I smiled. "I'm sorry I started on such a grim note. Not everything was soured by abuse and schemes. Tameka, will you please turn to page two hundred and eight?" She did, and I continued, "Korac, would you mind reading the next entry?"

Tameka shot me a reassuring smile before handing my journal over to the Iona General, who accepted it with a suspicious glance in my direction.

Kyle chuckled, saying, "I don't know if I'd want to read it either."

Silence nudged him.

Lucas and Andrew shared a knowing look.

Korac looked up at Sagan, still perched on his lap before reading aloud, "Today, Nox and I made a new friend. An Icarean boy with white hair, white skin, and white eyes. His name is Korac, and he is our new brother. Mother said so." He stopped reading for a second to swallow, careful to keep his eyes from meeting anyone else's in the study before continuing. "I added a sample of his blood to the rest of my collection and snitched a few strands of his hair. One day, I hope to use one of those Tritan devices to test his DNA. I am not entirely convinced he is solely Icarean. No other Icarus looks as he does. I am fascinated with his company and look forward to making him more at home here in the Spire. Not only as a guard, but as my brother."

When Korac could read no further, I recited the next entries by heart.

"Excellent, Korac," I said, while calculating the newest update to his stats. "Your sessions with Karter are paying off. Soon, you might compete with Nox for speed."

Upside-down with his head grappled between the oldest Prince's ankles, our guard asked in a voice squeezed from choking, "What about strength?"

Releasing Korac from the lock, Nox barked out a laugh. No Icarus could match my brother for strength, and I suspected the reduction in Nox's speed was an intentional feign, but to an unknown end. Regardless, the boost to Korac's ego had him holding his chin a little higher as he crawled to his hands and knees.

Progress.

We were in the circle where father and Amolot 'trained.' I was Earth-age ten, Korac was closer to thirteen, and Nox was nearly sixteen. Decades for us, but only a year by Earth standards, had passed since Korac's arrival. Some assassination attempt on Umbra's life had recently failed. As a result, Amolot put the Spire on lock down. For an entire Earth year.

Training and terrorizing the Spire with pranks were the only forms of entertainment open to us.

I needed samples, Korac seemed restless, and even though Nox snuck out occasionally, he'd grown more brooding, if that were even possible.

Adventure.

We craved it. Lava boarding in the Ignis Desert wouldn't cut it this time. I knew just the thing.

One hour of flight in Nox's care later...

"Your highness, a village festival?" Korac sounded skeptical until a female strode by with legs nearly as tall as myself. Only his eyes followed her as he straightened the wrap concealing his hair. "Perhaps, I judged too quickly."

Nox gave an amused 'humph' between us.

While I admired the towering bonfires and acrobatics above, I offered out of hand, "I overheard Karter discussing the festival with one of the kitchen hands. I calculate three hours before mother and father notice us missing. Four hours before the Valkyrie are sent to fetch us. So enjoy this while you can."

"What if I object to this, Xelan?" Nox sounded questioning, not scolding. He reasoned, "I am responsible for you."

Taken in by the over stimulation surrounding us, I assured him, "I promise if anything happens to us, everyone will be quite confident I got us into it. No one would ever believe you'd willingly attend a social event, brother."

At the time, I'd dismissed it, but Nox had winced. It lingered as I pressed, "Find a partner to dance with and drink some nectar, liquor, or what have you. I know I am grateful not to be locked inside that tower another moment with..."

None of us needed to remark on Umbra's caged rat behavior. I only wished I could've brought mother with us to the party.

Korac entreated Nox, "Come along, your highness. Let us get drunk and find some entertainment."

In the study of my stronghold, Korac of the present smiled. We all possess such a smile, reminiscing about days gone by. It suited him.

Meanwhile, in my memory, Korac convinced Nox to follow him down the main thoroughfare toward a liquor vendor. I kept up, too young to go off on my own, but desperate to indulge in my curiosities.

