It's getting hot in here (so hot), so take off- *cough cough* I mean to say skip if you think this chapter won't be for you ;)
Chapter Fifty-Four: Andante, Andante.
The water came pouring down. The crashing sound it made as it hit the pool below was surprisingly calming, considering its volume. Sitting himself in the natural alcove with his back to the stone wall, Akkarin enjoyed being encased in a temporary prison of light and sound. He wondered how many other people had settled themselves here, had hidden themselves away from the rest of the world in this place.
A movement in the corner of his eye brought his attention to a faint silhouette against the cascade, and his solitude was disturbed- but luckily by the one person whom he didn't mind disturbing it.
Sonea looked around the miniature cavern with interest, then her eyes settled on him. He smiled at her gently.
"It's quite private in here, if a bit cramped," he said.
"And noisy," she replied with a smile. She pulled herself up onto ledge he had settled onto with her arms, and came to sit beside him. He watched her with undiluted fascination as she looked about her. "It's beautiful," she breathed. He couldn't stop his hand sliding across the stone to hers and entwining their fingers together. With her hair slicked back against her neck, wet clothes and bare feet, he once again felt he was seeing a side to her he hadn't seen before. And with every side, every new version of her he saw, she grew more and more perfect.
"Yes, it is," he said, his eyes never leaving her. Noticing the frigidity of her skin, he took her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over her soft palms. "You're cold."
She turned to look at him, an easy smile making her eyes sparkle as she nodded. Her gaze then left his and looked him over, and her smile changed subtly.
"What are you looking at me like that for?" he asked.
"No reason," she bantered, and he couldn't help but laugh. He then let his own eyes drop to consider her in the same way she had him. The clothes clinging to her skin gave him a tantalising view of what he hadn't allowed himself to look at on several occasions before.
Could they…?
She must have noticed, as she made a noise between amusement and embarrassment. She blushed a deep red, then made to pull her hands away from him, but he wouldn't release them.
Could he…?
She looked at him curiously, then smiled her understanding at the message he was trying to convey. "Oh," she said, "I see."
He laughed softly at her sudden understanding. He curled a hand round her waist and pulled her towards him, enjoying the ease with which she folded herself against him, their bodies fitting together perfectly. As their foreheads met in a moment in which only the two of them existed, she let out a deep, shuddering breath, seemingly overcome. He told himself to do this slowly, softly, carefully.
He kissed her gently, then not quite so gently, bringing her down to the stone ledge with care. He pulled back to look at her, wanting to be sure, and his heart leapt at the expression on her face. Soft, wide eyes held a little trepidation, yes, but that was eclipsed by the love and trust he found there. I want you, they told him. But do you want me? Of course he did. At the end of all things, he wanted this. Just this. Only this.
So, he took his time, and was soft, slow and careful. He kissed her tenderly, pulling away her clothes with care, then took in her form with the deepest reverence. He marvelled and was humbled by the fact that of all the places she could be, of all the things she could be doing, of all the people she could be with, she had chosen to be here. With him. Like this. That thought alone would have made this moment intimate enough, but the feel of her fingers running through his stubble brought him back to the physical world, and his mind was filled with all manner of possibilities. Andante, andante, he told himself.
His world collapsed in on itself, until all it contained were the deep flushes colouring her smooth skin, the gentle gasps of his name, the trembling fingers that unbuckled his belt and gripped at his skin. He traced her every curve, every hollow, like writing the map of an undiscovered world. From the long arc of her spine to the graceful dip in her pelvis, his hands learned her. He learnt what made her shiver, what made her giggle, what made her groan. He whispered soft words of encouragement in her ear. Finally, after feeling her surrender to the physical sensations that washed over her, he allowed himself to show her that he was absolutely, categorically, hers.
Afterwards, their breathing slowly returning to a normal rhythm, heads still spiralling from the intensity, he lowered himself onto the stone, watching her intently. Eventually, she blinked her eyes open, looking directly at him. She smiled at him the same way she had the day before, and he couldn't help but smile back. No words were required at this moment. He wrapped her in his arms and, with a peace he hadn't felt in an age, fell asleep.
No nightmares hounded him, no tortured memories of his traumatic past came to disturb his much needed repast. Maybe it was because his mind was so tired it chose to let him sleep. Maybe it was because his life was currently as terrifying as those dreams that his mind didn't feel the need to scare him further. Or maybe it was because of the soft, slight figure that was curled against him, her slow and steady breath against his hand, a talisman against further horror.
But he was woken only a short while later to her tensing against him.
"What is it?" He asked blearily, eyes blinking open to see her sat up on her elbows staring out at the falling water that hid them.
"Someone's standing beside the pool," she whispered curtly over shoulder. He was immediately awake. He listened, and heard what she must have already- the sound of muffled voices. He cursed silently.
