many flights he climbed, but he imagined he’d get used to it since he’d be doing it daily. Hunh, look at him already accepting the fact he’d be living in this weird place.
They reached Leila’s lab and found her hunched over her microscope. She whirled on her chair and arched a brow. “You brought reinforcements, I see.”
“I was curious,” Asterion admitted with a shrug.
“I gassed it about ten minutes ago, and thus far, it appears to be sleeping.”
“Can I see it?” The minotaur didn’t hide his excitement.
“Through the window.” She waved a hand.
