He clapped his hands and all three of the crystal domes which still held contestants, rose to allow everyone to exit.
Em tried to smile as she ducked under the lip of the crystal dome and Elfa came up to congratulate her on passing the first Trial, but inside she was absolutely withering with embarrassment. She didn’t especially enjoy discussing her feelings or admitting her emotions out loud and now she’d admitted her lust for the Monstrum Commander in front of the entire room! How could she ever face any of them again—especially Rarev?
Of course, the big Monstrum had also admitted to feeling attracted to her, but it wasn’t the same somehow. It was one thing for a man to admit he liked a woman. But for a woman to admit so shamelessly how much she desired a man…Em felt exposed and completely vulnerable.
She just hoped that they could avoid talking about what she’d been forced to say for the rest of the night.
21
“I am so happy that you passed the first Trial!” Elfa said, smiling as she nodded at Em and Rarev. “I am going to be guiding you to the dining area and then to your bedchamber. Would you care to follow me?”
“Of course. Thank you,” Rarev rumbled.
Em simply nodded and kept her gaze down at her feet as they followed the Rigellen attendant. Her cheeks were still burning and she couldn’t look the big Monstrum in the face, for fear of what she might see there.
Rarev, for his part, was unusually silent as they followed Elfa out of the Trials room, through another long glass corridor, and into a private dining area.
The dining area looked almost exactly like the room they had just left with a white carpet and crystal chandeliers except it had a large, round table with five crystal chairs around it.
In the center of the table, which was spread with white linen, there was an odd-looking machine made of crystal and silver. Even odder, however, was the fact that sitting right beside it was a large lump of what appeared to be white clay.
“Come, have a seat,” Elfa indicated the crystal chairs. “We have your names at the places you will sit, as you can see.”
Em looked closer and saw that every chair had a crystal nameplate in front of it. Thanks to the translation bacteria which Rarev had given her on their trip, she was able to read her name in the flowing, Rigellen script. Minister Emilia Oxley, it said on the thin crystal plate, about as big as her palm.
Rarev’s nameplate was on her left but, to her dismay, the nameplate on her right read, “Om’bobla.” The empty place beside him had the name of his wife—clearly it had been left open to accommodate her water chair, which kept the fish tail part of her hydrated.
Rarev saw the problem at once.
“Let’s just switch these, shall we?” he said, reaching for the nameplates.
“Oh, no!” Elfa’s purple eyes opened wide and she looked shocked. “The panel of judges themselves have placed the nameplates,” she explained. “They may not be altered, tampered with, or switched in any way.”
“That male has already tried to molest my female once today—I don’t intend to give him a second chance!” Rarev growled.
“Nevertheless, you cannot switch places with her unless you wish to forfeit your place in the Trials,” Elfa cautioned him. “So please be seated and make yourselves comfortable.”
Em didn’t know how comfortable she was going to be, seated beside the grabby squid man, but there didn’t appear to be any choice.
“I’ll be fine,” she told Rarev. “Really I will. It’s nice of you to be protective, but we can’t do anything about it.”
He frowned.
“If he touches you…if he so much as puts a single slimy tentacle on your flesh, I’ll cut it off for him!”
Remembering the razor-sharp claws that had popped out of his knuckles, Em shivered. He really would do it—she was sure of it. Still, she tried to keep her voice and face calm as she answered.
“Hopefully it won’t come to that. Look—the others are coming now—we need to have a seat.” She nodded to the doorway, where Lady Tabuu and Lord Torrid were making their way towards the table—moving slowly since they had their arms wrapped around each other and were kissing so passionately it was a wonder they could even walk without stumbling or falling over.
Behind them, came Om’bobla and behind him was Channa, his wife. The crystal chair with the tank-like bottom where her tail was housed, was motoring smoothly along, hovering about two inches off the floor. The water inside the crystal tank hardly even splashed as she made her way towards the table.
“Ahh! I see I am to sit beside you, lovely one!” Om’bobla burbled with pleasure, when he saw his nameplate beside Em’s.