Page 68 of Bred by the Alien Prince

"Bullshit! I am the son of King Zeon of House Cra'ozatharn--!"

"But you are also your Damma's son!"

"My Damma was a low-born harem wench!"

"He was the prince of House Id'arshar!" He riled up but backed down and squeezed his brow to calm himself. This wasn't the first time he and I had argued, so I was used to it. Come to think of it, he was the only person onboard my ship who talked back. "And you are its last surviving heir."

"You're lying," I sneered.

"After your father's victory and all Id'arshar nobles had been chased off or slain, your father took Prince Nesterin Id'arshar, your Damma, as his…concubine. And he forced him to live as his whore. You are not just Prince Lorvian of Cra'ozatharn but also of Id'arshar, and unfortunately, our people have not given up. They waited for you to come of age."

Unfortunately? What an interesting way of putting it. My mind raced with memories of my childhood, trying to recall any semblance that anything spoken right now was true. Out of all the omega in my father's harem, they considered my Damma the lowest, and yet he let him have his own estate near the palace. He came to visit me often and even allowed me to live in the palace once I was old enough to decide for myself. I left my Damma behind, only returning to his side to bring him small gifts from my travels. But I wasn't by his side when she went to sleep. My father had sent me off on a campaign in the Caucus seas. Hm, now Swarti didn't seem so crazy. For what have my other lowborn siblings done? Have they spent as much time with father's first children as I have? I don't recall, so why me?

"That ship you purchased from Eros belonged to your Damma," Swarti continued. "It was his command ship before the war ended—the most advanced stealth ship of its kind. When the soldiers captured him, the Id'arshar hid the ship to prevent it from falling into your father's hands. Now, it belongs to you. We made sure of it. With Feion dead, Eros, the most prosperous trading port outside of Ashan, is yours. I recruited over seventy percent of Id'arshar soldiers to serve onboard your capital ship. They are as loyal to you as they were to your family. Does it make sense now? You've always felt like someone watched you because you were. All of our eyes have been on you from the beginning. But they are losing hope; confidence in you has eroded. Elvira seems more confident than even me."

"And what have you lost confidence in, Swarti?" I asked, wanting to know why he was so open with me now, knowing the consequences he would face should I decide to pass judgment and side with my father's House. "If so, then why show me all your cards?"

"I love my fiancée, but choosing her and having a child means that my child, if she can have one, would live under the yoke of the man who butchered my family and my people. He or she would learn to bow to them, even revere them. It means watching the last royal of our house do the same and rule under that name. And all because I was afraid to put everything on the line to prevent it. So, I am here." He lowered himself, much to my surprise, and kneeled before me. Not once in the entirety of our working relationship had he done this; hell, he barely bowed. "Willing to take this selfish chance to get what I want. If you wish me dead, fine. Strike true. But you won't have to worry about Elvira or anyone else. My death at your hands will be enough to alert the others that they should abandon this false hope. They will remain within the hegemony and serve until they sleep."

Now, I believed him. "What do you want from me? Am I supposed to overthrow my own father? Kill him to restore my Damma's house?"

"Yes," he looked up at me with fierce determination. "Your Damma went to his sleep known as the disgraced whore to his enemy."

"My father could make me King before he sleeps, what point would I have to overthrow him?"

I paced the room, a stupid habit I tried to break, but the only thing I achieved was slowing my steps. The question of believing or disbelieving had passed; now, it was a matter of what I should do with this knowledge. I controlled only one capital ship and a few thousand soldiers as one of many commanders, and my fleet, as large as it was, was only a small part of a larger whole. I grew up under the hegemony; it was might, strength, and power. In my mind, my only thoughts were of what place I could carve for myself within it, not dismantle the whole damned thing!

"Answer this, young prince. Was there ever a time you were happy living at the palace?"

His question took me away from my thoughts. "It's my home."

"Then why are you so reluctant to return?"

He took my silence as his cue to continue.

"You've seen firsthand your Damma's hardships."

"It wasn't all bad. Sure I had issues with my siblings because I was from a lower branch, but I kicked their ass and they kicked mine and for the most part I found my place. And my father didn't mistreat me." I noticed the surprise on Swarti's features. "Ah, you thought he did, didn't you? Of course, I've never witnessed love between my parents, but I also never witnessed hatred either. And my Damma never spoken a word to turn me against him. I understand how you feel, but my father united our species. They kept the peace, which allowed us to flourish. A civil war would ruin that and make us vulnerable on all sides. We rule over too many aliens for this to end cleanly."

"You know better than anyone that this peace is fragile. Once your father goes to sleep, the war will begin, anyway. Almost every alien species conquered will try to regain control over their own territories; some will war for more resources. Even if your war isn't with your father, it could be with one of them. Your siblings will kill you before they allow you to take the throne, and when that happens, I can't guarantee that Id'arshar won't fight back."

I remained silent because I didn't want to reveal that I had no damn clue what to do! Or perhaps I was afraid. I made fun of so-called freedom fighters like Daruuk. And now, the thought of standing on that edge, coming face to face with the possibility of fighting something so massive it engulfs half the damn galaxy. Daruuk was already swimming in the cold, icy deep, and I was standing safely on the ledge staring into the abyss, afraid to jump in.

Swarti lifted his tunic, revealing the small triangular mark under his armpits.

"This is the symbol of your house. Whatever you decide is the right course, we will follow, we just wanted to let you know that you're not alone, and with everything happening with our new arrivals…well we sense a tide turning and wanted your eyes opened before that time came."

"You said you've lost hope. What changed?"

"You've made some decisions that I find curious."

Before he could say more, a soldier entered, saluting us. "Sir, sorry to disturb you, but we have a problem outside that requires your attention."

We followed him outside to the courtyard where the bodies rested, and now a small rowdy crowd gathered. Human guards held the crowd of humans back while my soldiers held back their brothers and sisters in arms.

"What is going on out here?"

CHAPTER 27

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