“You very nearly did.” Ezah’s expression hardened. “I had no idea dintai would be lethal to humans. While you were sleeping, I filed an update to the System. At daystar rise, males will be removing every single dintai plant in Harmony, so no humans can ingest it.”
I groaned. “You told on me, didn’t you, my prince?”
“It was before you asked me to keep it a secret.” He scratched his ear. “I can promise to tell no one else now.”
I couldn’t believe I wanted to smile.
“I suppose that’ll do, my prince.”
Ezah’s white eyebrow rose a notch.
“I am busy tomorrow, but will you meet me at Nona Mai after dark?”
“Nona Mai, my prince?”
“That is the name of the hill,” Ezah said. “When Maji first came to Ealra, a female would always venture to the hill after dark to watch the night sky. Males would see her nightly and think she was a vision because when they made the journey up the hill, she would no longer be there. The spot was called Nona Mai after her. I do not know what it means in your language, but to Maji, Nona Mai means something like a mysterious but wildly beautiful female.”
The story warmed me.
“Who was she, my prince?” I quizzed. “The female?”
“No one knows.” He shrugged. “Maybe she was a vision.”
Maybe.
“Will you meet me there?” Ezah asked. “At Nona Mai, my friend?”
Friend.
“Yes.” I bobbed my head. “I will, my prince.”
“It is settled.” Ezah got to his feet. “Rest, daystar rise comes early.”
There wasn’t a chance of me going back to sleep, not when I had to overthink everything that just happened. Ezah didn’t give me that option, though, when he reached over and placed his large hand against my forehead. A wave of something washed over my body, and my eyes fluttered shut. Before I could even think about what was going on, I tumbled into darkness, feeling light and happy and ready to take on the world.
I had never had such a peaceful night’s sleep in my life.
Chapter Seven
Ezah
Moving slowly and quietly, I purposely stalked the trembling female standing just a few hands away from me. Before she even knew I was nearby, I pounced on her. She screamed as I wrapped her small body up in my arms, lifted her with ease into the air, and brought my gold capped teeth to her neck. My growl was one of anger, and she knew it. It was why she whimpered so much in my grasp.
“My head wing servant,” I growled into her right ear. “For one whole year.”
“No, my prince,” Kah pleaded. “Let us try again.”
I was too annoyed with her to let her try again.
We had been in a remote training yard for privacy the past three intervals trying again and again and again. Kah was female. Any unmated warrior would be distracted at the sight and scent of a female during training, so I brought her to a private yard to avoid accidents from lack of concentration. Two warriors standing guard nearby kept looking her way whenever they thought I wasn’t paying attention.
Sometimes, how males behaved around females was maddening to me.
“Again?” I repeated. “You have not improved once. Your sense of smell is good, but you cannot rely on your nose when I’m not downwind. You cannot hear any sound I make … even the loud ones, Kah.”
Her light blue hands were clasped together, and she shifted from foot to foot with nervousness. She was younger than my sister by a couple of moon cycles, but I refused to coddle her as I did Surkah. Surkah was always protected, but Kah had the freedom to go wherever she liked … her senses needed to be sharp. With that knowledge, I made my decision. She was to be the head servant of my wing within the palace for one full year. I also wanted to speak to her guardian, and since she was not mated, the lead male in her family held that role.
Through my comm, I accessed the System, found the contact portal for Kah’s family, then selected the head male of her family, her father. I sent him an automated formal hail. I wanted to meet with him and Kah’s eldest brother immediately. The response to my hail was instant. Kah’s father accepted and confirmed his eldest son, Zaha, would be in attendance.
“I will meet with your father and Zaha to discuss this,” I told her. “I’ve trained with all ten of your brothers. Seven of them are in the Guard, four of them are Elites within the Guard, and the remaining three are huntsmales. Your father is a Master Fishermale, your mother takes part in hunting parties, and your older sister joins her. You come from a strong bloodline of males and females, so you have no excuse to have such miserable focus when it comes to your hearing. It is insulting to your family.”