A/N: This chapter is where things start heating up guys.

Chapter 2

Sonea sighed. She was sitting on the ledge outside the cave they were sleeping in today. Akkarin was inside with the Sachakan man, a magician named Tarin, and Yilana.

The name left a feeling of bitterness inside of her. She was jealous. She could admit that to herself. Yilana was beautiful, sensual, soft spoken and, worst of all, seemed to have some deep connection with Akkarin. She desperately wished that she was overreacting, that there was a perfectly reasonable and innocent explanation for this. However whenever she convinced herself of some half way reasonable explanation that made her look like a spoilt child from the houses who had to share their favourite toy, she'd look back at Akkarin and Yilana, deep in conversation, and her mind would be flooded with doubt again.

It wasn't that they were acting overly friendly, but…..well to be honest she wasn't sure herself what it was. It was something about Akkarin that she had never seen before. Eventually she had had to escape from their company, unable to be in their presence any longer.

Footsteps sounded behind her, soon accompanied by the familiar scent of Akkarin. Food appeared in front of her and she took the food, despite not feeling hungry in the slightest. "Thank you," she muttered to her food.

"You've been out here the last couple of hours."

She shrugged, not trusting herself to speak. After a moment of watching her he sat down beside her.

"Yilana was one of Dakova's slaves. She helped me in the beginning; explained who the Ichani are and about Sachaka to me. She was Dakova's bed slave…and we where in love."

Sonea felt her world lurch at this admission. They were lovers, no wonder they seemed to share a deep connection. Somehow his admission seemed to a seal of doom on their relationship. It wasn't fair. She had only discovered his feelings for her yesterday and now this Yilana shows up out of now where and…wait. Akkarin had said were in love. What about now? She felt a spark of hope. If he still loved her he wouldn't have left her in Sachaka would he.

Feeling guilty she realised that Akkarin had been talking while she was lost with her thoughts.

"….on that day I had thought only Takan and I had survived. I thought that Dakova had killed Yilana as well, but it appears that he didn't completely drain her, only enough for all of us to believe she was dead. We never had the chance to bury the dead slaves; Dakova wanted to move away as quickly as possible.

She says that she doesn't know how long it took her to regain consciousness, but when she did she was in the company of an enemy of the Ichani. That man was Tarin. She's his slave now, but she's treated like a human being now, not some piece of meat to be taken at the luxury of another man." He looked up at Sonea. "I swear Sonea; I thought she was dead."

Sonea remembered his reaction from seeing Yilana again and nodded, "I know."

There was silence for a moment while Sonea watched her food. The question of whether he still loved Yilana plagued her mind. He hadn't said anything about his feeling towards her now. Sonea knew she had to ask, but she was terrified that he would say that he still loved Yilana. If it came down to a choice between her and Yilana, who in their right mind would choose her?

Well it was no use just sitting here wondering; she had to ask. Taking a deep breath she plucked up her courage she turned to Akkarin. "Do you still love her?"

Her heart beat quickened as he remained silent. She could tell that he was thinking carefully about his answer. She felt her nerves bubbling; was he thinking of a way to let her down gently?

She felt his fingers wrap around her hand and he lifted to his lips, placing a soft kiss on it. "I won't ever leave you?"

She started to feel comforted. She really should trust Akkarin more. A teasing thought entered her mind and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You can't have us both!"

He chuckled and pulled her into an embrace. "I would never dream of it." She smiled. Here in his arms all thoughts of him leaving her for another women seemed like the whispers of a nightmare long past.

He pulled back from her, "Now finish your food and then come lie down next to me. I think we deserve a full night's sleep together. The others will stand watch." He kissed her forehead lightly and left her feeling more secure then when he arrived.

(&)

Akkarin walked past were Tarin lay dozing. The cave that Tarin had led them to was actually an entrance to a series of tunnels running though the mountain. It was used often by Tarin and his companions, who ever they were. Akkarin stopped by one of these tunnels and turned to look back at Sonea. The sun was just rising, reminding Akkarin of their first kiss. He smiled to himself.

"She's cute," he heard Yilana's voice near his ear. He turned round to see her stepping out of the shadows of the tunnel. "But I never thought you would fall for a girl like her."

