The evening hall was crowded when Sonea, Lorlen and Akkarin arrived. Sonea fought down the urge to flee as the wall of warm, stale air met her, followed by curious glances at the trio. She felt Akkarin's hand in hers acutely as she followed him down the hall to a seating area where the other Higher Mages were already seated. Sonea was glad when they finally arrived and she could drop into the armchair next to her husband. The high back at least made her feel less visible.
"High Lord, Administrator, Lady Sonea," Lady Vinara greeted kindly. "My congratulations on your marriage" Sonea forced herself to smile as Akkarin accepted the congratulations with form, hoping no one would ask too many questions.
"We were wondering what was the reason for the... secret marriage," Balkan rushed forward.
- "It's almost amusing how curious they are," Akkarin sent her. Their hands were still intertwined.
- "I find it rather exhausting," she sent back.
"I would prefer our private life to remain private," Akkarin said aloud, ending the subject, Sonea was surprised to discover. So far she had had little chance to see her husband in his role as High Lord.
"Lord Davin's weather forecasts have become amazingly accurate since the tower was completed," Lady Vinara struck up a less captious topic. "I didn't think that was possible"
"He claimed it would snow again soon. I hardly think he's right this time of year, it's far too warm for that" Lord Sarrin, the head of the alchemists grumbled. Sonea knew from her husband that he was a vehement opponent of Lord Davin.
"He was also right about the snowy winter," Lorlen interjected. "Ah, the Second Ambassador of Elyne," he added, gesturing to Dannyl, who had just arrived, to join them. "Welcome back to Imardin Ambassador Dannyl," the Administrator greeted politely.
"I trust you had a pleasant journey?" asked Akkarin.
"The spring storms were fierce, but they reduced the travel time considerably," reported Dannyl.
Akkarin nodded in satisfaction. "I will expect your report tomorrow,"
"Of course, High Lord," agreed Dannyl and turned to leave, but seemed to change his mind at the last moment and turned to Sonea instead.
"Would you like to accompany me to Rothen? I'm sure he would be happy to see you," he asked. Uncertainly, she gave her husband a quick glance.
"Go ahead, I'll see you later," he said to her quietly.
- "Be careful how much you say to him," he sent via thought-speech, then let go of her hand. She stood up and hooked her hand to Dannyl's.
"How could I resist an offer like that? You must tell me about your latest adventures," she said and let him escort her down the hall. When they were out of earshot of the Higher Mages, Dannyl looked down at her gravely.
"So, why did you marry him?" he asked directly. Surprised, she stopped.
"Why do you want to know Dannyl?" she asked cautiously. She didn't see herself in a position to lie to Dannyl, but half-truths didn't get her anywhere in this case either.
"I would like to understand. When he made you his novice you hated and feared him. What has changed?"
"Four years is enough time to get to know a person and change your mind about him. We cleared up some misunderstandings and then one thing led to another..." she explained, hoping Dannyl wouldn't ask any more questions.
"You could have just waited a few more months where you were getting closer, officially" the ambassador suggested. "Or was there an urgent reason?"
Slowly she began to regret going with Dannyl.
"I thought we were going to keep Rothen company," she said. The ambassador nodded.
"Your wedding seems to have taken quite a lot out of him. I've never seen him so down. Dorrien isn't making it any easier for him either."
Sonea sighed. "Dorrien thought I still loved him despite my rejection then. It must have been quite a shock for him" she replied.
"I hope you know what you are doing" Dannyl said seriously, then grinned. "I'm supposed to say hello to you and your husband from Tayend"
Sonea breathed a sigh of relief. The subject was finally off the table."How is he? Why didn't you bring him, anyway?"
Sonea liked the scholar. Since they had discovered their mutual love for Elynian drama three years ago, they always spent a little time talking about it whenever Tayend accompanied Dannyl to Imardin. His interpretation of the plays was always refreshingly different and broadened her understanding of the deeper layers of the dramas.
"Tayend is with his sister, she is having her baby soon and he has promised to support her," Dannyl explained.
"They must have a really close bond," Sonea remarked. "I'd love to meet her one day, Tayend has talked about her so many times. She seems really impressive"
"Oh, she is. You could come and visit me in Capia, you'd love the great library. And you wouldn't believe how frivolous the Elyners are" Dannyl enthused.