"Be quiet a moment," he instructed. His eyes found a natural break in the water. He slipped off the ledge so he could move toward it. Briefly turning his senses inward, he listened for the connection he had with Lorlen through the ring. But, as had been the case since his arrest, there was no connection to be found. Cursing to himself, he tuned into the sound of the voices. Through the gap in the falls, he could see a man in red- the sign of an Ichani master, but not one he recognised. He had his hand tightly around the wrist of a olive skinned woman in the garb of a slave. It didn't take him long to work out what he was seeing.
"…thought I made myself clear, I don't want to miss the opportunity of killing the Kyralians, that's why I put you where you were." He immediately recognised the voice from his previous spying.
He turned back to Sonea. "Parika," he mouthed, and she nodded her understanding, tense and alert. She had, to his quiet disappointment, pulled her clothes back on, and after a few moments came to crouch beside him. Together, they listened as the Ichani and slave spoke to one another, making their plans to enter Kyralia.
"But I didn't mean any harm," a female voice replied. "I only sought to be ready for your return. See, I have gathered stingberries and tiro nuts."
"You should not have left the Pass." Clearly Parika didn't care for stingberries or tiro nuts.
"Riko is there," the woman replied, and Akkarin wondered as her insolence- he would never had been brave enough to answer Dakova back.
"Riko is asleep."
"Then punish Riko!"
At the sound of the thump that Parika's fist made as he punished his slave, he felt Sonea flinch, her arm twitching against his, and move away once again.
"Forgive me, master!" The slave replied.
"Get up," Parika's harsh voice replied. "I don't have time for this. I haven't slept for two days."
I know how you feel.
"Are we going straight to Kyralia, then?" The woman asked, her voice becoming fainter.
"No. Not until Kariko is ready. I want to…rested…"
Once he was sure that the two had left the pool, he allowed himself to relax and take a deep breath. He turned back to tell Sonea the danger was passed, and was met by the sight of her looking anxiously back at him, arms hugging her torso protectively. He was furious that they had taken the serene look off her face that had been there just a few minutes before. He went to her and pulled her close. He felt her relax against him, but she still shivered under his fingers.
"You're shaking," he murmured into the top of her head, his lips brushing her still wet hair. She nodded.
"That was too close," she breathed, her now-warm fingers coming to rest on his abdomen.
"Yes," he replied. "Lucky I hide our boots. Sometimes it pays to be overly cautious."
She was quiet for a little while. He could feel her deliberate, steadying breaths on his chest as her forehead rested on his neck. "They're in front of us now," she noted eventually. He felt the same stab of fear that he could hear in her voice and held her tighter.
"Yes, but it sounds as if Parika is the only Ichani at the Pass. It also sounds as if Kariko plans to invade in the next few days." He sighed, remembering his failed attempt to reach the Guild. "I tried to reach Lorlen, but he isn't wearing the ring. He hasn't put it on for days." That thought, above all others, worried him. His only solace leaving the Guild to fend for itself had been that he still had a private connection to it. But now it appeared that connection had gone as Lorlen had taken back the freedom of his thoughts, and he had no way to keep them informed of the Ichani's plans. He would just have to hope that between Lorlen, Balkan and the King, they had enough sense to work out what to do next on their own. Some hope, that.
"So we wait until Parika enters Kyralia, then follow?" Sonea asked.
He considered. "Or we try to sneak past him tonight, when he sleeps." He didn't like the idea of trying out something so risky, however. Well, if Sonea wasn't here he might be willing, but as it was…
A thought struck him. He took her by the shoulders and pulled back to look at her. "It isn't far to the coast from here. From there is would only be a few days' ride to Imardin. If you were to go that way while I—"
She looked shocked for a moment, then anger stormed over her face. "No. I'm not leaving you," she stated.
"The Guild needs you, Sonea," he retorted, trying to sound authoritative rather than scared. "They don't have time to learn black magic from my books. They need someone who can train them, and fight for them. If we both go through the Pass, we might both be caught and killed. As least, if you went south, one of us might reach Kyralia."
He let her push his hands of her shoulders as her face showed she was fighting to think of a retort. "You need my strength," she said, a little lamely. Clearly she had seen there was some logic to what he had said.
"One more day's strength from you will make no difference. I could never have gained enough power in these last weeks to face the Ichani. I'd need ten or twenty of you."
"It would not be one more day," she immediately retorted. "It will take another four or five days to get from the Pass to Imardin."
He sighed. She was right, of course, it would be at least another three days, but it wasn't the hopelessness of the situation that was stopping him- he had never let the odds being stacked against him stop him from fighting before. No, it was Sonea herself. Yes, she had been willingly giving him her power for weeks now, but now that things had…changed, developed, between them, it no longer felt right to be taking from her in this way. But he didn't want to voice such an anxiety- not yet anyway. He didn't want to appear ungrateful for all that she had given to him.
