The Forgotten Prince (Shifter Rebellion, 3) (2 page)

Heaven. The bite of food was
heaven.

His stomach pitched slightly, having
been empty for so long. After a deep breath, the food passed and he
heard his stomach rumble for more. He set to work, devouring the
apple in a matter of moments. Once he was done, he looked at the
second one, knowing he should save it for later, when he’d be
hungry once more, but it was too tempting. He bit its juicy flesh
and moaned in delight.

After another large bite, the cover to
his hiding place was suddenly ripped open and bright light filtered
in. Aleth was blinded by the unexpected illumination, and he felt a
pair of hands wrenching him from his spot.

“
You thought you could get
away from me, did you? I won’t let a filthy little street urchin
steal from me!” The merchant’s glare was evil. How five apples for
a starving man could cause such anger was beyond Aleth.

He felt a rumbling tremor running
through his body as his own anger mounted. Aleth had always been on
the streets. There had never been a kindness, help in any way that
he could remember. Someone had cared for him as an infant he
assumed, but there were no memories of that time. There was the
streets and only the streets—along with filth, pests, and scum.
What choice did he have but to take what he needed?

Aleth’s heart raced and he felt a
power ripple through his body. He instinctively lifted a hand to
the male’s face and a light shot out from between his fingers.
Several of the guards lifted their electro-spears and pointed them
at Aleth.

The merchant seemed stunned for a
moment. Then he lowered Aleth to the ground.

The male’s eyes looked about wildly.
“Where am I?”

Aleth backed away a step or two,
unsure what the merchant was up to.

“
Who am I?” the vendor
said, looking to Aleth before turning to the guards. “Who are you?
How did I get here?”

Panic made Aleth turn and run, but he
was quickly put in irons.

“
Keep away from those
hands,” an authoritative voice rang out from behind Aleth.
“Apparently he has some kind of freakish power in that disgusting
hand of his.”

Freak. Dirty.
Scum.

Aleth was tired of all the names he’d
been called, all because he hadn’t been born perfect. Anger pooled
in him again and he felt the same ripple of energy.

The guards who held him pulled away.
Aleth took the chance he had to scurry away. He knew he wouldn’t be
able to get out of the cuffs easily, but he was sure he could
figure it out.

Before he got too far, a strong hand
yanked him close. “Where do you think you’re going? Our king will
be interested to learn of you.”

“
The king?” Aleth
sputtered. Why would the king care about a freak?

* * * *

“
Your highness, we’ve
found a shifter you need to see,” one of King Stugaati’s
lieutenants announced as he strode through the throne room. “He
might be just the one you need,” the male whispered once he neared
Stugaati.

The king lifted a brow. “The one the
oracles prophesized before we slaughtered them?”

“
Perhaps,” his lieutenant
whispered, never missing a beat. “He was caught stealing, just as
they’d said. He touched a merchant’s head with a bolt of light in
his hands and when he was done, the merchant had no memory of who
he was or why he was there.”

Stugaati felt his lips twist into an
almost smile. He’d not used the gesture in so long his mouth more
than likely didn’t recall how to make one. Once he saw the other
guards dragging the bedraggled beggar into the space, he turned to
look.

And immediately saw the withered hand
at his side.

The king glanced to the left, where
his son Agarri rested while playing the Aletian harp. “Agarri,
leave us,” Stugaati snapped.

Agarri shrunk inwardly some; the
little mouse of a male was too weak. How Stugaati had been saddled
with the two lacking sons he’d never know. The gods hadn’t allowed
Myria to have another babe, but perhaps that was for the best.
Agarri quickly lowered the harp and shuffled from the room. As soon
as the doors were closed, the king turned back to the
beggar.

“
What’s wrong with your
hand, boy?”

The little beggar stood up straighter,
his shoulders wide. At least this one had a little more spirit.
Such a change from the day they were born. The quiet one appeared
to have more backbone. “I don’t know. It’s always been like
this.”

Stugaati looked to one of the guards.
“Bring me a ewer of water and a cloth, quickly.”

“
And where are you from?”
the king asked, wondering what the young male knew of his
past.

“
I … don’t know,” the
urchin said, faltering a bit. “I don’t remember anything from my
younger days.”

“
Nothing?” the king
asked.

The male seemed contemplative for a
moment. “When I try to think, I see blurry images, but nothing
comes.”

Stugaati smiled, his mouth protesting
the action. “I had a son, one born the same day as my prince,
little Agarri.”

“
I didn’t know,” the
urchin said.

“
Few did. He was stolen
from us moments after he was born by the captain of the guard with
help from some of the nursemaids who’d help my wife birth him,”
Stugaati said, the lie coming so naturally to him he was proud of
himself. He climbed down his dais and walked closer to the beggar,
a glimpse of that hand telling him all he had to know. “I had the
lot of them executed the next day, after they’d told me my son was
dead.”

The guard he’d instructed to bring
water returned, holding the water and cloth out for the
king.

“
Wash his face. I wish to
see the male behind all the dirt,” Stugaati said to the
guard.

The guard complied, rushing to obey
his king. Stugaati stood back and watched as Agarri’s face was
shown to be behind all the filth of the city. It was his son, just
as the oracles had predicted before their untimely
death.

Perhaps they would be the last to die
over Aleth’s secret. His queen had thrown herself from her balcony
years ago, the loss of her son something she never overcame. His
captain and the nursemaids were long gone. And the soothsayers were
obliterated. Agarri was too young to remember any of it.

The guard paused, apparently realizing
the resemblance the beggar had to Agarri. When the solider turned
to look over his shoulder at Stugaati, the king pushed him
aside.

“
You are my lost son,
thought dead. You are the forgotten prince, back in my loving
arms!”

