Lan felt the cold air on his wet back, which was telling him that the blade would kill him any second. He didn't look at Moiraine or Nynaeve. He didn't want any of them to worry any more than they already did. Of course, he wished that he would have been able to kill Kaslian – and this Valda – for hurting Moiraine and for torturing him, but at least his Aes Sedai would live.

'Rand, Perrin, Egwene, and Loial are still out there. Maybe they come back with some help. Siuan will be able to take care of Moiraine.'

"NO!" Moiraine's scream made his heart ache, but for the first time, he was glad that their bond was masked. He didn't want her to feel his death.

Suddenly, he felt a weave of air, which hit the wooden construct he was on pretty hard, as well as the two standing men. Kaslian went down, while Valda was thrown against the wall of the tent, which tore under the pressure. When he felt the heat of a flame on his hands, he noticed that the ropes were on fire. One look at Nynaeve, and he saw that her ropes were burning as well. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed a movement, and his eyes widen when he saw Moiraine, who was standing up from the chair. The remains of her burned restraints fell on the ground. She wasn't angry anymore. His Aes Sedai was furious! The wind was moving around her in circles, which made her look like a vengeance goddess. He had never seen her like that!

She moved her hands and one second later, Lan felt how his wounds started to heal. She has connected to the source again! Without saying anything, Moiraine passed her warder and moved to Valda, who was still lying on his back and groaning. With the lift of her hand, she moved the books on his desk and threw them on the questioner, who covered his head quickly. "You like to torture people? Well, why don't you play with me a little?" Another lift and Valda's silverware came flying at him. At the last second, he rolled to his side, and they got stuck in the ground.

"Lan." Nynaeve's hands were free and the young woman was holding her head, but she was already on her knees. Obviously, Moiraine didn't just heal him. She was also healing Nynaeve. This way, she would be able to walk on her own.

Lan wanted to go to her, but his back was still healing and the pain was terrible. He reached out his hand to her – the burning around his wrists was also healing – when he noticed that Kaslian was back on his feet. The angry man threw a deadly look at Moiraine's back, then he pulled out a dagger and turned to Lan.

"If she thinks that I won't fulfill my promise just because she can channel again, then she doesn't know me at all! You will die, warder!"

Lan tried to push himself up to have a better position, but the air was pushing him down, while Kaslian came for him. "Leave him alone!" Nynaeve grabbed Kaslian's cloak, but she wasn't strong enough to hold him in place. The Whitecloak freed his cloak from her grasp, then he faced Lan again when he was suddenly hit in the face by a flying chest, which sent him back to the ground. This time, Kaslian didn't stand up. The air on Lan's back disappeared and he turned his head to Moiraine. Their eyes met for a second before she returned her attention to Valda. But the warder had seen enough. She was still pissed, but the most important thing had been visible on her cheek. Her cheek was glowing, which meant that she was drawing too much from the One Power.

'I have to stop her or she'll burn out.'

Nynaeve grabbed Moiraine's serpent ring, which Kaslian had lost during his fall. "We have to leave before the rest of the whitecloaks arrive." Swaying, she walked to another chest of Valda, took Lan's tunic, and returned to the warder, who was getting back on his feet as well. His strength was coming back, while the last wounds were closing.

"I have to stop Moiraine.", Lan said, while he put on his tunic.

The wisdom looked in the Aes Sedai's direction, and Lan followed her gaze. His Aes Sedai had stopped throwing the inventory of Valda's tent, but now she was using the air and the earth to punish the man, who had tortured him.

"She really enjoys it to have her power back.", Nynaeve stated with a raised eyebrow.

"She is drawing too much." Lan grabbed his sword, then he pointed at their cloaks. "Take our stuff, while I stop her."

"And how do you plan to do this?", the wisdom wanted to know, but she got no answer. Sighing, she took everything that belonged to them, then she watched how Lan approached the furious woman. Now that he was completely healed and had his full strength back, he was able to sneak up on her.

In this condition, Lan didn't know how Moiraine would react if he would appear behind her. But he saw that her hands were glowing as well. She was close to burning out. One glance at Valda showed him, that the man wasn't moving anymore – maybe he was dead.

'Forgive me, Moiraine.'

Although he hated himself for hurting her, he used the hilt of his sword and hit it on her head. Immediately, the air stopped circling around her, while she sank to her knees, then Lan had his arm around her waist and pulled her in his arms. Even through her clothes, he was able to feel the heat, which was pulsing through her body.

"What have you done, Moiraine?", he asked the unconscious woman, who slowly got her natural skin color back.

"Lan! You've got to see this!" Nynaeve was at the entrance of the tent. Lan closed the distance between them and took a look outside. The camp was a disaster. Wolves were attacking the Whitecloaks, while some of the tents were on fire.

"What is happening?"

