“Please tell us who won,” she said, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. If they had lost the final Trial, the consequences to the Earth would be dire.
“Well, I’m afraid we had to give it to Lord Torrid and the lovely Lady Tabuu,” the Director said regretfully. “They were just a bit more, ah, creative than you two. I mean, you stayed in the same sexual position throughout the entire Trial, while they moved all around so much it was difficult to keep track of. I think at last count, they had tried sixteen different sexual variations.”
“Seventeen.” It was Lord Torrid himself. He and Lady Tabuu had come over to join the judges. They were holding hands and looking unbearably smug, Em thought bitterly.
She couldn’t believe that she and Rarev had gone through so much—and had bound themselves together with a tie that would be incredibly painful to break—just to lose in the end. It was too awful—too heartbreaking.
To her horror, she found she was beginning to cry again. What was wrong with her? Where had her steely outer demeanor gone? Where was the icy composure she was so famous for back home? She seemed to have lost it all and now she couldn’t help showing her emotions, no matter how desperately she wanted to keep them private.
“Oh, my dear Minister Oxley!” the Mining Director exclaimed, seeing her tears. “I’m so sorry—I know what a disappointment this loss must be to you.”
“A disappointment?” Em cried. “A disappointment? You don’t understand at all. My planet…” she whispered, as Rarev put an arm around her and pulled her close to comfort her. “My planet is doomed now. Don’t you understand? The Darklings will strip it bare. And if you think they’ll stop with Earth, you’re very much mistaken. They ruined Rarev’s entire universe!” She looked up at the big Monstrum, who nodded.
“My people can never go back,” he growled. “The Darklings have overtaken our entire ‘verse.”
“Oh, well…” The Mining Director looked taken aback. “It’s just that—”
“Excuse me, Director, but Lady Tabuu and myself have been talking about this and we think we have a solution.” Lord Torrid came forward. “Would it be all right if we subcontracted just the rights to the Yillium to Minister Oxley and Chief Commander Rarev?” he asked the judges. “It’s a useless mineral to us and it appears to Tabuu and myself that these two badly need it.”
The Mining Director frowned.
“Well, we’ve never had the Mineral Rights subcontracted in any way, but I think we could make an exception in this case…let us confer.”
He and the other judges huddled together and Em could hear them murmuring together. After just a few moments, they turned and she saw that all of them were smiling.
“After careful consideration, we agree that in this one case we will allow the subcontracting of mining rights for the mineral Yillium only,” the Director said.
“Oh, thank you!” Em felt as though an iron vise that had been clamped around her heart had loosened. She looked at Lord Torrid. “And thank you for thinking of it!”
“It was nothing, my dear Minister Oxley,” Lord Torrid said modestly. “After all, the mineral has no value to us and we are happy to help you protect your planet—and our entire universe.”
“Can we gather some Yillium today and bring it back with us to Earth?” Rarev asked earnestly. “I have a mining attachment on my ship—we only need a small amount for the moment, just to ensure that my people can protect Emilia’s home world when the Darklings come back. For they will come back—that is a certainty.”
“I don’t see that as being a problem,” the Mining Director said. He smiled broadly and on his chest, his slime-wife smiled as well. “Thank you again for participating in the Trials. It was a pleasure to judge you and watch you in the very beginning of your relationship.”
“And we hope to see you again sometime, once your relationship has matured,” his wife said, her lips moving where they had formed on his shoulder.
Em felt a stab of pain in her heart as she realized that the relationship between herself and Rarev was never going to grow or mature—it was going to be cut off before it had barely begun.
But she pasted a smile on her face and tried to nod and agree. Now that she knew the Earth would be protected, she had regained her composure and she wasn’t about to lose it again.
We did what we came to do, she told herself sternly. We’ve found a way to get the Yillium and save the Earth. Nothing else matters.
But if that was true, why was her heart so heavy when she looked up at the big Monstrum? And why did it feel like she would never love again?
Em didn’t know—she only knew she had to keep calm and see this mission through to its end. After it was all over, she could go home to her flat and lick her wounds.