It was bizarre to be back in the Arena. Her last practice bout felt like a lifetime ago, and yet nothing at all had changed. Lord Balkan had recruited two Warriors to provide inner shields for them and personally condescended to watch, but other than that they were on their own this early in the morning before classes began. Sonea was grateful for the lack of an audience. Takan had carried in a plain wooden chair for her because there was no way she could concentrate on a magical duel and stay on her feet at the same time. She sat with her back to the University, facing Akkarin at the other end of the Arena, and felt both foolish and terrified at the same time.

It took them several sessions to get to something like a natural rhythm. Warrior Skills had never come naturally to Sonea even in the stylised, safe constraints of University classes. Although her memories of the actual Invasion were nebulous at best, the prospect of a fight, however artificial, sent her heart racing in her throat and her hands shook so badly she had to twist her fingers in her lap to keep them still. Akkarin, with his back to Balkan and the two Warriors, was pale and breathing hard after their first cautious exchange of harmless blows, and several times they had to interrupt themselves to recover their composure.

After their first morning in the Arena, Sonea clung to Akkarin's arm as they walked back, reminding herself as much as him that they were both still alive. In the privacy of their apartment, Akkarin buried his face in her hair and held her close for long minutes. Sonea sank into him, grateful for the steady beat of his heart under her hands.

But by the end of the month, they had established a routine. They had a round or two of exchanges following the formal rules of the Arena, supervised by Lord Balkan and whomever he had bullied into providing their inner shields, enough to rouse them in the early mornings, but the real practice began afterwards. At first, they continued the curriculum Akkarin had drawn up for Sonea before they had been discovered, a series of exercises that forced her to think of strategies effective against a more powerful magician. Later, they spent some time developing scenarios that would challenge them both; intricate patterns of attack and defense, rounds where neither of them was allowed to open their eyes.

To Akkarin's great bafflement, they began to attract an audience. A small group of novices in their final term took to bringing their breakfast to the Arena and eat while they watched, commenting on maneuvers and keeping score with stacks of discarded apricot stones.

'I think they are taking bets,' Sonea said, watching them chatter amongst themselves as they hurried off to their morning classes. 'One of them got very excited when you botched that combination.'

Akkarin groaned and pulled her to her feet. 'If they are, they are rather missing the point.'

But the group of spectators grew with each passing day. Other magicians started to make their way down to watch, most of them Warriors, and there was definitely a betting ring flourishing among the novices. In Akkarin's opinion, it was a miracle it had not been disbanded yet.

'There are certainly more sensible ways to spend their time and money,' he pointed out as they watched the fourth boy attempt to discreetly hand over his starting bet.

Sonea gently poked his ribs with her elbow. 'You are only saying that because the odds are shifting in my favour.'

He scowled but the expression did not survive her laughter. 'We should repeat that last exercise tomorrow, with switched sides,' he said, trying to contain his smile. 'I would like to try it myself and see how you manage the offensive with the restrictions we put down.'

They continued to force themselves out of bed in the early mornings and spend a few hours chasing each other around the Arena, with varying levels of success. Sonea would still lose in a contest of sheer power, but it did not often come to that - they both knew that it was reckless to rely on power alone, so they tailored their sessions to give one or the other a greater advantage. It forced them both to find creative ways to get past the other's guard, and gave the novices something interesting to bet on.

They were still attempting to gain control over the mass of boxes in their sitting room. Sonea had never possessed even a tenth of the number of books Akkarin had, but she had spent countless hours assisting Lady Tya in the Novice's Library and had had the importance of consistent organisation drilled into her head. Akkarin, on the other hand, had been the sole tyrant of his own collection for well over a decade, and had his own views on the matter entirely. When Takan pointed out, after listening to their argument for well over half an hour, that there was no sense in deciding on a system unless they had the space to implement it, the two Black Magicians looked up from their respective lists in horror, and interrupted their debate only long enough to inform him of the vitality of planning and foresight.

The apartment gradually transformed into something less like a storage room and more like a space where people lived. Sonea abandoned all pretense of using the smaller bedroom to sleep, which meant they could use it to keep more books where they would not be in the way instead of stacking them haphazardly around the main room.

'If you don't mind me saying so,' Lady Vinara said when Sonea went to see her in the Healers' Quarters, 'you are looking much better.'

Sonea inclined her head and said nothing. It was true that she felt less unsettled than she had a month ago, with a routine of practice and study and Takan's sensible practicality bringing something like peace to their lives, but there was still a restless energy that her treacherous bad leg would not allow her to satisfy.

'You'll be happy to hear that I found you a teacher,' Vinara said, dropping a stack of paper into a box. 'Lady Luen is returning from Elyne in a few weeks and has agreed to take over your training in exchange for assistance with her records. She has spent the past decade as a country Healer and sorely needs somebody to help her bring some order to her notes.'

Sonea tried for all of half a heartbeat to suppress the smile spreading across her face. She had not dared hope - it had been six weeks since the first time she had talked to Vinara, and the Healer had made no further reference to it since then. 'Thank you,' she said and sounded breathless even to her own ears. 'I know you did not have to -'

'It would be a waste of talent and magic if you did not become a Healer,' Vinara interrupted. 'I expect you will be a valuable asset to the discipline.'

Akkarin didn't look up from the list of books he was compiling when Sonea shut the door behind her. 'What did she say?' he asked, moving a volume from one stack to another and making a mark on his list. He sat, legs crossed, on the floor behind the dining table with the contents of yet another box spread out around him.

Sonea dropped to the floor next to him. 'She's found me a teacher.'

'Really?'