Nynaeve shook her head in disbelief. "I… don't… know. I never heard about wolves attacking a camp like that."

Suddenly, a wolf appeared in front of them. Blood was dripping from his mouth, but he looked harmless. "Don't move.", Lan whispered, while he kept an eye on the wolf. Since he was holding Moiraine, he couldn't fight against this creature and he doubted that Nynaeve would be able to kill him before he had ripped out her throat.

"Nynaeve!" Egwene and Perrin moved through the fights, but astonishingly, they didn't get hurt. It was as if the wolves would make a path for them. Even the one, who was standing in front of the warder and the wisdom, looked at Perrin once and then he ran away to help his brothers and sisters.

"What…?!" Nynaeve pointed at the wolf when Egwene threw herself into the wisdom's arms.

"We had been so worried. After they had stopped looking for us, we searched for you and finally tracked the Whitecloaks here. Are you…?"

"We don't have time for this!", Lan interrupted the two women "We need to leave immediately! Where are Rand and Loial?"

Perrin pointed to the other side of the camp. "Loial took care of the horses, and Rand is sitting on a hill and shoots at the Whitecloaks if they come to close."

"Get us there!"

As quick as possible, the young man guided his companions through the camp. Whenever someone tried to stop them, then the wolves intervened. Lan observed Perrin with a furrowed forehead. There was something about this man…

They reached their horses, where Loial was already waiting for them. The ogier was very nervous, but happy to see everyone alive. Lan asked the ogier to help him with Moiraine, so, she could ride in front of him. "She is burning up." Lan just nodded, then he carefully placed her in front of him. This was not the time to talk about what had happened.

Rand appeared between the trees. Everyone mounted their horses and they left the camp of the Whitecloaks behind them.

An hour later, they finally decided that it was safe to rest for the night. This time, they opened their camp close to the river and were hidden by a hill.

Lan was sweating under his bloody tunic since Moiraine was still burning up. Loial helped him to dismount his horse, then the warder took his Aes Sedai back in his arms. He needed to lower her temperature. His eyes fell on the river, and for a moment, he hesitated.

'I don't have a choice. If I can't get her temperature down, I don't know if she will survive the night.'

Quickly, he moved to the river. The others knew how to lit a fire. Of course, Nynaeve noticed his absence and followed him. "What are you doing? She needs rest."

"I have to lower her temperature.", Lan explained, while he took off his clothes except for his underwear. When he started to undress Moiraine, he heard Nynaeve gasping, then she gave him a push.

"What in lights name…?! She is a woman!"

"Nynaeve.", Lan growled. After the events of this night, his patience was very thin. "I'm her warder for twenty years now. I've seen her naked body more than once, just like she has seen mine. Now get out of my way."

The wisdom was too shocked to argue with him. He had seen her body more than once? How often had he seen it? And did that mean that they…?

When Moiraine was stripped down to her underwear, Lan took her in his arms again and walked into the river. The water was cold, but he didn't care. It was exactly what he needed right now. Carefully, he lowered the woman in his arms until her whole body was underwater. Her face was the only thing, which he kept on the surface. Lan let go of her legs and dripped some water over her face.

"I'll get you some blankets.", Nynaeve said and left. It was a good thing that it was dark outside. This way, Lan wouldn't see her blushed face.

But the warder only had eyes for his unconscious Aes Sedai, whose heat he felt through the water. "I knew you would find a way to get the One Power back.", Lan whispered, while he kept dripping water over her forehead and her cheeks to cool down her face as well "It looks like Loial has been right the whole time. The burning symbol was about you and me. You needed to be in danger to unlock your connection. But you had to do it to protect me and not yourself."

A shiver went through Moiraine's body, although her body was still heated. Lan decided that he would wait until Nynaeve would return with the towels. This way, Moiraine's body would be able to adapt to the cold water, and she would survive the night.

The wisdom returned and brought some herbs with her, which they placed in Moiraine's mouth, so, they would help her during the night. Rand thought that it had been crazy to take a bath in the river in the middle of the night, but Nynaeve quiet him very fast and sent everyone to sleep. Perrin took the first shift since Lan needed to rest after the torture of Valda. Moiraine had healed his body, but the situation had been painful and stressful for his brain as well. Soon, they all were asleep and recovering from their last adventure.

In the morning, Lan went to the river again to wash off the blood from his body, while everyone else was still sleeping. Rand, who had the last shift was the only one awake and promised that he would call for the warder if anything would change.

When Nynaeve woke up, she prepared a tea, which would hopefully strengthen everyone. Egwene and Perrin were the next ones to rise, shortly followed by Loial, who didn't need as much sleep as the others. While the tea was brewing, the wisdom moved to Moiraine.

The Aes Sedai was still sleeping, but the fever was gone. Her skin had returned to its usual temperature. Carefully, Nynaeve laid her hand on Moiraine's forehead when the Aes Sedai opened her eyes. Moiraine slapped away the hand of the wisdom before she brought herself in an upright position. Her eyes were moving quickly over each face, then they returned to Nynaeve.

