Deceitful Lottery (MxM)| Y.E.P.1 series, BOOK 1 - 4

27. Chapter - More Lies

Corey was staring at the crown prince, mind racing. There were too many questions he wanted to ask. Too many things that were still missing and didn't make much sense. Too many details he was sure the alien omitted. But all his brain was capable of at the moment was a visualization of zombies running around, biting anything that moved. The whole thing sounded like a case of some mutated rabies that changed people into mindless, violent monsters, and Rey couldn't sort his thoughts enough to be able to speak.

Luckily, he wasn't the only one with a million questions.

"If you kill them on sight, why is he still alive, and why did you let him leave without a single scratch?" Adam's voice boomed, brows furrowed, body slightly shaking. Corey wasn't sure if his friend was still in some kind of panic mode or if this was all anger, but he wasn't about to find out by jumping into the conversation. He was too thirsty for the answer.

Azka'rah closed his eyes, his face turning ashen.

If there was something in the history of the royal family that they were all ashamed of, it was this failure. The inability to follow the unwritten law of Nezda'rah. But to this day, neither Azka nor the rest of his family could bring themselves to fully regret it. It was one thing to kill a stranger. But killing their own blood, their son, their brother, their future king – that was still unthinkable.

"Isdoy and I were too shocked and scared to do anything. We lost Lisca, and without any time to mourn, we lost our older brother too. And with us being barely as old as sixteen by Earth's measurements, there was nothing we could have done even if we had the mental capacity to. Izzy was bleeding from the bite in his leg, unable to stand up, and I was not much better because Zhar'sihr managed to catch me unguarded. He shredded my left side. Thinking back, I am surprised I did not collapse the moment his claws left my flesh. The wound was so deep that he managed to graze my ribs. Refha's claws are almost as long as our whole fingers."

Azka instinctively touched his side, remembering the pain as if it happened yesterday. It took four months for him to fully recover. Injuries caused by Refha healed much longer than regular ones, even with their best healers and salves available.

"Luckily, the change itself is not exactly silent. Zhar'sihr screamed until his voice turned into Refha's typical growling, and our parents heard it. The whole palace heard it. They came running, ready to eliminate him." He sighed, and Corey could've sworn the prince's eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

He smiled sadly

"Everyone froze the moment they saw us. Not just our parents but all the guards as well. The crown prince of the land was standing in front of them, ready to tear them to pieces, and no one was capable of doing anything. No one had it in them to kill him. Our parents were in as much shock as me and Isdoy. And the guards were confused and scared, grieving their future king all in one moment. It was the worst nightmare turned into reality, and everyone hoped they would wake up from it in the next few seconds."

Corey bit his lip, blinking furiously. He couldn't imagine the horror of someone having to kill their loved one. All the zombie movies and TV shows he had ever seen made him cry because of this exact reason, and the fact there was someone who actually experienced something similar right in front of him was heartbreaking. A sudden need to go over to where Azka was and give him a hug caught him so off guard he forgot to breathe for a second. But the prince looked so shattered at that moment that despite himself, Rey moved closer to him, stroking his shoulder in a calming manner.

Azka's tense posture immediately relaxed.

"Zhar'sihr did not give us any time to figure the situation out, though. Dad could not stay away. He, somewhere deep down, hoped he could get him out of it and tried to reach him. That is when he got the scar around his eye. There was nothing left of our loving brother in that monster, and the moment Dad was too close, he charged at him. If it wasn't for my father's quick reaction, Dad would lose his eye completely. He dragged Dad behind him and started to fight Zhar immediately. He wanted to restrain him and lock him up, hoping to find a way to bring him back. It was foolish. No one throughout our history could find a cure or a way to reverse the change. But my father's love for my brother completely blinded him. Blinded all of us."

Azka leaned into Corey's touch, and the human felt his cheeks flush. It felt too intimate for some reason. And what scared him the most was the fact he didn't mind it at all.

"The fight went on for a long time. Both of them were bleeding severely before Zhar'sihr made a wrong move and slipped, following Lisca's fate. He fell down the cliff right into the ocean. I will never forget the painful cry Dad let out. With so many open wounds, Zhar'sihr was as good as dead the moment the poisonous water got into his system."

The absolute devastation that filled every cell in his body when he saw his brother's form disappear beyond the cliff edge was still there. It didn't matter how many years went by. The loss of his older brother would still be too raw for him to forget or move on. And with him taking over Zhar'sihr's duties as the crown prince, he would be reminded of him for the rest of his long life.

"As you can probably guess, his appearance today was more than shocking for us all. I have no idea how he is still alive. It is impossible. But somehow, he survived. And he seemed to be conscious and aware of his life before he changed. He recognized us, and he obviously holds a grudge. There is no record of Refha ever acting like this. They turn into mindless killers. Existing only based on instinct. With all that, killing him is not an option now. We need answers. We need to know what happened and why he is so different. So right now, a group of our best guards is tailing him."

And Azka hoped they would catch him soon. If he was really a leader, they had to catch him before he managed to gather his army and march into their cities, massacring and destroying everyone and everything on their way.

"And we are to stay here why, then? He is obviously on the run with your people hot on his tail, so there shouldn't be a reason to be locked up. Why is a possible traitor such a big deal that we have to be hiding here?" Patrick frowned, looking around the room, obviously dissatisfied.

"There is a chance my brother was telling the truth, and there is a big group of Refha following his lead. We cannot risk getting abducted, which is a real danger if someone is indeed helping them from inside. This is the safest chamber in the whole palace. The walls are the thickest here, and we are deep underground. It would take years for them to get to us," Azka'rah said, smiling politely. But however trustworthy he tried to be, Patrick's eyes narrowed, and his frown deepened.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, staring him down as if he was the most suspicious person in existence.

"What exactly?"

"Why would it take years for them to get here? If someone lets them in, as you implied, all they have to do is open that door, and we're all screwed." Something wasn't clicking with Patrick. When they were led to this room, it didn't take more than fifteen minutes. They did, indeed, descend several flights of stairs, and the door was as thick as the walls of his uncle's old concrete bunker back at home, but if these guys managed to open it, so would the monsters they were all so afraid of.

The prince wasn't telling them everything.

Corey felt Azka tense for a moment, and he was about to move away from him when the crown prince grasped his hand and looked him in the eyes.

"I apologize in advance. What I am about to say concerns you and what happened soon after your arrival here. We had no reason to believe it was an organized group. Things like that happen here from time to time, and with the information we had before, there was no reason to fear anything, so I didn't tell you the truth."

Corey felt a slight tremble in Azka's hand, and while he was terrified of what he was about to say, he didn't move.

"This door is the last resort. There is another door at the entrance to the corridor, right at the edge of the staircase. That one is twice as thick as the one here. It closes automatically after the emergency alarm is set from the inside of this room, and it cannot be opened from the outside.

"We would be safe here for the rest of our lives if our enemy wasn't the Refha. They have a way to get in." He paused, squeezing Rey's hand a little too hard for comfort.

"They can claw their way in."