"Four of five days would make little difference," he replied. "If the Guild accept my help, I will have hundreds of magicians to draw from. If they don't, they're doomed anyway."
He watched as she thought about that. Then she frowned and shook her head. "You're the valuable one. You have the knowledge and the skill, and the power we've collected. You should go south. If it's safer, why don't we both go south?"
"Because I would not get there in time."
She gave him an exasperated look- on any other day, it might have made him laugh. "Right, so I wouldn't either?" she said irritably.
"No, but if I failed, you could help what was left of the Guild regain Kyralia," he retorted gently, not wishing to irritate her further. "The rest of the Allied Lands will not like have Sachakans black magicians as neighbours. They would—"
"No. I'm not going to stay away until the battle is over," she said simply, definitively, and he knew he had lost the battle. Again. "Surely you know me better than that by now." There was a stab of hurt in her voice, and he relented a little.
"Of course I do, but it's just…" He considered her carefully, then sighed and went to find his clothes. A silence, far less peaceful than the one they had just shared, settled between them. Fully clothed again, he went to her, took her hands and held them close to his chest. He needed to be honest with her. She needed to know this wasn't just about the Guild. "Look, it's not that I don't want your help, or am not immensely grateful for you offering it, but it would be easier for me to face the Ichani if I did not have to worry about what they might do to you if I fail," he said quietly.
Her expression softened and she squeezed his fingers. "Do you think it's any easier for me when I know what they would do to you?"
He frowned, consider whether to correct her. Yes, the Ichani wouldn't be at all pleasant to him if he was caught, but what they would do to her was much, much worse. He knew it. He had seen it. If he was caught, he would eventually be killed, which would be some solace. She would have no such reprieve- not for a very, very long time. No, he decided, looking into her eyes, there was no need to explain. What good would it do, anyway? It would only terrify her.
Still, she had not yet convinced him that staying together was a good idea.
"At least one of us would be safe if you went south," he said, trying one last time.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, why don't you go then? I'll stay and fix the Guild's little Ichani problem!"
He tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't. It was too good an image. "No good," he replied. "I would have to come with you to see that for myself."
She winked. "Well then, we'll just have to think of an alternative," she smiled mischievously. "We probably ought to be going, oughtn't we?" She went to step out from behind the falls.
As the thought of returning to normal life returned- well, as normal as this strange existence was going to get, he suddenly realised the enormity of what they had just done. With the sudden arrival of Parika, they had some what blown over something of a milestone. Guilt stabbed at him- had he really taken such an opportunity to partake in such base pleasures? And had he really done so with her, taking advantage of her innocence?
"Sonea?" he said softly, an unformed question on his lips.
She turned back to him, her eyes questioning. Some of the serenity he had managed to create there had returned, to his relief. Colour rose in her cheeks at his gaze, and the corners of her lips turned upward in a small smile. It was too much for him to resist.
He moved close to her again, and pushed the wet hair from her face. He wrapped a hand round the back of her neck, leaned forward and kissed her deeply, and she responded immediately. As his free hand went to the small of her back, her hands slid up his chest.
Oh, how could he say any time with her was a base pleasure? She was the greatest thing to have ever come into his life, the best thing he'd ever been able to call his. He would, and could, never feel anything wrong in her.
Then she pulled back suddenly.
"Did you want to ask me something?" She whispered shakily.
"Yes, but you've made me forget what," he replied, lips against her jaw. That made her laugh breezily.
"Then I apologise, how careless of me," she breathed. As she rose on her toes to kiss him again, he remembered. Just because he didn't feel wrong about the act itself didn't mean he didn't feel guilty for what he had taken from her. He pulled away from her completely, He took a couple of steps backwards, wanting to give her space, and looked at her, trying to seem unaffected and calm.
"In all seriousness, Sonea, I- I'm sorry if I went further than you were expecting when we...well, earlier. I shou-"
She stepped back up to him, an amused expression on her face, and she put a finger to his lips, silencing him.
"I'm half trained and disobedient, remember? I don't do the things I don't want to do."
It was his turn to laugh- both in amusement and relief. "No, you don't, do you?" he said, before recapturing her lips. She gave a short gasp of surprise as he lifted her delicate frame up around her waist with ease and lowered her gently onto the stone slab once again. "Tell me, what would you like me to do this time?"
...And that's all she wrote, folks. That's all you are getting. Well...almost ;) I really hope this wasn't too fifty shades-ish. Let me know what you think. If I need to retire as a writer after this, let me know, haha! Also, a massive thank you to the guest reviewers who always take the time to write to me after each chapter. I have no idea who you are, you gentle souls, but God bless you.
