CHAPTER 48
SONEA OF FAMILY DELVON, OF HOUSE VELAN
Sonea walked down one of the many corridors of the University. She was headed towards her first lesson. She felt utterly out of place and at the same time had a curious feeling of being home at last.
All that she had gone through – that she and Akkarin had gone through – had been to ensure that the Guild survived. Walking in it´s sunstreaked peacefulness now gave her silent joy and at the same time sent a jolt through her at the thought of what would have happened to all those beautiful old buildings and those who dwelled within them if they hadn´t been able to defeat the Ichani.
She heard footsteps echo down the corridor. The other novices entered the classrooms. Some magicians strode to their classes, too. She had better hurry, or she would be too late.
A ray of sunlight dazzled her when she entered the room which was already crowded with her fellow novices. They all turned to look at her, unsure maybe of how to react to her – she was, after all, one of the two Black Magicians of the Guild of Kyralia.
A voice broke the silence, a voice she had dreaded from the early days on.
'Now see who has returned to us.' Regin said. He was seated at the front of the classroom. All attention now turned to him.
Would he dare to restart his pranks now that she had lost the High Lord´s guardianship officially? She was still a Black Magician, after all, and she had beaten him in the challenge and most importantly she was – well, maybe he didn´t know.
Regin smiled at the other novices, making sure he had their full attention, then took a deep breath. Sonea felt resigned. How could she have expected him to change, no matter what he had said when they had been with the Thieves?
Her jaw dropped, however, when Regin then turned to her and bowed. Not a formal bow, he simply inclined his head a little. A greeting to an equal used by members of the Houses, Sonea realised dumbstruck.
'Sonea of family Delvon, of House Velan, I´d be honoured if you would come and sit beside me', the blond magician intoned gesturing to his right side.
Sonea´s mouth hung open still when the murmurs rose to a buzz.
'Of House Velan, but –' she heard one of the novices say.
'Wait, that can´t be right', another interrupted.
'Family Delvon?' They all turned to stare at her. 'But – that´s the High Lord´s family!'
The sun broke through the clouds once more bathing the room in sunlight. Gasps rose when the novices looked at Sonea´s hand holding her books. The gold band shone brightly in the light. Sonea was wearing a signil ring of House Velan.
The room fell completely silent. Regin´s gaze rested on Sonea a moment longer. He smiled at her, his eyes meeting hers.
'Oh', he said very innocently as if unaware of the impact of his news. 'Didn´t you know? Sonea and the High Lord were married yesterday evening.'
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