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

“
Slavery of the people?”
Drayden scrubbed a hand over his face. “Our king would not do this
to his people.”

“
My father pushed the
edges of sanity,” Prince Agarri said. “He frightened
me.”

Drayden didn’t look swayed. He turned
to look at Khal. “If you know the future, then what are we to do?
Show me some kind of proof, something, anything to let me know the
way. I can’t go to our troops and tell them their king is their
enemy, not without something to show them.”

Khal nodded. “The other needs to be
freed. I see him standing at the side of the king, but there are
moments he is alone, in the night, when the palace is sleeping. He
needs to be rescued by his fated triad. They need to claim him and
take away his anger.”

“
Anger? Why is he so
angry?” Prince Agarri asked.

Khal took a deep breath. “I think … I
think he is your twin. I think your father sent him away because he
was born deformed. While you were raised a prince, he was raised in
poverty. Only when his power was found was he of use to your
father. He hates you, Agarri, but if the triad can free him and
open his heart, he can learn to put away that anger and he can
learn to love you, too.”

“
Hates me?” Prince Agarri
whispered. “How can someone I didn’t even know existed hate me? I
almost hope this isn’t true. I ache from the knowledge.”

Drayden lifted one of Agarri’s hands
to his lips. “We don’t know it’s true, love, not yet. The supposed
oracle has yet to prove himself to me.”

“
He has proven himself to
me,” one of Khal’s triad, Artim, stated firmly.

“
And me,” Smythe, Khal’s
other lover claimed.

Tyron gazed at his cousin. “Our mate
has done nothing yet to show him as dishonest. He helped your mate
and helped our triad heal. He is ours, and we are his. That in
itself should be enough to prove his worth as our fated
mate.”

Drayden stared at Tyron before slowly
standing and walking closer to the oracle. He stared a moment
before bowing at the waist and taking Khal’s hand in his. “I am
honored to meet my cousin’s mate.”

Khal bowed in return.

Agarri watched as his hard warrior
showed him exactly why he loved him. Even when Drayden was
agitated, he could show great consideration and respect. He was
open-minded and fair, even in his stubbornness.

He would make a fine
king.

Agarri startled at the
thought.

If the oracle was indeed right, then
they would have to bring down Agarri’s father to end the war.
Leaving him on the throne would only open their people to more
torture and the threat would hang in the air. Stugaati would have
to be imprisoned … or killed.

Agarri shivered. Irylan took his hand
and squeezed it, giving Agarri all he needed.

The thought of facing his father
frightened him. Agarri looked to Bayjin, who smiled down at him.
His triad lovers would be by his side, and give him strength in
their love. Agarri would face his father knowing his triad made him
stronger.

Agarri chuckled at the thought of his
father witnessing him with a triad. Stugaati had eschewed the old
ways. Triads were no longer the tradition on Xhythria, but only in
the Kannom province, where his strong warriors had been exiled. His
father had feared the strength of the Kannomite warriors and
banished them. The fact that the warriors were still loyal to
Stugaati and their home world showed Agarri what kinds of males
they were.

Their allegiance was awe
inspiring.

Drayden
would
make a fine king.
And Irylan and Bayjin would make fine captains of the
guard.

Drayden inhaled deeply. “And who is
this mighty triad who is to free and claim this powerful twin of my
mate’s?”

Agarri was drawn back into the
conversation, curious to know the answer.

Khal shook his head. “I don’t know
names. But one of the males is exceedingly large, with part of an
ear torn off.”

Drayden’s eyes widened. “Amaden? I
didn’t think that hard male would ever find a mate. He’s not the
gentlest of males. Perhaps this isn’t the mission for
him?”

“
It will take a strong
male to weaken Agarri’s brother and make him see reason. The other
two, one was of white hair, nothing like I’d seen before, and the
other had odd greenish eyes. They’re all strong of body and mind,
stronger than they’re given credit for.”

Drayden closed his eyes for a moment
before reopening them. “We’re to send a triad of misfits to find a
powerful shifter, who if exists, could be the end of us
all?”

“
Who you see as misfits
are only males misunderstood. Their differences are the thing that
will speak to Agarri’s twin. His deformity was viewed as a
weakness, him, a freak. They understand his pain all too
well.”

Drayden looked thoughtful a moment. “A
very wise summation, Oracle.”

Khal’s lips twisted, as if he would
smile. “Does this mean you believe me?”

“
I’m a male who likes to
see proof. But between my cousin, his brothers, and my mate, they
seem to have plenty of faith in you, so who am I to argue? I will
send the triad to seek out this other male and bring him here.
We’ll see how right you are then.”

Khal lowered his head and bowed
slightly. “You’ll see. This will turn the tide. The end is
nigh.”

Agarri hoped Khal was right. The
suffering of their people needed to end.

Chapter Four

Amaden lifted his heavily laden fork
to his lips, trying to ignore the looks and glances his way without
scowling. Let them look their fill. They’d never see another like
Amaden. Kannomite warriors were the giants of the shifter world.
Amaden was a giant amongst those giants. He towered at least a head
over every male in the room, and his shoulders barely fit through
some doors.

So he tended to stand out.

It didn’t make the stares and leers
any easier. Being an outcast for most of his life, he should’ve
been used to it. He wasn’t.

Intimidation helped squelch the
disrespect, but that would mean he would have to lose it and his
dinner would get cold. Two males walked up to his table and sat
their plates across from him, and Amaden released a breath. His
triad brothers helped calm him. Greylin’s shock of white hair
garnered almost as much attention as Amaden’s size did. And if
anyone noticed Ryllan’s glowing green eyes, he would get just as
much notice as the other two.

