Title: Lawbreaker's Eyes

Author: I_nv_u50

Rating: PG13

Disclaimer/Claimer: Characters so far are mine, but the world is Mercedes Lackey's.

Warning: Slash (m/m) ahead.

Author's Notes: Whee! Next chapter! Cliffhanger ending :D which means you get to wait at least one chapter to find how it ends up… unless I have thaelin talk to coan again next chapter XD Boohoohoo!! I have a whole mess of things due tomorrow for school, including a spanish story which should be illustrated. Ack. O.o; so I'm really sorry I can't answer reviews, I'll make sure to do extra long answers next chapter ^^;;;  anyways, thank you to every reviewer!! :D cuz there were more this time!! Whee!! And I'll answer all the questions next chapter as well, so you'll each get two answers… sorta. Depending if you review this one as well ^^

As for the most important issues, this is a trilogy. If anyone wants to read the summary for the next and final part, it's in my bio, under the 'next ideas' bit, right at the top… I think . No, Cyril isn't dead. I've got something planned for him ^~ the sequel's going to be much like this one, as in it'll have all these couples, and it'll build up on them, but it'll mainly be about the newest couple.

And to clear it up, coan and thaelin aren't lifebonded. They won't be, they'll just be 'regular' lovers. The only life bound in this story are kylan and brynn, cuz remember, it's supposed to be a rare happening XD … nm the fact that at least every second or third book I read by Mercedes lackey has at least one lifebond in it XD

So anyway, if you read all that, congrats XD I hope it cleared it up for you somewhat.

Read, enjoy, and please review!! ^^

Thaelin sidled nervously further into the room, unsure about what Coan's reaction would be. Despite Jesalis' by now impatient reassurances, he was convinced it was his fault. It had to be, because it had been his emotions that had triggered Coan's black out.

"Heyla," he said softly, coming slowly to stand by the side of the bed and shifted his weight awkwardly. "How are you feeling?"

Coan, amazingly enough, offered him a pained smile. "Like you felt when you first came here, I imagine."

"Oh…" Thaelin murmured, helplessly. He didn't know what to say.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few more moments while Thaelin gathered up his somewhat failing courage and took a deep breath.

"Look," he started quickly. "I'm really sorry about what I did to you the other day, I didn't mean for it to-"

Coan was shaking his head, a tiny movement that looked like it hurt, if the expression of brief pain sweeping across Coan's face was any indication. "It's not your fault," the other trainee rasped. "Look, can you mindspeak?"

Thaelin blinked. "I suppose so…" he thought back as he desperately tried to remember what mindspeaking was. He hadn't paid much attention to lessons, whether they were in Brynn's class or not "Er…"

:It's what we do, Chosen.: Jesalis prompted helpfully. Then her tone turned lightly scolding. :And you should know this by now.:

"Er," Thaelin said again, with a sheepish grin that he let Jesalis feel. "Yea, I guess I can then."

Coan blinked at him, a flash of what might have been amusement in the dark brown eyes before fading again. And then Thaelin started, because an unfamiliar, male voice was resounding through his mind.

:Do you mind if we talk like this then? My throat hurts too much to speak normally.:

Thaelin stared at the bedridden trainee, wide-eyed, suddenly uncomfortable with the strange manner of communication. "I…" He managed to recover quickly though, Jesalis' flow of amusement enough to make him feel slightly ashamed for being so surprised. "No, I don't mind…"

Coan gave another small smile. :Don't be ashamed. It's a common reaction if you've never spoken mind to mind with someone other than your Companion.:

Thaelin bowed his head, trying to hide his abashed expression, attempting to turn it into the unembarrassed, cocky grin that was usually so easy to put on. "I'm not ashamed," he murmured after a moment. "It just… surprised me, is all."

Coan made a low humming sound in his throat, and then winced in pain. :Remind me not to do that again, would you? I wanted to talk to you.:

Thaelin lifted his head and blinked at the other boy, suddenly curious. "Whatever happened to that shy, awkward trainee who offered to be my friend the other night?"

Coan paused, considering. :I… don't know. You're just suddenly easier to be around, you know? It's more comfortable being with you than it was before…: The empath frowned slightly. :It's not normal. I don't like it.:

Thaelin lifted an eyebrow, feeling a flash of amused indignation rise up in him. "You don't like being around me?"