Sonea forced herself to laugh a little. How she would love to do just that. Apart from Imardin, she knew absolutely nothing of the world. "We'll see if I can find time for that," she said vaguely.
"Of course. I'd really like you to come and see me. Tayend too, I'm sure."
"And until then, you have to keep telling me about it, so: what's new in Elyne?" she got him talking about his favourite subject as they slowly walked on through the evening hall to an exceedingly sallow-looking Rothen.
"Hello Rothen," she said with a smile when they reached him. "You look awful"
Dannyl beside her laughed. "Charming as ever, Lady Sonea"
A small smile crept into the corner of Rothen's mouth at this joke.
"I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up" she muttered, suddenly overcome with guilt. She would have liked to say much more, but it was not for the evening hall.
"I'll recover from the shock. I just didn't realise that..." he broke off. Sonea nodded in understanding.
"Well, I guess it took everyone by surprise"
"They'll get used to the Scandalous Couple at their head" Dannyl remarked. "I asked around a bit before you came, surprisingly many healers think your story is extremely romantic"
Sonea had to laugh. Her story romantic? That was beyond absurd. "You're making that up," she accused him as she got her voice back under control. "As if anyone would say such a thing about the slum girl"
Rothen shook his head. "You shouldn't think so badly of yourself. You proved to them all that you are more than that by defeating Regin in the most honest way possible and by showing them how intelligent you are"
She gave him a sincere smile, even though she could hardly believe that another mage really thought such a thing about her.
"Lord Rothen, Ambassador Dannyl," she heard her husband's voice at her back for the second time that day. She half turned to face him and looked up, only to find that he was smiling down at her. She couldn't help but return it. Almost automatically she intertwined her fingers with his, she had gotten used to it quicker than she ever thought she would. "It's time to go Sonea," he said. She said goodbye to Rothen and Dannyl and then followed her husband out into the night air. As the door slammed behind them she noticed that Dorrien had not been at the ceremony, nor in the evening hall. She must have hurt him more deeply than she had expected.
"Did you have a nice evening?" he asked her as they walked together across the courtyard towards the gardens. She thought about the question for a moment. It had been nice talking to Dannyl and Rothen, but at the same time it was nerve-wracking.
"It has been better than I expected," she finally admitted. She felt him stop beside her and stare into space and then suddenly hurry with quick steps towards the residence, pulling her along.
"Come, our friend has sent us a message," was all he said. An old familiar excitement reached out to her.
Controlling her breath, Sonea leaned against the dirty wall behind her, almost melting into the darkness. Laughter emanated from the bolhouse she was leaning against, every now and then the door opened and the sounds grew louder before they died away again. She paid no attention, instead she had closed her eyes and was concentrating on the magical presence in the bolhaus that had not moved for hours. It wasn't hard to sense him, he didn't even bother to hide his power, maybe he just didn't know any better. The immense power she sensed in him made her doubt whether the information Akkarin had received from the thieves was correct. No bodies had been found yet, but he must have murdered to gain such a powerful aura. How had he escaped them with it? She preferred not to think about the other possibility. It would mean that Kariko was becoming more successful again.
She shifted her weight to her other leg, curing her fatigue, and glanced down the street in the direction Akkarin was prowling in another dark corner. If she concentrated on it she could feel his presence. She was glad she wasn't standing next to him. Waiting gave her time to think about the last few days and the changes in her life. The feeling of the ring on her finger was still unfamiliar, but she was much less aware of it than she had been the night before. The evening in the Seven Arches had been less bad than she had expected, not least thanks to Dannyl, who just always spread good humour, even if he had asked some uncomfortable questions. But they had also stared at her less than expected, which had made it easier. When she looked at it soberly, she had to conclude that it was mainly the family members from the houses who had openly displayed their dislike at the ceremony.
Besides, she would not visit the evening hall too often, Akkarin did so extremely rarely. After observing the reaction of the mages to his appearance, she understood why. It was certainly not pleasant to always be received with such reverence that meaningful conversation was almost impossible. The longer she thought about it, the more she realised how lonely Akkarin actually was. She wondered, if that was why he had initiated and eventually married her. She shook her head at herself. He had done all this because it was necessary, just as she had married him because it was necessary.