She grinned at him. She had been more or less successful in concealing her joy on the way from the Healers' Quarters, but she could no longer contain herself. 'Really!' She reached for his hands and almost knocked over one of the towering stacks of books around them.

Akkarin dropped his list and pen and shifted to make more room for her. He squeezed her hands. 'This is excellent news. Who is it?'

Sonea repeated what Vinara had told her and could not resist adding: 'And maybe Lady Luen will appreciate a proper archiving system.'

She was gratified to hear him laugh at this admittedly poor joke. 'It'll be a lot of work,' she said. 'But I don't think I've ever wanted anything as much as I want to be a Healer.'

'I know,' Akkarin said softly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 'I hope you can forgive me for complicating the process.'

Still smiling, she leaned forward to kiss him. 'You're forgiven,' she told him, 'and you will have to help me up when we're done with this because there is no way I can get to my feet by myself.'

With Lady Luen's arrival on the horizon, Sonea was even more determined than before to revise what she had already learned in her classes, on top of their early morning duelling in the Arena. Akkarin had to lure her away from her books on more than once, and on one memorable occasion resorted to simply lifting her chair away from the desk with magic and threatening to tip her into bed if she did not come voluntarily.

'You were muttering anatomical terms in your sleep last night,' he admonished her as she protested, and set her down only when she promised to come along to bed. 'Not that I do not enjoy your company at night but it was a little disconcerting.'

She got her revenge in the Arena a few days after that, shutting her eyes trying to figure out what he was up to. She had constructed a pattern of attack that was rattling his shield from all sides, but Akkarin had not responded yet, only strengthened his shield and raised a teasing eyebrow in her direction. Even from where she sat in her chair she could see him furrowing his forehead and feel the hum of magic in the air around him, but she could not figure out what he was planning just by staring at him. With a deep breath, Sonea turned her awareness inwards, concentrating on the rush of air in her lungs and the pumping of blood in her veins until she knew nothing else. When she expanded her sense again, she pushed beyond the dual barriers of the two shields protecting her and the expanse of sand between her chair and where Akkarin stood, and… yes, there it was, slowly building up like an elaborate house of cards on the sticky table of a bol-house -

She took another deep breath, reached for her power, and pushed.

Later, she would explain to a spluttering Lord Balkan that it was a little like a puzzle box, or perhaps bringing down a building. Once you knew where the pieces fit, which wall held up the whole house, it was only a matter of applying suitable force until it all came crumbling down.

Now, Akkarin frowned at the sudden loss of control and the rattling impact of a concentrated force strike that hit his external shield, the Warrior who had been providing the inner shield gasped, and several of the novices jumped so suddenly from their seats that they stumbled and had to make a grab for their classmates to stay upright.

From where he stood in the ranks, Lord Balkan stared at her wide-eyed. 'What did you do?'

Akkarin grinned. It was a proper, beaming grin that Sonea had never seen in public and made him look ten years younger; her heart gave a little jump that had nothing to do with her victory. 'She won,' he said. 'That's what she did.' He raised an eyebrow. 'Do you think you can do it again?'

They repeated the exercise three more times that morning. Once, Akkarin released his attack before Sonea found the opening, but by the end of it all she had defeated him twice more without expending even half of her power reserves, earning herself the reluctant respect of Lord Balkan, significantly better odds in the novices' betting ring, and, Akkarin, as he confessed when they had made their way back to their sitting room, a persistent throbbing headache.

'It feels as though you stuck a spoon through my eye and gave it a good stir,' he told her, dropping onto the sofa next to her. He pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead. 'Not that I am not very impressed, my love, but the next time you attempt this, please find an opponent who is not me.'

She laughed and drew him down to lie with his head in her lap. He came easily, rearranging his long limbs on the too-short sofa into relative comfort and dropping his hand away from his face. Sonea ran her fingers through his hair, still too long and old-fashioned, and sent a gentle stream of soothing magic through her fingertips. 'You should teach me the pattern you were using so we can try the reverse,' she said. 'Although Balkan's face would not be nearly as satisfying when you defeat me.'

He gave her that delightfully youthful grin again. 'We should have it painted, so we can occasionally look at it and remind ourselves of the time you absolutely flabberghasted the future High Lord of the Magician's Guild.'

Her hands stilled. 'Do you think they'll choose him?'

Akkarin shrugged, an awkward movement from his position. 'I cannot see any alternative. They have to elect the most powerful magician available, but we both know it cannot be me. Or you, for that matter. Don't look like that,' he said, seeing her frown. 'I used to make a point of staying informed on this matter, and if we had not gone ahead and needlessly complicated things, you would have been in an excellent position to be the Guild's first High Lady when the time came. But no, it cannot be either of us, that Regin boy is too young, and Lord Verron would never leave his position in Lonmar. Which leaves Lord Balkan. If you ask me, it is only a question of time until it is officially confirmed.'

They were both quiet for a long moment. Here was another sign that everything had changed and would not, could never be the same. They had both known it, of course, but Sonea wondered what it must feel like to Akkarin to see another man in the position he had once held. She knew he had not sought to be chosen as High Lord because he was hungry for power, or out of an interest in politics, but still…

'He will do an admirable job,' Akkarin said abruptly. 'Let him spend a few years dodging marriage proposals; it will be good for his character.'

###

author's note: Hello all! Lovely to be back. I got so many lovely comments after the last chapter, it's wonderful to know there are still people who read this! I'll do my best to respond to everyone in the next couple of days while I have a little break from uni work.

I should probably be retitling this fic to 'magic power couple vs the rest of the world' because, realistically, that's what it's going to be from now on. Buckle in, fellas.