Coan flushed lightly, and looked away. :It's… not that. You just Feel like… Feel like… Faolan. Almost.:

Thaelin tilted his head, all of a sudden confused. "Who's Faolan? And why don't you like me feeling like him?"

Coan grinned briefly at the window. :That's Faolan. He's my Companion, and he says that you should tell Jesalis to stop bossing him around. And I don't want you to Feel like him, because… because… you're –not- my Companion, and you just shouldn't Feel like you almost are.:

Thaelin blinked, taken aback at the sudden frantic tone, but decided to ignore it, turning instead to face the window himself. :Jes? What are you doing?:

:Teasing my younger brother.: Jesalis returned brightly, sending Thaelin a mental wink. :I forgot to tell you that my family is quite a large one.:

Thaelin could only sit and stare out the window. "Your… your brother?" he asked, not even realizing he was talking aloud. It hadn't occurred to him to think that Jesalis could have siblings, although now that he thought about it, it was more stupid that he hadn't thought about it.

:Didn't know, did you? Sorry, Chosen. I'll exchange family history with you later, but you should start talking about what happened the other day.: Jesalis' tone was faintly apologetic but still managed to be demanding.

Thaelin sighed and remembered who was in the bed he was sitting in. With a sudden flush, he apologized to Coan, unable to believe he was being such a stark raving idiot, and not knowing why.

Coan shook his head again, still that same small motion. :Don't worry about it. Faolan's disarming like that as well. Must be a Companion thing.:

"I guess," murmured Thaelin, profoundly disturbed with the sudden feeling that he was in way over his head. He was surprised with another smile, and couldn't repress the feeling that Coan should smile more often, because it seemed that the other trainee did get more attractive as time passed… He hated Kylan for being right sometimes. He turned his thoughts miserably to Cyril, somewhat hoping to discourage the tug of attraction that had come into being when Coan smiled. He didn't want to betray his lover, no matter how all the facts pointed to Cyril either being dead or at the very least, them not being lovers any more.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Coan's mind tentatively brushed against his again. :Are you all right?:

Thaelin quickly pasted on a grin. "I'm fine," he replied chirpily.

Coan merely stared at him blankly.

Thaelin's grin faltered and faded. "I… I'm worried," he admitted slowly, not in the least wanting to tell anyone, but feeling compelled to confide anyway. "I…" he fell silent at that, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to tell anyone about his past life.

It was still all too real for him.

Coan watched him silently. :I'm sure they're fine, whoever you're thinking about. And about the other day, it wasn't your fault.:

Thaelin felt a fresh surge of guilt. "Whatever," he muttered. "You touch me and then you pass out. It's obviously my fault."

:You can't lie mind to mind, Thaelin. It's one of those accepted things because it's the absolute truth. So when I say it's not your fault, you're obligated to believe me.:

Thaelin stared at the other trainee. "Exactly how old are you?" he blurted out. How different Coan seemed now-!

Coan blinked at him, looking surprised. :Eighteen. Why?:

Thaelin sat back in his chair and shrugged. "You seemed a lot younger a few days ago, that's all…"

Coan smiled another half smile. :I felt a lot younger too…: he replied mysteriously. Then he closed his eyes and mentally changed the subject, asking Thaelin slowly about lessons.

Thaelin, happy to be distracted from anything that confused him further, talked back eagerly.

When he finally left, Kylan was waiting for him, a rare scowl of displeasure on his face as he stood off against Jesalis.

"Look here, you!" the blonde told the Companion, his tone agitated. "I'm not going to do anything! I was just going to watch them for a bit, that's all!"

Jesalis snorted, her mental overtones telling Thaelin that she was more amused than annoyed, but her eyes were fixed on the non-trainee with an expression in them akin to impatience.

:Don't interrupt, Chosen.: she told Thaelin, who obeyed with a genuine grin and leaned back against the wall of the House of Healing, feeling that it served Kylan right. No doubt his friend had been planning to spy on him and Coan, and Thaelin figured Jesalis could work Kylan up enough.

The Companion stalked forward a few steps, putting her face to face with Kylan as she shoved him in the chest with her nose.

Kylan yelped in anger and surprise and fell over ungracefully to land on his back on the ground, glaring up at the Companion.

"Thaelin, get your pansy ass here and tell her to leave me alone now or, gods help me, I won't be responsible."

"I think you're doing fine on your own," Thaelin called back nonchalantly. "And it serves you right for trying to spy on me."