She jolted out of her thoughts as the presence in the bolhouse moved. She focused on it and put on Akkarin's blood ring.
- "Remember, just follow," she heard him say. She spared a reply, he would be able to read from her surface thoughts what she thought of his reminder.
The door opened in front of her and the laughter grew louder as a large group of men came out and staggered down the street in front of her. She cursed silently as she realised that the Sachakan must be one of them. Nevertheless, she gave the men a few metres head start before silently following them. A few streets away, the group split up and Sonea was forced to wait to see in which direction the presence departed. The men were already out of sight when she could finally determine for sure where to go next and she hurried to follow. Quickly she hurried two streets away, then suddenly he had disappeared, his presence too.
Irritated, she stopped and looked around. She was at a crossroads from which three roads led off, and there was also an entrance to the Street of Thieves. Cautiously, she looked to the right and to the left, but could not spot anyone anywhere.
- "I lost him," she sent, and was about to retreat back into the shadows when she felt cold steel at her throat and a hand over her mouth. She froze.
"Who do we have here? Akkarin's little birdie," an uncomfortably rasp voice whispered in her ear. He spoke with a heavy accent, but clearly better than most of the slaves she had killed so far. And he radiated much more confidence. The implication of this sent little shivers down her spine, he had to be an Ichani. That was why he had not hidden his aura. He must have lured her straight into a trap. Or had he noticed her?
"Too bad he taught you higher magic. You would be a nice addition to my slaves," he went on. Sonea remained ironically silent, hoping at the same time that Akkarin would arrive soon.
- "Keep him busy, I'll be right there," she heard his mental voice.
- "Hurry up," she replied to him and then refocused on the Ichani who had taken his hand from her mouth only to tuck it under her top. Nausea rose in her and she suppressed the reflex to push him off her as she feverishly considered what to do. She had no way of unobtrusively drawing her own knife to take his magic. At the same time, she would hurt herself if she attacked him. She could attack him with mind blows, but even that carried the risk of him slitting her throat. Meanwhile, his hands had reached her breasts and she cried out in pain as he pinched her nipple. His laughter triggered a desire in her to drive her knife deep into his heart. At the same time, she was completely rigid with fear.
"Ah, the little bird has a voice too, how wonderful," he murmured against her ear.
She could make his heart stop, but then they couldn't read his mind and she had to be quick to take all his energy. She forced herself not to pay attention to what he was doing to her body and how something was pressing hard into her back.
- "I'm right behind you. Heal yourself immediately should he hurt you in a moment," Akkarin sent her, the next moment the Ichani froze, the knife pressing harder against her throat and cutting into her skin. Hastily she sent healing magic along as the Sachakan's body slowly went limp. Hastily she took a few steps forward, pulled the blood ring from her finger and adjusted the simple shirt she wore. Suppressing the trembling in her hands, she slowly turned to Akkarin, who had dropped the Sakakan on the ground and was with her in two steps."
Are you all right? Did he hurt you?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm okay," she forced herself to say. "Let's not leave him too long" Nothing was okay for Sonea. Shame and anger boiled inside her, she had stood there frozen like a frightened Harrel instead of doing something about the bastard. But she would not bring that up to her husband.
For a moment Akkarin regarded her in the semi-darkness that reigned in the street, then he gently stroked a strand of hair from her forehead that had come loose from her braid. She flinched from the touch and the gentle expression vanished from his eyes.
"I'm sorry I wasn't quicker," he murmured. She made a throwing away gesture.
"You were still there in time. And now we should go after that bastard," she replied to him. She realised herself how shaky her voice sounded and was annoyed. They checked again that no one was watching them, then Akkarin searched him for a blood jewel and read his mind. His cheek muscles hardened and his grip on the Ichani's head tightened, then he let go of it and put his hand on the cut again.