The people performing acrobatics, for instance, did so with a balance only inherited to the winged Icari. I required only a sample of their hair to test their genetic chains. Perhaps they were descended from Elden's Coalition.

And this stand beside the alcohol vendor sold roasted kelp on a stick. It smelled divine, but how did it compare to our waning Vittle crops? Genus? Growth habits? I asked, "Nox, did you bring enough currency for—"

He handed me a fistful of coins, and I beamed at him before running to the kelp shack. It tasted like meat. How fascinating. I thanked the man and found my brothers had sat on a log behind me. It was a massive black trunk with tiny mushrooms forming on its south side. I collected a sample while Korac and Nox drank, staring into a bonfire surrounded by dancers of all sizes, genders, and skill.

They were all naked, and the bright flames glowed along their skin.

Flushed, I sat down with my eyes on the ground, eating my kelp and fidgeting with Elden's nacre shard. A pair of bare, bangled feet appeared in my line of sight. I glanced up to find a woman standing in front of Nox. She was built more slender than Karter and softer, like some of mother's nurses. Her black wavy hair cascaded to the back of her knees, beaded and ribboned.

Korac feigned nonchalance as he took a drink to disguise his eyes on her.

Without looking, Nox offered the woman some nectar, and she took a greedy drink of it until the liquor poured from her lips and rivered down her naked skin.

Korac choked on his drink.

"Did not."

"Sh... I'm telling my Verse."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The willowy female offered her hand to Nox.

Let me remind you, he was comparable to the hormonal maturity of a teenage boy on Earth.

Nox finally looked up to meet the woman's pale green eyes and solemnly shook his head.

As the female danced her way back to the fireside, Nox watched her go with something unreadable in his eyes.

That was the first time I took notice of it—My brother's peculiarity. I'd convinced myself he turned her down in my presence and accepted plenty of other offers without detection, but...

To distract myself from the quiet moment, especially with Korac's considering side glances at Nox, I searched for the source of the music. A band played on a stage accompanied by a singer. I watched long enough to see them swap one vocalist for another, but not at random. Each of the singers approached a man at the stage before they were selected. They were volunteering to sing Verses.

I'd found a way to salvage this outing.

I stored my kelp sample, saying, "Drink up, you two. I know how to revive the night." I ran to the stage without seeing if they followed because—

I gave Korac a pointed look in my study.

—They always did.

He chuffed and said, "Yeah. Right into trouble."

"The best kind." I grinned.

Sagan snickered, and Tameka bumped me with her hip. "Now we know where Rayne gets it from."

I beamed at her, prepared to continue—

Korac pointed a finger at me. "No. You do not get to finish this story. You're already coming out of it as some angel. I'll tell it."

"Be my guest."

"This crazy son of a respectable Icarean female signed us up to sing two rungs of Vinco's Verse. Have any of you in this room ever read the Coalition member's Verse?"

Heads shook all around. Except Sagan. She just grinned at her husband as he continued to hijack my Verse.

Korac paused to think of a comparison and then announced, "Imagine singing the Iliad at a party."

Kyle's eyes went wide, muttering, "That's like twelve Bohemian Rhapsodies."

Andrew nearly spat out his drink and choked it down to prevent doing so, while Lucas patted his back.

Tameka looked up at me, asking, "Really, Xelan?"

I was still grinning.

"Did you sing it, Superman?"

I grin at you, too, before continuing.

Both of my brothers were drunk on good nectar and rousing music. Before they knew what we were doing, I dragged them onto the stage. There we were. Two princes and their exotic royal guard breaking lockdown to cause trouble.

The music started, and I froze. Hundreds of people stared up at me, and I forgot how Uncle Vinco's Verse opened. My heart went into my throat and choked me.

Korac blinked wide eyes at me.

"That's true, I did. Because I couldn't fathom what the fuck you were thinking—"

"Battle-bred and true,

"I will find my way to you."

The crowd stomped their feet.