They were a band of freaks, brothers
in arms drawn together by their natures. Imperfections were not
accepted in the shifter world where everyone was beautiful and
flawless, and could become even more so with a simple shift.
Amaden’s shifting powers were limited because of his size—he
couldn’t become any smaller than he was. Greylin’s hair and
Ryllan’s eyes followed them into their shifts, so they too were
flawed.

But the three of them made up for it
in their power and cunning on the battlefield. For that, the other
warriors tolerated them and their “deficiencies”.

“
I’m very ready to get off
base and on to a new mission,” Greylin said lowly. “I tire of being
on display.”

Amaden grunted in agreement. “I still
don’t know why we chose to join this fight. They look at us as if
we’re lepers. Why do we care what happens to the
planet?”

“
It is still our world,
under siege. We do not turn from the weak and powerless,” Ryllan
said. “If we were to run away when we were needed most, it would
only give the others more reason to hate us. Their assumptions
would be proven right.”

“
What do I care what these
warriors think of me? We spent the last ten years pirating the
skies of Galladon, feared and respected, to come back to this? Even
if we won this war ourselves, without their help, their view of us
would not change,” Amaden growled.

“
We don’t know that,”
Ryllan said. “Drayden and his triad brothers have been kind to
us.”

“
Kind?” Amaden laughed
loudly, attracting even more attention from the others in the
dining hall. “They’ve not treated us with disrespect, but they
haven’t been kind, either. They need us. If they didn’t, we
wouldn’t have been allowed here.”

“
Amaden, you’re too
pessimistic. We will win them over through our efforts,” Greylin
said.

“
To what end?” Amaden
asked. “Do you think we’ll be welcomed home with open arms, treated
as their equals after this war is over? No. We will still be
outcasts. Xhythria was never truly our home. It never will
be.”

“
It can be,” a male voice
said softly.

Amaden turned, frowning, to see Prince
Agarri standing behind them. Quickly spinning from his seat, he
knelt for his prince, shocked into silence. Amaden glanced behind
him to see his triad brothers kneeling as well.

“
Please sit. Enjoy your
meal,” Prince Agarri said.

Unsure, Amaden rose slowly, eyeing the
slight prince. Agarri was the epitome of male beauty. His pale
purple skin was soft and smooth, his lavender eyes a slightly paler
shade. His silky, long hair hung heavily down his back. Amaden
thought he looked like a delicate doll, so small and fragile,
especially so close to Amaden’s massive body. Amaden had always
thought the prince was beautiful from afar. Up close, Agarri was
almost too beautiful to look at.

Amaden looked down at his palms,
coarse and roughhewn. Hands such as his would break someone so
exquisite.

“
May I join you?” the
prince asked.

Amaden looked up in surprise. “J-join
us?”

Prince Agarri smiled and nodded. Why
would the prince want to join them in a meal?

Amaden pulled out a chair and motioned
for the prince to sit. As soon as the slight male sat, a servant
laid a plate of food and mug of ale in front of him, as if it had
appeared by magic. Amaden sat uneasily and glanced at his triad
brothers. Both Greylin and Ryllan looked back at him with what was
more than likely the same shock and surprise.

“
It pains me to hear of
your struggles and of not feeling your home was just that,” Prince
Agarri said softly. “Drayden has told me how much he has come to
value the three of you in recent weeks. He said that if he asks you
to perform a task, he knows it will be done and done
well.”

Amaden sat back in his chair slightly,
stunned into silence. “I am glad to hear it,” he finally said,
bringing a forkful of his dinner to his lips to prevent him from
having to come up with more words.

“
I’ve spoken to the
Oracle, and it seems you three will be instrumental in the success
of a new mission,” the prince said.

“
Is that why you’ve come,
Your Highness? You wish to send us into harm’s way?” Greylin asked.
“On the word of some pretender?”

Prince Agarri lowered his gaze to the
table for a moment. “I trust the Oracle. He has never led me
astray.”

“
What is the mission?”
Amaden asked. He would do anything for the beautiful little prince,
and he would also shut Greylin’s mouth in the process.

Prince Agarri smiled slightly and
stared at Amaden. When the prince reached out and placed his
slender hand on Amaden’s massive, rough one, Amaden almost pulled
away, shamed he wasn’t worthy of the touch. He fought the instinct
and was captured in the prince’s gaze.

“
It is one which will be
dangerous. The oracle speaks of a male in the palace who is being
used by the Xakarrians to wipe shifter minds and memories. It is he
who is giving the Xakarrians the power to enslave our people.
Without him, they would be easy to defeat. The Oracle says it must
be the three of you to go. That only you will be able to save
him.”

“
Why us?” Ryllan
asked.

“
Because he … is your
mate,” the prince said softly.

Amaden sucked in a breath and quickly
retracted his hand. “Flawed males don’t have a fated mate. It’s
forbidden. To suggest otherwise is cruel.”

“
Just because others view
you as lesser males doesn’t mean you are. And it doesn’t mean you
should go without love and happiness. My father made many rules
during his reign, trying to weed out those he considered unworthy.
He was wrong. When we win this war, there will be many changes made
to the order of things. I plan to see to it myself.”

Amaden stared at Prince Agarri, a
little glimmer of hope springing to his chest, but he crushed it
before it took root. Nothing would change.

“
You want us to gain
access to the castle, steal this male.” Amaden leaned closer to the
table, pushing his plate away. “And then do what with him? Mate
him? Force him to be ours? What shifter would want the three of
us?”

What looked like pity washed over the
prince’s face and anger boiled within Amaden.

“
What shifter wouldn’t
want three strong males to love him?” Prince Agarri said, no
sarcasm in his voice. Amaden wanted to believe, but he wouldn’t be
toyed with, not even by the beautiful male he coveted.