"There's far more to Sonea then you realise then."

She smiled gently back, but he could see the sadness I her gaze, "Why don't you tell me then. I'm curious about the girl who replaced me by your side. That's what you said wasn't it; that you wouldn't leave her. I should be surprised that you found someone else though, it has been five years. I just thought that maybe…" her voice drifted off.

"I'm sorry Yilana. I though you were dead."

She took several steps backwards, further into the tunnel. Akkarin willed a light globe in life between them. When the light hit her face he noted that the disappointment had been replaced with a flicker of hope. "You never answered her question; do you still love me?"

Akkarin suppressed the groan he felt. What was he supposed to say? That of course he still loved her? That he had mourned her death for the last five years? That he fought his love for Sonea for so long because of his lingering love and loyalty to her, but Sonea had been like a ray of sunlight in his dark and lonely world. Much like Yilana had once been to him, but that light had been extinguished and he hadn't been able to prevent himself from falling desperately in love with Sonea.

Now here Yilana was, as beautiful as ever, wanting him, asking him if he still loved her. He was with Sonea now and nothing could ever take him away from her…or was there?

Standing in front of him now, Yilana was like some glorious dream. A month ago, even a couple of days ago, he wouldn't have had a moment's hesitation. He would be lying next to her now after making love to her. The more she stood, watching him with those gorgeous brown eyes, there the more the temptation grew. He found himself wanting to touch her, to kiss her, to…

He tore himself away from those thought, disturbed by them. Sonea was his lover now, and he loved her more then his very life. He wouldn't trade her for the world. So why was he having this debate with himself now, and why had he moved to stand in front of her?

Yilana tilted her head alluringly. "You still haven't answered my question. Tell me; do I still have a chance of winning back the heart of my one true love?"

Akkarin swallowed his throat suddenly very dry. He was going to say no. He was going to say that he was with Sonea now. He was going to say that she didn't have a chance of changing that, he'd just do it in a nice way. Some part of him raised its eyebrows and asked exactly how you reject someone in a nice way?

"If I had had any doubt you about your 'death' on that night then I would have made sure for myself and taken you back to the guild with me. When I though you had died so did a part of me. You were the only thing that kept my will to live although my enslavement, but that was a very long time ago. We are very different people now."

Yilana lifted her hand up and ran it along Akkarin's face. He knew he should brush it aside, but something in him wanted the contact too much.

"Really? Have we changed that much? You're still the man I remember, the man I fall in love with," and she kissed him.

Immediately memories overwhelmed him. Her lips, her scent, her body. Everything else was forgotten and he returned her kiss passionately. They stumbled backwards a step until she was pressed against the wall. He felt one of her hands slip under his shirt and slide up his chest, causing him to moan into her mouth. He felt one of his own hands slip under her shirt.

They broke apart briefly to catch their breath.

"I missed you so much," Yilana whispered, her breath on his lips cause him to shiver. Her lips were so close to his that he couldn't resist attacking them with his own.

Yilana stared working away at the buttons of his shirt and her mouth moved to leave a trail of kiss along his neck, making their way to his chest. His hands moved of their own accord, grasping her shirt, preparing to tug it over her head. He smiled contently. He never thought he'd be in this position again, especially as his last fantasies had involved Sonea, not Yilana.

He pulled away. What the hell was he doing? He clenched his hands tightly, Yilana's shirt still tight in his grasp. He wanted Sonea didn't he? Wasn't it Sonea who he now dreamt of taking off her clothes and kissing the pale skin beneath? Wasn't Sonea the one he had promised never to leave just a few moments before? So what was he doing here?

He was here because he had longed for Yilana for so long, because the closest he had been able to get to her had been in his nightmares, but Sonea had been able to chase away those nightmares. This was wrong, and cruel to Sonea. He shouldn't be doing this, not here and most certainly not with Yilana.

He opened his mouth the try and explain this to her when he heard a small noise to his left. He snapped his head round and felt the blood rush from his face and a sickening feeling gripped his insides. "Sonea."

End of chapter 2

BUUUUUUUSTED!!! Someone's in trouble. You know, I've just realised that I have no idea how I'm going to end this story. :evil grin: Thank you once again to the lovely Zurina for beta reading this.