Endiá silenced Kyneos. All eyes turned towards the door of the room as it creaked open, revealing the silhouette standing in its frame. Emerging from the shadows, it was difficult for them to distinguish their interlocutor.

"Endiá!"

The sovereign's eyes widened. A voice he never expected to hear again for a long time had just called his name. He quickly straightened up, accidentally knocking over the servant at his feet.

"Who goes there?" asked a guard to Endiá's right. "Sir, please stay here."

The figure draped in black pulled back its hood, revealing jet-black hair and blue eyes that everyone recognized, except Kyneos. Endiáthetos rushed towards his brother, seeing nothing but him. Tears streamed down his cheeks at lightning speed.

He threw himself onto his brother and embraced him tightly. Both men sobbed in each other's arms. The emotion was palpable. The others in the room dared not utter a word, mesmerized by the beauty of the scene before them.

"Astós, how is this possible? How can you be standing here before me?" Endiá asked between sobs. "And where... Where is Kyria?"

"I'll explain everything, I promise. And Kyria is fine," he said, pulling out a marble from his pocket. "Look, everything's fine, she's here."

Endiáthetos took the marble between his fingers and gazed at the face of his young sister, asleep. Time had passed so quickly; it had been two years since they last saw each other. Their feelings were only intensified.

"Please, everyone, leave us," he demanded, as if he had never left the palace.

They all sought approval in Endiá's gaze. When they found it, granted with a nod, they left the room.

Astós, exhausted, sat cross-legged on the floor. Endiá followed suit, unwilling to leave him under any circumstance.

"Are you tired?" his brother asked. "Do you want us to bring you some water, wine, food?"

"No, no, none of that," he said, adding the appropriate expression.

"Then, tell me everything. Did you run away?"

"No, truthfully, she let me go," he confessed. "I'm here because I need your help, brother. And I know you won't let me down, will you?"

"No, of course not, ask me anything!" exclaimed Endiá. "What do you need?"

"I need your energy."

The king's eyes widened in surprise. Kyneos also furrowed her brows.

"My energy? What are you talking about? And can you start from the beginning, please? Why would that horrible creature let you go? I thought you were supposed to be in her service for another eight years."

Astós sighed.

"Can I trust you?" he asked.

"But of course, I've already told you, you can ask me anything, I'll help you."

He sighed again.

"I need your energy to save mom."

"Excuse me?" stuttered the king. "But mom is dead, what are you talking about, Astós?"

"Mom wasn't who you think she was. She was... different. Like me, look." He lit a small flame at the tip of his finger and made it dance before extinguishing it, feeling the tingling sensation in his finger.

Endiá recoiled abruptly, astonished.

"I'm an Heir, and so was mom. Oh yes, and we have another sister, almost forgot! Unfortunately, she won't be able to help us with mom's rescue; she has no knowledge of the Heirs' curse."

"The Heirs' curse, and a sister?" the king asked, incredulous.

"Yes, we'll talk about the sister later, and as for the curse, twice per generation, in our family, children are gifted with fire powers. Unfortunately, this gift comes with a curse; mine, for example, burns me when I produce flames. When we die, we reincarnate."

"Um, okay. How do you reincarnate?"

"As a Dnophos."

The young man's eyes widened even further, his mouth slightly agape.

"You mean mom is still alive in the form of a Dnophos?" he guessed.

"No, she was also killed in that form."

"But by whom? Why?"

His eyes were wet with tears, and Astós understood; he had a similar reaction when he found out.

"A sorceress burned her."

"An Heir, you mean?"

"Yes, that's right."

"How do you plan to bring her back if she's already died twice? Unless it's some kind of dark magic incantation or something fantastical, forgive me for doubting," spat the king.

"I'm getting to that slowly. We have a sort of resource-manipulating sorcerer among us. We need a bit more energy in our 'pot' to hope to bring her back," admitted Astós.

"We?"

Astós squirmed on the ground; he had hoped his brother wouldn't dwell on that detail of his sentence. He sighed.

"Yes, my 'team' consists of five members: me, the sorcerer, two Heirs, and..." He hesitated.

"And?"

"And Sklerótes."

"Who is Sklerótes?" the king asked, annoyed.

"The Dnophos from two years ago."

"Excuse me?" He stood up abruptly. "You want me to team up with the court's murderer and my family's murderer? With the monster who took everything from me? It's out of the question!" he exclaimed. "They brainwashed you; how do you expect to cooperate with them?!"

Astós straightened up calmly, his expression sad.

"Please wait for me, I'll be back in a second!" he said hurriedly.

"What?! No! Astós, come back!"

The prince went outside to fetch his friends. They were sitting against a wall in the dark. He arrived with a torch, which he handed to Palaïós, who was already standing against the bricks. He helped the others to their feet while saying:

"He's still a little confused, but I'm convinced we'll manage to convince him, all together!"

"Astós, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Korè, worried. "And what if he reacts badly, what are we going to do?"

"We'll hope everything goes well," he said simply.

"I'm not reassured..."

"You have to trust me, as much as I trust him."

She grumbled, and the others followed without protest. They briskly headed towards the room the prince had just left. His brother had returned to his throne, feeling a little queasy. When Astós re-entered the room with his friends, the king eyed them warily.

"Endiá, let me introduce you to Palaïós, our sorcerer; Maximus and Korè, our Heirs; and Sklerótes, your aunt," he said, pointing to each in turn.

Sklerótes stepped forward, uncomfortable, and bowed deeply.

"I hope you can forgive my... transgression, or that we can set aside our differences to save your mother, my sister."

He grumbled.

"I'm listening..."

"As Astós may have already explained, I'm gathering energies. That's my plan, to save your mother: to give her a lot of our energy. We're short on it, which is why we've come to you, to ask for your help by lending us yours, and perhaps rallying people to our cause. What do you think..."

"Yes, yes, alright. And... wait, I have just the perfect person for you. I'll be right back!" Endiáthetos added eagerly.

He exited through the service door, through which the others had left earlier in the evening. When he gave his order, he spoke so loudly and clearly that even the group of friends heard it.

"Guards, I need Kyneos, bring her to me."

Sklerótes froze in place, terrified.