Stugaati pulled the flea-ridden male
into his embrace, hating the touch upon his skin. When it had been
as long as he could stand, he drew away and smiled down at the
scared looking shifter. “I never thought I’d see the day when you
would return to me,” Stugaati said. “But let’s get you cleaned up
and fed before we get reacquainted.”

“
Food?” the urchin said.
“Yes, please.”

The king grinned, handing the male off
to one of the guards. He then turned to his lieutenant. “Make sure
you take him to the far side of the castle, away from Agarri. No
one is to know of his existence, except you, me, and two guards you
trust to act as his guards and his servants. The rest here today,
murder them.”

“
These are my best males,
Your Highness. I trust them.”

Stugaati grimaced, not appreciating
his orders being questioned. “Then cut out their tongues, whichever
you feel is best.” He turned to go back to his chambers, when he
was stopped by a coughing noise.

He spun on his heel and glared at his
lieutenant. “Yes?”

“
The promotion? To captain
of the guard? You said you would consider me.”

The king crossed his arms over his
chest. He’d been through so many captains in the past twenty years,
all of them lacking. This one really was no better, although he was
loyal to a fault. “It’s yours. Congratulations,
Captain.”

The soldier smiled widely at Stugaati.
How he hated smiles.

None of the shifters on his planet
would be smiling once he had his way. With the help of the
Xakarrians, he would forever enslave them all and keep them under
his command.

Everything was in place, now that he
had his son back at his side.

Chapter Three

Five years
later…

Agarri sat in the midst of his three
strong warriors gazing at the last oracle. He drew his cape over
his shoulders, a chill entering his body. His dreams had plagued
him of late, and even the loving caresses of his triad hadn’t
calmed his nightmares. Something was awry, but he couldn’t sense
just what it was. Perhaps it was simply being on the rebel moon
base, so far from his home on Xhythria. Soon he hoped to reclaim
the palace.

And hopefully free his father from
their clutches as well.

Why Agarri felt such loyalty to his
father he’d never known. Nothing he’d done for the male had been
enough. King Stugaati had barely masked his contempt for Agarri on
most occasions, but the male was still his father and the rightful
ruler of Xhythria.

The Oracle would know where to find
him.

“
Khal, I’m so glad you’re
here,” Agarri said, forcing a smile to his face. The chill he felt
increased and he sensed the news he was about to hear wouldn’t be
something he wanted to learn. Khal hadn’t turned him on the wrong
path, yet, so there was still hope. “Your predictions could help us
immensely.”

“
Predictions?” Drayden
grumbled. Agarri’s lover glared at the oracle before looking to his
cousin, Tyron. “Let me guess, cousin, this is your supposed
oracle?”

Prince Agarri interrupted before the
two began bickering. “Oh yes. Khal is the one who told me to expect
the three of you and that I should go with you. He said you were my
fated males. Because of him, I had no fear.”

Drayden frowned, but he
soon relaxed. “I suppose I should …
thank
you
… for helping our prince,” Drayden
said to the oracle.

Khal simply nodded, not uttering a
word in response. The oracle reached for one of his triad and soon,
the male’s eyes glowed white as he began his vision quest. “The
other comes … strong is he. The three must claim their mate, take
his anger, show him love. The enemy king holds the key.”

The oracle began to repeat the same
stunted sentences when one of the others in the triad reached out,
seeming to wake Khal from his spell. Khal awakened from his visions
and leaned back into one of his males.

Agarri let the words churn over in his
mind. The other? Who was the other? The three must claim their mate
… was that about him and his triad, or was this someone else? Was
it the other?

“
Who is the other?”
Drayden asked Khal firmly.

“
I see Prince Agarri, but
it isn’t him. This male is someone else, who appears to have
Agarri’s face. One hand is withered, broken. I don’t know how. But
he is a relative of the Stugaati clan.”

“
Wouldn’t I have met this
relative?” Prince Agarri asked, confused. “I think I would remember
a male with my face.”

Drayden clicked his tongue. “This is
all rubbish. We’re wasting our time.”

“
No,” Khal said. “This
male is the one who’s clearing minds of King Stugaati’s
whereabouts. He’s being forced to use his immense power, against
his will. We need to free him and not allow the Xakarrians to use
him as a weapon, before they come for all of us.”

“
The enemy king? The
Xakarrians don’t have a king,” Drayden asked.

Khal looked down, seeming to struggle
with what he would say next. Agarri’s stomach turned. This was what
he’d feared. Bad news. “King Stugaati opened the doors for the
invasion. He leads them now. Our king is our enemy, which is why he
had to wipe his memory from so many minds.”

Drayden jumped from his seat. “Lies!
What proof do you have of this?”

Khal shook his head. “I have no proof,
other than what I see in my own head. I’ve seen Stugaati in a
silver suit, hiding who he is from most.”

“
He is king. What reason
would he have for allowing this invasion?” Drayden
demanded.

Agarri sensed the truth in Khal’s
words the minute they’d been uttered. His father had been
borderline mad and hungry for power. Khal had no reason to lie. But
the truth stunned Agarri to his core, and made the ability to speak
leave him as his body trembled with a mixture of sickness, fear, …
and anger.

How could his father do
this?

How many Xhythrians had died for him
to seize power? A power he already had?

Why had he enslaved his own
subjects?

“
He feared the power of
others,” Prince Agarri said lowly, finally finding his voice. “He
talked constantly of males who would come and overthrow his reign.
He was paranoid, talking of plots and drama in his court, but I was
too young to understand. He once said slavery of the people was the
only way to ensure safety. I thought him speaking rubbish,
blathering on like he was wont to do. Do you think he would really
go to that extreme?”