"Where is he?" Quickly, Nynaeve stepped back and held her hands up in defense.

"You should take it easy. You've used a lot of the One Power…"

"Don't tell me what I should do! Where is he?!" Moiraine's voice became louder, then she was on her feet as well and moved closer to the wisdom, who was slowly walking backward. Nynaeve understood that the Aes Sedai must have been confused after last night and she didn't mean to upset her. Especially, since Moiraine was completely focused on Nynaeve, because she had been with her in the tent. "Speak, wisdom! Where is Lan?!"

"If you would calm yourself…"

"I don't want to calm down! I want to see Lan! Tell me where he is or…!"

Lan, who had been on his way back from the river, had heard how quickly the situation had turned sideways. As fast as possible, he ran back to their camp, and this time, he didn't care for being quiet. He broke through the trees when his Aes Sedai threatened the wisdom. Moiraine swirled around and Lan felt how she tighten the air around his throat. She definitely was in full control of the One Power again. He held up his hands in defense but didn't move. "I'm here, Moiraine."

He saw the relief in her eyes when she realized that he wasn't dead, and her feet almost gave in under her. Then she released the One Power and closed the distance between them by throwing herself into his arms. He embraced her, while her hands moved over his back to feel for fresh scars. Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks, while she tried to find her words again.

Lan laid his forehead against hers and smiled when he repeated softly: "I'm here."

"You're alive." Her voice wasn't more than a whisper, and he heard the panic in it. She had been afraid that she had been too late. That Valda had actually killed him.

"Because of you. You saved me."

"I…" Her voice broke when last night appeared in front of her eyes. Lan pulled her even closer to his body and allowed one of his hands to move through her brown locks. "I had tried. I swear I had tried to channel before, but I couldn't pass the barrier."

"Moiraine…"

"I begged it to break, so, I could save you from his dagger, but it withstood my attempts."

"Moiraine…"

She gulped and one of her hands found his cheek. With her thumb, she stroked over it to assure herself that he was real. "It refused to break. And when he was ready to kill you…"

"Stop!" He couldn't let her go down that path. Not when they had finally won. "I'm not dead. Because of you. You freed yourself and got the One Power back. And now, there is only one thing you have to do."

Confused, Moiraine furrowed her forehead. She didn't know what Lan meant. "What are you talking about?"

"Unmask our bond." Her hand, which she had on his cheek, fell on his chest, just above his heart and she bit her lip, while she was obviously thinking about her next words.

"Lan…"

"You have your powers back. Unmask the bond."

"I won't." Now it was Lan's turn to furrow his forehead in confusion. Why did she say that? They had waited so long for her to be herself again, and now that she was able to undo what she had done before she had left for the eye of the world, she wouldn't do it?

"Why?" Moiraine tried to take a step backward, but Lan wasn't ready to let her go, so, he pulled her back against his body. She wouldn't get away that easily. "Tell me why. I deserve to know."

She turned her head to their companions, but they had given the two of them some privacy and were drinking their tea while sitting with the horses. No one was listening. "Nynaeve." The Aes Sedai smiled when she saw that he was still confused. He didn't understand what the wisdom had to do with her decision not to unmask their bond. "You love her."

"What are you trying to tell me here?"

"You finally found someone, who you care for and who loves you too. These last weeks, I have seen how much she means to you." Lan opened his mouth, but she didn't let him interrupt her. "You've been my warder for twenty years. It is time for you to think about your future. You deserve it to find love and be happy with her."

"I'm still your warder, Moiraine."

"I have thought about it, and when we return to Tar Valon, I will…"

Lan had heard enough. Angry, he pressed his forehead against hers again, closed his eyes, and searched for the barrier, which was blocking their bond. Since he had some experience with it, he had no problem touching it. But this time, he didn't push through it. No, this time he grabbed it and ripped it apart.

Moiraine gasped when his feelings and thoughts filled her, and even Lan shrugged for a second, but then he welcomed her presence in his mind. He was finally complete again. "What have you done?"

"You're my Aes Sedai, Moiraine Damodred. Until the day I die, I will stand by your side and protect you. And I will not allow any woman or man – not even you – to part us or to release me of my duties towards you."

Fresh tears ran down Moiraine's cheeks when she felt Lan's anger and pain about her suggestion, but above all, his deep love for her. He was her friend, her partner, and confidant. He would never leave her. Not even for Nynaeve.

"And if you dare to ever mask our bond again…", the warder said in his most threatening voice, while he wiped away her tears "…then I will promise you that I will find the nearest pond and throw you into it. Over and over again, until you learn not to push me away."

Moiraine chuckled at his words, then she buried her face against his neck. She did not doubt that he would keep his promise.