"I wasn't spying on you," Kylan countered without taking his narrowed eyes away from Jesalis.

"No," Thaelin agreed, pulling himself away from the wall to walk closer. "But that's because she stopped you before you could, isn't it."

Kylan sat up carefully and shrugged, unabashed. "I only wanted to know if you've given up on Cyril."

Thaelin felt a brief chill sweep through him at that. He rested a hand on Jesalis' neck for comfort, which she willingly gave. "I haven't," was all Thaelin said though.

He had made up with Kylan the same evening of their fight, and they had silently agreed not to talk about Cyril, although Brynn kept asking questions about their past life, and because he had the power of the crown to back him up, Thaelin had to answer everything he asked. Thankfully though, Brynn was discreet, and only asked about Taevan and the likes, not about anything that might be the slightest bit personal. Thaelin was glad about that.

Kylan nodded slowly, his blue eyes finally leaving the Companion to stare at Thaelin's face. "Herald Astral wants to see us," he said quietly.

Thaelin blinked, trying to place the name. Who…?

:The King's Own, chosen. They're waiting for you in the Council Room.:

"Why?" Thaelin addressed his question to both of them.

Kylan shrugged and looked resentful, although it wasn't aimed at Thaelin. "Brynn won't tell me," he muttered. "Something about secret business or something."

Thaelin kept his mouth shut to hide the sympathy that welled up in him. The two obviously loved each other to some extent, but they had yet to work out how to live together with the least amount of problems. Keeping secrets from Kylan was never the right way to go.

Thaelin sighed and offered a secret of his own in the hopes of appeasing Kylan's unspoken hurt. "I… Jesalis says…" he hesitated.

Jesalis supplied something. :They only want to know where the main bases were. And are hoping for a physical description of the leaders. And they want to know how many people are currently in training, and how many are already read to kill.:

Thaelin stopped his trailing off sentence to stare at his Companion, aghast. "You're kidding," he said weakly.

Jesalis shook her head silently.

"What?" Kylan asked, although he had paled rather drastically.

Thaelin let his legs collapse from under him. "They-they want to know…"

Kylan's eyes widened almost comically, except for the reason of the fear. "No." Even his voice wavered. "We can't tell them, Thaelin."

Thaelin shook his head helplessly. Jesalis nuzzled his shoulder. "I know… but they won't understand either… I'm a trainee, I should want to tell them…"

:No, you shouldn't, Chosen. They're hoping you'll tell, but your loyalties are split. They'll understand if you can't tell them everything they want to know. Even if you should.:

"I can't," Thaelin replied obstinately in reply to Jesalis' implied suggestion. "I just can't. I still have friends in there, even if Cyril is dead."

"They'll kill them too," whispered Kylan hoarsely. "Lord, Thaelin, what about Faris? He's probably been targeted already, you know what he's like! And Sef and Tylas, they'll probably be the first to go if anyone discovers we told the Heralds things that we know we shouldn't have…"

"I know," hissed Thaelin, and he buried his face in his hands. "We can't let them die… Taevan will probably send us pieces of their bodies just because he can…

"With detailed descriptions on hw each of them suffered before dying…" Kylan continued, his voice shaking audibly now. "We can't tell them,. Thaelin. We can't."

Jesalis snorted in Thaelin's hair. :It's not as hopeless as it seems, Chosen. Heralds are discreet, you should know that by now. Their first priority will be saving the more innocent people before they catch the ringleaders.:

"You don't understand," murmured Thaelin dully. "No one in that group is innocent. Most of them have killed at least one person, and others have stolen more than would feed a peasant family for a year – from people who aren't the richest nobles, and will probably miss the money within a few months of having it stolen! No one's innocent there, Jes, and if any of them get curt, then they'll go to gaol or be sentenced to death anyway!"

"We would have been one of those," Kylan said softly, staring at the ground intently. "Had I not bonded with a Herald, and Thaelin not been Chosen, we would have died as soon as we were caught."

The blonde lifted his eyes from the ground and stared at Thaelin, who returned the look with a similar expression of hopelessness.

"There's nothing we can do," he said softly.

"We'll just have to not say anything…" Thaelin continued, although there was a feeling of dread and guilt settling in the base of his stomach, and constricting his chest. He didn't want to be around when the Heralds found out they wouldn't tell them anything…

Granted, he knew Heralds never tortured people…

But ingrained knowledge told him when leaders grew angry…

Anything was possible.