“I know.”
I eyed him.
He was one of my six younger brothers, and we’d always had a special bond. As an older brother, it was my duty to guide my younger brothers. In a large family, older brothers each picked a younger brother as their charge, and I chose Kol as mine, which meant I was his mentor. Kol was a grown male at one hundred and sixty years old, but as I was one hundred and two years older than him, I could not help but see him as my tiny brother since I once held him in my arms when he was newly born. However, that outlook was getting harder and harder as of late. Ever since I began training him in combat, taught him to hunt, and instructed him on how to pilot a spacecraft, I could no longer deny he was grown.
He was a male and no longer a young one.
“You will pass the overall test.” I clapped my hand on his back. “I know you will. You’re a great warrior.”
Kol looked somewhat relieved and elated with my words, and it bothered me when I realised that while I had been training him in preparation to become an Elite of the Guard for the past decade, I had never thought to tell him that he would do well. I was focused on making him better, quicker, stronger but I did not pause to think of how far he had come in his skills during our time together.
“You know”—I nudged him, grinning—“Remi and Nesi think they are both ready to test as an Elite.”
Kol looked like he saw Thanas himself, and it made me laugh.
“Your expression is perfect.” I simpered. “I feel the same way.”
“They just became warriors of the Guard.” Kol was in utter disbelief. “Father only let them test for the Guard because they complained to Mother for nine moon cycles straight about it, Remi even cried over it. They’re only eighty-one years old!”
“I know.” I shook my head. “They’re very young. Father would have never let us get away with such antics when we were that age. He would have sent me to the Endless Forest for a night armed with only a small blade if I had behaved as they do when I was young.”
“Do not tell Father I said this,” Kol almost whispered, “but I think with each son, he gets … more tolerant.”
“Agreed.” I nodded. “Ryla, Silis, Kaiba, Aylee, and Talin swear he is a different male than the one they knew growing up. They said he began to be less and less firm with each son born after Talin. I can’t imagine Father being any firmer than he was with me. He mentored me instead of one of our brothers because of my edge tendency. He trained me fiercer than how I’m training you to gain control over my instincts, and I swear to Thanas, I was terrified of him at one point. He once worked me with drills until I was so exhausted I fell asleep in the dirt. He checked my pulse, realised I was sleeping, and just left me. I woke up the following morning to a kit urinating on my face.”
I rolled my eyes when Kol laughed so hard that he tripped and fell back onto his backside.
“You’re lucky I’m not Father,” I teasingly growled, amused by him. “Otherwise, I’d work you until you passed out from exhaustion.”
I pulled Kol back to his feet, clapped him on his shoulder, and we both made our way from the training grounds back towards the east entrance of the palace. We passed by three beautiful female servants, and Kol instantly stopped to flirt with them.
“Beautiful loros.” The females placed their fists over their ample chests and bowed their heads. “I fell during training and hurt myself.”
Instantly, the females surrounded my brother, all cooing and murmuring that they would make him better. They didn’t even bother trying to seduce me, which I appreciated. They knew I had an intended, so they were aware I was not a single male like my brother. Other than bowing to me, the female servants paid me no mind.
“Females,” I said, gaining their attention. “Decide amongst yourselves which one of you will go to my brother’s wing and aid him in bathing. He will join you soon.”
I gripped Kol’s arm and pulled him away from them as they bowed.
“All three of you can aid me,” he called over his shoulder. “I need a lot of help.”
I laughed as I dragged him inside the doors. He tittered too when I dropped my arm.
“You can go and play once we’ve spoken to Father,” I told him. “He is under a lot of stress lately. The pregnancy rate has dropped massively amongst mated couples, and the couples who do conceive frequently carry mainly male little ones. There are talks that our species may be under threat if the rates don’t improve. He and the Elders are having talks about Ryla heading a mission in the coming years, one to find a species compatible to reproduce with us so we don’t go extinct.”