Disclaimer: I don't own The Dark Artifices, Cassandra Clare does.

PROLOGUE

Prince Kieran sighed as he moved through the dark, stony tunnels of the Unseelie Court. His father, the king, rarely sent for him and he couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive.

Although Kieran was a prince of the Unseelie Court, he was one of the youngest and therefore did not have a lot of power in the court. He also found it extremely difficult to make friends in the court as most of the courtiers were centuries older than him and did not have much respect for him.

As he approached the heavy black iron doors of his father's throne room, he got the uneasy feeling that something unpleasant was going on. He could not say quite what it was, but he knew that whatever it was, he did not want to find out. Slowly, he reached out and opened the heavy doors.

The inside of his father's throne room was dimly lit and huge. The walls were made of a glossy black stone and the floor was set with darkly gleaming gem stones. His father sat, upright and stiff, on a throne of dark wood carved with images of leaves and vines.

"Father," Kieran said formally, bowing low in front of his father's throne, "You wanted to see me?"

His father looked down at him, his expression was as hard and cold of the iron doors of his throne room. He was a tall, slender man with a large quantity of dark green hair and he had a gold and black crown on his head. His skin was pale and his eyes, the same black as Kieran's, were slightly unnerving.

"Indeed," Replied the king in his low, deep voice. "I called you here, Kieran, to tell you that you are leaving my court."

Kieran stared at his father with barely concealed shock. It was true that he did not have friends among the court but it was still the only home that he had ever known. "I am to leave the court?" Kieran echoed. "Have I done some wrong that I do not know of?"

His father gave him a cold smile which made cold shivers run up Kieran's spine. "No, my son," The king told him, "You have committed no wrong. However, I have decided that you will be sent to Gwyn, the hunter to join him and the Wild Hunt as relations between our people and his have been strained in the past few years."

Kieran stared at his father. He had heard of the Hunt of course but he had no desire to join them. He felt his heart sinking. He knew from his father's icy tone that there was no way to convince him to change his mind but he had to try. "Father, I would not fit in with the other Hunters. They will not tolerate me, and I will not be content with them."

"That makes no difference to me," His father told him, "You will join the Hunt, Kieran. My decision is final."

With that, the door behind Kieran opened with a bang and two of his father's guards came in. To his shock and annoyance, he found himself being bound in chains and dragged away. His last thought, as he was dragged out of the throne room was that he would not let the Hunters break him. He was a prince of Faerie and he would not allow them to take that away from him, even if he had to endure pain to maintain his dignity.