"No matter how many oceans I cross—

"The mountains I climb to the sky—"

They clapped in time to the beat.

"I will never forget you.

"Elden swore our victory in Silence,

"And soon I will come home to stay."

Nox sang the opening lines, and by the time Korac and I gained our wits about us to help, hundreds of Icari joined in the harmony.

Sagan asked, "What is it, Korac?"

The Iona General looked lost in the memory. He confessed, "It was the first time I'd heard Nox sing."

At twelve, your curiosity is well-placed, Rayne, but I wish it was for any subject other than Nox.

You look up from your notebook to say, "Maybe you're the reason I wanted to sing live."

You pay me a mercy by not asking what's truly on your mind. What was on everyone's mind, apparently.

"Was Nox any good?" Andrew asked the burning question.

Korac's eyes met mine, and a moment passed between us. With so much conflict in my heart, I nodded to grant him permission to answer, thankful he even asked before speaking.

My General said, "Yes. That baritone went a long way toward pleasing the crowd. I hit the tenor notes, and obviously the princeling went for a soprano—"

"Falsetto, more like."

"Sh... I'm telling your Verse."

The moment was a triumph. Millions of years later, Nox mentioned in his Verse that Uncle Vinco's story was his favorite. I don't think I could've chosen a better selection. And he performed. He interacted with the crowd, sweeping his arms and punching at the fighting moments—All of it encouraged Korac and me to perform with him. The battles described in Vinco's Verse never made sense to me, as Elden's time was a golden age. Not to mention there were so many references to the quiet—

"Silence," Kyle corrected.

She patted his leg with a frown—A living, breathing legend.

It occurred to me to ask, "Do you understand it all now?"

The Mother of the galaxy shook her head. Silence's voice was sad as she admitted, "Not entirely. Only what Remorse had said. Elden took my armies meant to invade Enki and scoured the Twelve Worlds looking for me, leaving your mother—my daughter—to be raised by aunts and uncles."

A reflective quiet filled the room until Tameka interrupted, "So, what happened next?"

"Me!" Karter called from the doorway, with Echo in her arms.

Sagan adorably hopped out of Korac's lap to greet her mother-in-law and baby girl while Korac glowed even from behind his mask of composure.

Karter added, "We figured out where the three errant, misbehaving ingrates went and busted up the party—"

Korac barked out a laugh. "Hah!"

Even I smirked at Karter's nonsense.

Para appeared beside her. "That's not exactly what happened..."

During a rousing chorus where the acrobats flipped over our stage, one landed in the crowd next to two familiar faces. I was startled and tripped over my words when I spotted Karter and Para.

"Para, would you like to tell us what you were doing?"

The smallest Valkyrie grinned. "We sang and danced with them, loud as anyone else around us." Her eyes sparkled. "For three hours."

I confessed, "I was a little out of my ten-year-old element when the naked dancers joined us on stage, but I managed."

With a glance at his mother and back at me, Korac said, "Tell them what happened when we arrived at the Spire."

"First, I want to say that Nox flew us everywhere. There's no need to keep repeating this, so I'll only say it once. He did so at the detriment of his fuse. Anytime I mention contact between him and another other than myself, it cost him. But he did it anyway."

Korac bowed with his head.

When we arrived back at the Spire, Umbra, Amolot, and Savis awaited our return. Mother took a signal from Karter—

Karter said, "It was a look to let her know you boys were all right."

—And Savis turned on her heel for her bedchamber, calling, "Nox, with me."

My brother patted my shoulder before following mother to a proper scolding.

Off the hook, Korac and I headed for the kitchens—

Father stepped in our way. "Mongrel, you call yourself 'guard' to the royal Princes, but you let them put themselves at risk."

Korac stared at him with cold eyes—

"Yes, like that."

"This is how I always look, Wingmaster."

"Wingmaster." The preschooler version of you giggles at Korac's use of my name.

I'm quite fond of it, too, Rayne.

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