Her words were jumbled because she spoke them so rapidly.
“Lies,” I growled. “You ignore me and lie to my face.”
She knew I was about to bite her, and she panicked.
“I can’t hear you!” she screamed. “I can’t hear anything. My ears don’t work correctly! I read lips most of the time.”
I felt my eyebrows rise not because of Kah’s shouting, but because of her words. She, however, realised that she just bellowed at me and didn’t address me with a title. She looked like she would faint away dead on her feet. My hold on her tightened. I did not bite her. The urge to do so had passed, but I stared at her. Hard.
“Explain.”
Her eyes glazed over with tears.
“I … can’t hear like I’m supposed to.” She blinked. “I’m defective.”
I looked over her head, locked eyes with her concerned father, and nodded him forward. He reached Kah’s side within a couple of seconds. The female nearly dropped when she realised he was there. She jerked her head around, saw her brother, and whimpered as she looked back at her father.
“I’m so sorry, Papa.”
“Defective?” her father said. “What do you mean? You hear us when we speak to you.”
“You’ve forced my submission a lot and so have my brothers when you all thought I was being disrespectful when you addressed me and I did not answer. I wasn’t being disrespectful. I just could not hear you.” Kah trembled. “I look at your mouth when you all talk to me. I can only hear a little out of one ear.”
Without asking for permission, I touched her bare arm, closed my eyes, and focused my lissa. I moved it to Kah’s head, her ears specifically. I could not believe what I was seeing. Where her nerves should have been glowing, they were void of colour. Her left ear was completely black, and her right ear only had the faintest of colour. I opened my eyes.
“Your left ear,” I said. “You hear nothing, correct?”
“Nothing, my prince.”
“And your right?”
“Some. I can hear when people shout at me when they are close.” Her chin quivered. “It is not very much, but it’s all I have.”
It was as I suspected—Kah was hearing-impaired.
“Why did you not tell me?” I quizzed. “Why not tell anyone? I’ve seen your profile, and hearing impairment is not listed.”
“Because I want to find a mate one day. No male will want me if he knows I’m defective.”
I growled. I hated that word.
“I have an edge tendency. That is a rare but deadly flaw amongst the Maji. Does that mean I am defective?”
“What?” Kah’s eyes widened. “Of course not, my prince!”
“Then why do you view your hearing impairment as you being defective?”
“Because it’s a sense we must have on Ealra, my prince.” She swallowed. “I’m safe in the palace because I am surrounded by so many males who would protect me if I were in danger. If I had to work in the outer sectors or anywhere outside, I would be vulnerable because I cannot hear until whatever causes a sound is right next to me.”
“Silly female.” I sighed. “I thought all this time you were not paying mind to your surroundings. I did not know you were unable to hear them.”
Kah’s eyes seemed to grow larger when she suddenly began to cry. Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Her brother looked at me for permission to move forward, and I gave him a nod. Zaha’s arms surrounded his sister in seconds. He murmured words of comfort that she likely couldn’t hear.
“I kept it a secret not to … shame my fa-family, my prince.”
“Kah.” Her father tilted her head to the left so she could see his mouth. “Nenna, I am your papa. You should have told me … all this time, I thought you were just being bold in our home. I am so sorry, sweet one.”
I felt lower than the ground I walked on.
For the longest time, I had been on Kah’s back about honing her senses when she was living without one. I was a terrible male to not see what was in front of me. An Elite was supposed to guide and protect the people, and I had failed one of them. When Kah turned to face me, I focused on her.
“I am sorry too,” I said. “I have been very hard on you when I shouldn’t have been.”
Kah looked like I just announced I was Thanas in the flesh.
“My prince.” Her cheeks darkened. “You need not apologise to me. I am only a servant.”
“Only.” I scoffed. “You’re one of the people, and you have been wronged, so I will apologise. Don’t tell me not to, either, or I’ll bite you.”
I meant to be firm, but Kah ducked her head, and I caught her small smile. I didn’t know what to think of that. Her brother and father backed away when she had turned back to face me. She wiped away her tears, exhaled a deep breath, then looked back up at me. She was so little. She was even shorter than Levi and some other human females, she was the smallest Maji female I knew. It was likely for this very reason that I wanted her to be better protected.