My personal guard put himself between Umbra and me with that icy stare, and I hated it. I hated that Umbra's abuse warranted such defenses for children, and I hated Korac's willingness to risk himself for me. None of this was right.

I tried to diffuse the situation. "I have watched your sessions with Amolot. Neither of you is a challenge for Korac. Let us pass."

What was meant to smother a cinder only ignited the flames. Umbra ordered, "To the training circle. Now."

Diplomacy. I needed more practice in it.

We followed Amolot and father to the veranda with the training circle, and I tried one more time. "Father, is this necessary?"

"Quiet. Your brother may find it his business to protect you from me, but I will have a lesson out of you yet. Watch as I take it out of your mongrel's hide. Amo?"

Umbra's guard joined him.

With the same confidence I saw when he had nearly bested Nox earlier in the day and out on that stage in front of hundreds of Icari—

"You, Korac, my hero stepped into the circle with my father and his burly female."

"Are you blushing?" Pehton asked from the doorway.

"No."

Lamassau laughed. "You said that awfully fast, General."

Sagan left Echo's side to drape herself around her husband once more. "Don't worry, I'll vouch for you. Nothing can make Korac blush."

I grinned. "Give me time."

Umbra and Amolot opened their wings. I winced. Korac wasn't in his grappling suit, but before I could say as much, he caught my eye behind his opponents. Unfiltered arrogance lifted his mouth into a smirk.

Korac said, "I meant it as reassuring."

Pure, undiluted arrogance.

Amolot attacked in a flurry of rushing wings, and Umbra all but disappeared—

Reappeared behind Korac, who ducked in time to miss the first blow with a roll which finished in an uppercut into Amolot's jaw.

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I heard the bones pop and shatter from across the balcony as blue blood poured from her mouth.

The groaning wench spit up part of her tongue, which Korac had made her bite off—

Umbra wrapped his arms around the younger man's middle, and no matter how many times he tried to roll him off, Umbra's wings helped him maintain the upper hand. Especially as the Icarean King ascended.

"Father, no!" I shrieked before I called, "Nox! Nox, help!"

"Quiet, you little bastard." Umbra shouted at me, as he took my best friend to the sky, certain to send him to a gruesome end while I watched.

No.

"You've been quiet a while now, Superman," you observe, paused in your writing. "Why can't you say what happened next?"

I didn't want to talk about what happened next.

The pre-schooler version of you kicks your little legs as you ask, "Were you this quiet with them?"

Yes.

Your pigtails sway when you tilt your head, assessing me. "What did they do?"

"Tell them, Emperor." Korac sounded... affected but...

You lay your pencil down on your notebook loud enough to catch my attention. "It's not with judgment. He wants you to feel comfortable and safe enough to discuss these things. Do you feel safe with Tameka, Pax, and Sagan? If not, why did you start—"

But I do. I love everyone in that room—

"Then trust them," both versions of you say. You smile. "It's what you'd say to me."

I blacked out. When I came to, Korac was back on the veranda, standing over me. Umbra and Amolot were nowhere in sight.

"My Prince, what do you remember?"

While I considered he'd never called me that before, Korac swept the hair from my face as I blinked up at him and into Li's bloated redness above. What did I remember? "I... I do not know..."

Korac glanced around to ensure we were alone before he put his lips right to my ear and muttered, "Tell no one of this. No natural creature could commit such feats, and I fear what the penalty will be for your abnormalities. You ran up the walls of the Spire to the next level, defying all sense and reason. Then you leapt onto Umbra's back while he stared, bewildered and afraid. My Prince, you ripped his pinions off with your teeth. We plummeted, only able to ride him down to the balcony and use his body as a meat shield. You damned near killed him. When Amolot, mostly recovered from her injury, came to her master's aid, you turned... wild eyes on her. They were so dark a blue as to match the depths of sapphires. She took him and fled. Umbra and Amolot will never repeat it, for their defeat was swift and unforgettable. To a child."

I sat up and gripped his arms. "I have to tell Nox—"

"No." Korac shook his head, grave. "No. If anyone learned of this, they would behead you and study your brain. Prince or no. Nox could never save you from such a fate. Better to spare him from the burden of knowing."

I thought about his words for a moment, frowning. Then I asked, "What about your burden?"

Grave, Korac vowed, "I carry any burden my Prince demands. You saved my life."

"Now you mean to save mine."

My guard and best friend gave a single nod, so signature to his nature that it had become a symbol. Confidence. Loyalty. Solidarity. The best soldier.

"Thank you, Korac."