I clench my fist.
Lorian’s smile fades.
Before either of us can answer, she continues, “I will speak plainly. I watched the trial. I saw the pain in both of your eyes when the human Eve Eden was sentenced by the IGC, and I heard your words. Your truth that you didn’t hide from the galaxy, that you both would dare to love one who is only equal when surrounded by those who see her as thus. That is why I have called you here.”
There is movement on her right. A man steps forward, a human with dark hair, and he’s dressed, not as a pet, but as an attendant. He carries himself like a servant, but the set of his shoulders betrays who he really is to Zira.
Lorian’s glance slides to me. We both implicitly understand now.
Zira’s lips curve slightly, as though she has caught the thought. “Now let’s talk business,” she says with a professional tone. “Of equal employment for humans hired as peers. I am aware that the Ascendant Alliance has tried to hire humans and failed many times .”
“Yes, in the galaxy we have failed,” I admit.My voice is steady, but my pulse hammers. “But on Earth, at our Terra Sanctum hotel, we have an almost completely human staff managed by Reima Two men, and it works.”
“And Eve?” Zira asks. “She came from the same hotel. What happened?”
“We chose Eve for her intellect. What we didn’t fully appreciate was her empathy for the human competitors,” I reply.
Zira lifts one hand, a graceful dismissal. “Of course you didn’t. Don’t be so hard on yourselves. You’re only men. What do you know about the compassion of women? If you had such compassion, men would not be able to fulfill their roles in the galaxy. It’s not your fault. Your mother is no longer with you, and you have no sisters to guide you.”
“This is true,” I say and bow.
“But, you know what I see?”
Neither Lorian nor I respond to her rhetorical question.
“Eve acted as any Reima Two woman would have. She saw suffering and saw a way to help, so she took it. Of course, her ignorance about the galaxy had her helping the wrong organization. But if her actions prove anything, it is that humanity is the same as us.”
“Yes,” Lorian agrees. “Humans have souls and should be treated accordingly.”
“Ah yes, the religious brother. I’m afraid my family stopped believing in the Imperial goddesses centuries ago, but I’ll agree with you in saying humans are just as sentient as we are.”
“And how does this relate to House Serath’s business?” I ask, not wanting this conversation to get bogged down in a spiritual discussion.
Zira inclines her head, acknowledging me. “Desperation breeds desperate acts, which is why Gael the Returner’s movement and Terra Ka continue to grow, but terrorists’ actions never grow straight into decent laws. So we must ardently support the new IGC law regarding human equality and systematically strike down the others, like Terra Ka, or we will never see any real change.”
I’m surprised she used the wordwe. “Are you implying House Serath and the Ascendant Alliance work together?”
“Yes, there’s no better way to shift laws than with markets. Combining our efforts, we can make it unpopular to support the human pet trade. You have already begun the movement by declaring your love publicly. Yes, you lost a lot financially, but what you lost you gained back tenfold in soft power, which is why you’re here now with me.”
“It will take centuries,” I say.
“Wehavecenturies. This isn’t a battle or war, Rafe. It’s an evolutionary movement for the galaxy. If you want to rule like a woman, you need to start thinking like a woman. Gael thinks like a man, and Tribune Jin Kol also only thinks like a man, which is why neither will ever be successful. This is about life, not death.”
“Why didn’t you help us before?” Lorian asks.
“I was amused watching you men play at your Grand Championships and Terra Ka stealing humans, but when I saw you at your lover’s trial, I realized that you might be men worthy of my time and effort. This was solidified when I heard the rumors about what happened in your personal shrine and the decision to send Eve away so that you could find a way to release her from her sentence.”
Lorian and I bow and say in unison, “Thank you for this opportunity.”
“You can thank me when we’ve actually seen the tide begin to turn. Now, as I see it, the trainers and the IGC, led by Tribune Jin Kol, want blood for this year’s Championships,” she says. “House Serath can blunt the investigation, but only if the Ascendant Alliance binds itself to us through contract.”
“Contract?” Lorian asks.
“Marriage,” she says simply, “temporary and transactional. Your reputation for excess offsets my House’s need for reform.”
“And in return?” I ask.
“I keep your human alive long enough for you to decide what freedom means, and how we might come to a settlement with the IGC for a second law regarding equality for humans.”
