Prologue

Safia stood before her father, shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"What is it, Father?" she asked warily, her eyes darting around the room. She despised entering her father's throne room. People crawled around, none of them very appealing. Years after death, they had started to decompose, and maggots were crawling in and out of them. The Keeper studied his daughter, and Safia became ramrod straight under his scrutiny. Her father didn't like it when she fidgeted. It was a sign of inferiority, and Safia was inferior to no one except the Keeper himself. "Why did you summon me?"

"I have a mission for you, Fia," the Keeper informed her, his black, soulless eyes boring into her.

She nodded, knowing that he wasn't asking her to embark on whatever this task was going to be, he was ordering her.

She looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. "It requires you to venture into the world of the living."

Safia scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Father, it is too cold up there." The temperature in the Underworld was warm indeed, considering the flames that licked at your skin constantly. Living with it her entire life, Safia found the fire not torturing, nor did she find it scalding, but instead comforting and beautiful. "Besides, it is impossible for people of the Underworld to cross the boundary into the living."

The Keeper smiled fondly at his daughter, still so young and innocent. His smile disappeared when the list of weaknesses innocence brought raced through his mind. When he spoke, his words came out harsher than he'd originally intended. "There is a tear in the veil. If you'd been paying attention to the meetings, you would've known that."

"Father, I am busy when the meetings are held. I have tasks that occupy me that disallow me from attending."

"You are the Princess of the Underworld, Safia. You should know the goings-on of your kingdom," the Keeper scolded his daughter.

Safia had to admit that he had a point, but it wasn't as if what she was doing wasn't equally important for the fate of their kingdom. She was getting to know the spirits that wandered the realm of the dead, maggots and all. What was a ruler if he knew nothing of his people? Worthless, that's what.

"You are right, Father, and I am deeply sorry. But I still don't understand why I have to go through the veil. If you wanted to wreak havoc, couldn't you just send one of your demons?"

"I have already tried, Fia. But it seems they're too weak for the Seeker. The only person I can trust to destroy him is you. For you have my blood running through your veins, you have my power. You are the only one capable of bringing the Seeker's reign to an end."

"What of his brother, Darken Rahl? Can he not travel instead?" Safia asked, still averse to the idea of being in the realm of the living. She was a very perky person, having a mind full of rainbows and such, but she still much rather preferred the dead to the living. Though the dead were a bit more unattractive, they didn't cause her any problems, which she was certain the living would do.

"Darken Rahl has already had his chance to kill the Seeker and he failed miserably. The only person I can depend on is you, Safia. Do not disappoint me."

Safia knew better than to argue with her father, especially in his kingdom. So instead she obeyed and nodded, turning on her heel and following her father's servants to take her to the tear.

She wondered briefly if she should bring a large, cozy coat to keep her warm. It was summer, a temperate season for the humans, but Safia had a sneaking suspicion that it would still give her goose bumps.

She should've known that the living would give her larger problems than just the weather.