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“Yes! Go. Join in. Whatever they are doing, have fun.”

Quin kissed her, then took off at a run, happy to be joining the warriors who would soon serve him as Sovereign.

~~~

Jhan spun and quickly ducked, dropping to sit on his heels on the ground as the leg of his opponent swept just over the top of his head. As the leg passed him, he took hold of the ankle and shoved it up in the air as he jumped to his feet, literally yanking his opponent’s legs out from under him.

His opponent fell to the ground, landing on his back. Before he could even moan, Jhan was standing over him with his booted foot pressing on his throat.

Jhan’s opponent lifted his hands palms up to signify his submission.

“Ha! Do you see what I did there?” Jhan asked, offering his hand to pull the male to his feet again.

“I do, Specialist Jhan.” The male bowed then returned to his place among the crowd of males who’d gathered for training.

“I wonder if you think you’ll have the same luck against me.”

Jhan turned and found Ba Re’ standing there, shirtless, inviting Jhan to spar. “Do you think you can take me?” Jhan taunted.

“I always could,” Ba Re’ answered.

“You’d better uncloud your memories, brother. I usually came out on top,” Jhan said.

“Are you afraid?” Ba Re’ asked. In truth he didn’t remember a lot, just flashes, but he’d grown to trust this male, who it turned out was his brother. He’d actually begun to feel drawn to him, like a family would, he assumed.

“No. But you should be,” Jhan said as they slowly circled one another, to the great pleasure of the males watching as those that didn’t already know realized they were brothers.

At first they progressed slowly, trading blow for blow, each feeling out the other, wanting to win, but not to damage the other too badly. But it wasn’t long before things picked up and they were beating each other senseless, but with smiles on their faces.

After a particularly nasty series of punches and kicks, Jhan was leaning over, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Ba Re’ was kneeling on the ground, doing the same.

“So, what say I take the winner?” Kol asked.

Most every male there knew who Kol was. Kol was a general who’d worked his way up through ranks, founding the Elite Warriors’ Unit along the way.

“Why wait?” Ba Re’ asked.

Kol chuckled and strolled into the middle of the quite large circle made by the males all enjoying the show put on by the Elite Warriors. “No reason that I can see,” he said, spreading his legs to stabilize his body as he defended himself from two different directions as Jhan attacked from the front and Ba Re’ from the back. The sound of flesh against flesh, grunts, growls, and shouts accompanied the spectacle that not one of the palacewarriors wanted to miss. They fought until it became clear that no one was going to win, and just about the time they were ready to give in, the cheering of the warriors surrounding them fell quiet and one end of the circle opened.

Kol glanced in the direction all the males were looking and grinned. “Ah, now we have ourselves a battle!” he announced excitedly.

Quin strode into the middle of the circle and smiled threateningly at his lifelong friends. “Unless you are too afraid to fight me.”

“We have never in all our lives of friendship, been afraid to fight you,” Jhan taunted.

“Not even when we were all younglings, did we hesitate,” Kol said.

“Tell him, Ba Re’” Jhan said.

Ba Re’ looked questioningly at Jhan.

Jhan gave him a slight, barely perceptible nod.

“Not once have I wondered who among you could beat me. None of you can,” Ba Re’ tossed out.

“I said taunt him, not me,” Jhan said.

Ba Re’ laughed.

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