I glared at my younger brother to which he only grinned. I intimidated nearly every male I encountered except my younger brothers. They truly were little pests that got caught under my feet.
“Do you know another Kol?”
“Several, baja,” Arli chimed in. “Many families name their sons after us princes. Kol is a popular one as of late since he was the first male to take a human mate. I already know of two newly born males named after him.”
I counted to ten to calm the rising urge to beat on my younger siblings.
“He was sparring with Aza and Raze but went back to his wing to wash up. Nova is off with Surkah and Mother making new clothing for their offspring, and he wants to be freshly washed for when she returns. She does not like the sweat and blood that sparring brings. The sight of blood upsets her and brings her to tears. The smell makes her vomit, too.”
Nova was the first human female to mate with a Maji male, she was currently early in pregnancy with two offspring. A male and a female, proving our scientists, and healers, were right about human and Maji’s mating capability. I had yet to scan her with my lissa because Kol refused for me to be in her presence, which was understandable. I did try to steal her away from him, after all.
I focused on Killi.
“Thank you, brother. I rarely get the urge to beat on you.” I cut my eyes to the other two. “Learn from him.”
When I left the chamber, Killi was boasting about how he was the best of the three of them. Then he was shouting for Arli and Arvi not to hit his precious face as they surely joined forces to beat on him. I looked ahead and saw an opportunity to surprise a black-haired female, and I didn’t want to miss it. I came right up behind the young one and felt myself tense when she did not scent or hear me. She was young, only thirty-nine, but she was approaching femalehood and her lack of concern for her surroundings truly bothered me. I growled angrily to the female ignoring me as she washed a section of the floor, and when she jumped to her feet with fright, I shook my head.
I’d have killed her by now if I was a predator, and she’d have been none the wiser.
“My prince.” She looked at my feet after she pressed her fist to her chest and bowed her head to me. “Why must you always do that to me?”
Because she was the only female who I could constantly walk up on without having to sneak to startle her, and she still did not hear me. It infuriated me.
“Your senses are awful, Kah,” I told her, keeping my voice firm and my growl light. “How can you be Maji and not hear me approach when I make loud noises?”
Her light blue skin flushed, causing her chubby cheeks to darken. Kah was tiny. She was the shortest Maji female I had ever seen. Many males mistook her for a female of twenty instead of almost forty. If she had white or brown skin, she could have easily been mistaken for a human. She was Maji, though, so she had better senses than humans did, but she was not putting them to good use.
Kah’s lower lip stuck out. “I was singing and thinking, my prince.”
“Sing and think less.” My harsh tone was making her frown like a little one. “I warned you that if your senses didn’t improve, you’d be reassigned to clean my wing for the next year.”
She flicked her silver and gold eyes up to mine, and they were filled with unshed tears. She looked like the possibility of having to clean my wing was a fate worse than death. It probably was.
“My prince.” She sniffled as big, fat tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks. “I will get better, I promise.”
She had to improve because it bothered me that a female could be so unaware of her surroundings. It made her vulnerable, and I hated that. I tested females often to see how good their senses and reactions were, and they all hated it. Maybe it was because I was never nice to them when I critiqued their lack of awareness. They avoided me when they could, and I knew I was the least favourable prince in the eyes of females within Maji society, but I did not care. I didn’t need them to like me.
I just needed them to remain safe from the predators of Ealra.
“Lessons,” I quipped. “You have been a servant here for five years now, and your senses are deplorable. I’ll not have it. You will meet with me three times a term, and we will work on your issues. You will improve, Kah.”