• Eron pressed himself flat against the large, golden doors to the palace, breathing heavily with excitement. Keiran was slumped on the ground next to him, doubled over and panting.
    “I’ve never run that hard in my life.” He gasped, staggering to his feet. The prince chuckled, clapping a hand on his companion’s shoulder to help him remain upright.
    “When you have five siblings, you learn.” He grinned, wiping sweat off his forehead with an oversized sleeve. Kei opened his mouth for a snappy retort, but was silenced by another voice from the end of the palace’s long main hall. This voice, gentle with a undertone of regality, came from the man that sat in the magnificent throne that stood there.
    “Who enters the house of Malka?” The fair-skinned man was obviously the king. He carried himself regally, and glanced curiously at the two.
    “Your son.” Eron called back, a small smile gracing his face. Kei guess that the prince and the king were on better terms then had been previously implied, or they were at least pretending to be.
    “Back so soon, Eron?” The king laughed as his eldest son approached the throne, casting his eyes over Keiran while he spoke. “And you’ve brought a guest. I hope this won’t turn into another ‘all we have is love, my king’, like your sister?”
    The young man from the Dark snorted with suppressed laughter, and a giggle snuck past Eron’s lips as he grinned widely. “No, sir.”
    “Well, then!” King Malka extended a hand to Kei, who shook it heartily. “Nice to meet you…”
    “Kei.” The noble filled in, smiling at the king and inwardly hoping that the Darkness within him could not be sensed. As if he had read his new friend’s mind, the prince straightened and snapped his fingers, frowning slightly.
    “I almost forgot! Father, Sangara is here from the Dark. He’s looking for Adakias.”
    “Oh, as long as he doesn’t lay a hand on any of the royal family, he can go.” The king’s lips had turned downwards a bit, but they soon returned to their former position. “Sangara? Really?” Eron and Keiran nodded simultaneously, and his smile grew even wider. “Maybe we should invite him to the execution today. Then again…”
    “Execution?” The two young nobles were in sync yet again, with the same incredulous tone to top things off.
    “I thought you told Anhura no more killings!” Eron crossed his arms, looking disappointedly at his father.
    “Yes, but she’s hardly going to stop me now.” The king smirked, shifting position coolly in his throne. His son shot a disgusted look at him, and he shrugged. “You’d better be there. You are the heir to my throne.”
    “I hate it when you pull this!” Eron actually stamped a foot on the ground, and Kei gazed at him in amazement. So this was what having a spoiled older brother was like. He could sympathize with Adakias a lot more now.
    “You’re coming.” Malka’s voice became harsh, and his eyes turned stern. His son sighed, resigned to his fate.
    “Come on, Kei. I’ll show you around.” He grabbed the other young man by the arm and began to drag him off to a side hallway. Once they were there, he gave Keiran a large wink, drawing a glittering silver key the hung from a chain out of his pocket with a grin.
    Adakias’s best friend sighed. In his home kingdom, he had certainly been in situations like this before, and they had never ended well. “What are we doing with that?”
    “Releasing the prisoner, of course.” Eron replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in both halves of the world.
    “And why would we want to release a potentially dangerous prisoner?” He shot back, crossing his arms.
    “I believe he’s a friend of yours.” The king’s eldest son raised his eyebrows provocatively at him, as if beckoning him to come and find out who it was.
    “A friend of mine?” Kei stared unbelievingly, following him down the hallway.
    “Well, we only execute people from the Dark, so he’s obviously going to at least be someone you’ve heard of.” Eron shrugged, walking backwards down the dark hallway until he reached the one occupied cell all the way at the end of it. A man, who looked to be only a few years older than the prince himself, was huddled there, muttering to himself. When he looked up at them, the two nobles flinched at the exact same moment. His eyes were the most curious thing they had ever seen, red irises ringed by whites that were, ironically, pitch black. The man’s hair, the same black as his eyes, covered the left side of his face, giving him a sinister, shadowed look.
    “What do you want?” He raised an eyebrow that had been pierced multiple times. The purple tattoos under his visible eye almost seemed to glow in the limited light of his cell.
    “We’re helping you.” Eron grumbled, obviously not happy at the lack of gratitude the man was showing as he unlocked the cell. The man smirked, stretching like a cat, and pushed the door open easily.
    “You’re the prince, aren’t you? And you,” He turned to Keiran, crossing his arms, “I know you. You’re one of Adakias’s friends.”
    The dark-skinned man nodded, running a nervous hand through his hair. “I’m Kei. Please don’t ask what I’m doing here. I don’t think I really know either.”
    The strange prisoner laughed. “I’m Niabi. And if you’re looking for the prince, that makes you a friend of mine. He’s going to get what he deserves.”
    Keiran and Eron exchanged an uneasy look, but neither spoke against him.
    “So, what’s with…” the heir to Malka’s throne didn’t finish the sentence, but lapsed into unsure gestures at Niabi’s face.
    “My eyes?” he laughed. “It’s a long story, but let me fill in some of the blanks for you. Have you ever heard the story of the Spider and the Lamps?”
    Both young men nodded slowly, but the connection formed in Kei’s mind first.
    “But tha-that’s impossible! It’s a myth!” He stammered, backing up a step and almost tripping over his own uncoordinated feet. The prisoner shook his head, grinning.
    “I’m afraid to say it was no myth, my friend. I am indeed a descendent of Barayas the Spider.”
    “That’s amazing!” Eron blurted in awe, walking around the other man as if analyzing him.
    “Sure.” The man readily agreed, shrugging. “Now, what say we get out of here, huh?”
    “Alright.” The prince consented, shooting a nervous look at Kei before speaking. The trio loped off down a side hallway, shooting anxious glances around for the king or any of his loyal subjects.
    Suddenly, the clicking of heels on the stone floor reached their ears. Eron drew a sharp intake of breath, motioning for the other two to duck into the shadows as a woman appeared. Wildly curly black hair fell to her shoulders, and she looked quite business-like, carrying a stack of papers with a writing instrument tucked behind her ear.
    “Prince.” She greeted him shortly, giving a contemptuous glare. It was clear that the woman held no respect for him.
    “Niah. Aren’t you supposed to be at the execution?” He spat back at her, clearly not pleased with her presence.
    “Your father sent me to find you.”
    “Of course he did. Well, I’m not going.” The young heir sneered at her reply, taking a step backwards.
    “Fine.” The king’s aide turned on her heel and clicked back the way she had come, hips swinging haughtily.
    “Now what?” Keiran raised an eyebrow questioningly, melting out of the shadows with Niabi by his side.
    “Now we run.” Eron’s face broke into a reckless grin.