"Wait," Sonea said, settling down beside him. A hard expression had come into her eyes. "Let me do it"
He eyed her for a moment, then withdrew his hand. She reached out and touched the wound, taking away the last of its magic. It had never stopped feeling gruesome when she killed someone this way, but this time it smacked of satisfaction that this creep was getting what he deserved. When she was done, she wiped the blood on his clothes and stood up. The satisfaction gave way to a feeling of disgust with herself. How could she kill a human and feel... good about it? She clenched her hands into fists to push back the trembling.
"Taking revenge is an incomparable feeling, isn't it?", Akkarin asked her softly. She looked up at him.
"It shouldn't feel so good," she whispered. "He was human, despite everything" Her husband smiled slightly and wrapped her in his arms. At first Sonea stiffened under that touch, but slowly she relaxed and began to breathe more calmly. His arms promised a deceptive security.
"It's amazing how kind you still are, no matter what they do to you" he murmured into her hair "Believe me, he deserved to die"
"Who was he? He wasn't a slave, was he?" she asked softly against his chest. It felt good to be held by him like this.
"Let's get out of here first," he replied, letting go of her. Immediately the trembling returned, yet she followed him to the dark figure huddled at the crossroads, who turned out to be one of Cery's henchmen.
"Let him disappear as usual," the High Lord ordered, then they let themselves be led back through the street of thieves to the stairs. There the little boy who had led them underground said goodbye to them again and disappeared into the darkness.
They continued the rest of the way in silence until they stood in front of the door to the residence. She lifted her gaze from the floor and looked up at him.
"Thank you for being there in time. I just didn't know what to do," she confessed. Instead of an answer, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. The gentle touch left a giddy feeling, but before she could savour it he had pulled away from her again and opened the door. In the subterranean room beyond, Takan was already waiting for them, looking extremely relieved and having laid out two wash bowls and their robes. The familiar sight of the servant made Sonea feel instantly better. She turned her back to Akkarin, washed and then put her robe back on. It had become a ritual to do just that whenever they returned from the hut quarters and it provided Sonea with a pleasant sense of normality and security.
"Do you have him?" the servant asked as they stepped out of the underground room. He had tactfully retreated into the hallway while they changed.
"He got what he deserved," Akkarin growled, running up the stairs ahead of her.
Takan looked after him, confused. "Did something happen?" he asked cautiously.
Sonea stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to the servant. "It was pretty close," she closed her eyes briefly. "He could have killed me" Then she followed Akkarin, who had already filled two glasses with wine and handed one to her. She dropped into her favourite armchair with one of them and took a sip before looking at him. He had settled down as well and was piercing her with his gaze.
"That was way too close," he observed. She nodded.
"I should be glad he was still interested in things other than my death"
"He thought you were alone"
"What did you learn from his mind?"
"You are right, he was not a slave," Akkarin began and his gaze turned to the distance as he continued emotionlessly, "His name was Parika, he was one of the oldest allies of Kariko and Dakova. He joined the brothers when I had just been in Sachaka for six months. Since then he has remained loyal to the brothers, the prospect of easily earned land and slaves was too tempting. He was born in the wastelands and grew up to be a cruel man who had no chance of ever becoming an Ashaki"
Sonea took another sip of her wine. The alcohol was slowly but surely taking its numbing effect and the trembling of her limbs finally stopped. "Does he know anything about Kariko's plans?" she asked when Akkarin did not continue.
He blinked in confusion, as if he had been deep in his memory. "By killing the Ichani and not being charged by the guild despite their trap, we handed Kariko a resounding defeat. Parika wanted to show their potential allies that we were easy to kill to finally get ashore"
"And I walked right into his arms like a Harrel into a trap. I should have known when his presence suddenly disappeared after he was just glowing with power before" She took another sip of wine and inwardly cursed herself. How had she been so stupid?
"With any luck, they'll think it's a trap. All in all, we killed the second Ichani, that should keep them quiet for a while" Akkarin reflected.
For a moment they both just hung on to their thoughts and emptied their glasses. Sonea felt the tiredness slowly returning as the excitement diminished. Nevertheless, she remained seated in her chair and watched as Akkarin refilled them both.
"Parika was with me at the time of my second escape attempt. He and Dakova had ridden away to hunt and I thought that was a favourable chance. It was probably one of the stupidest things I could have done, especially as I knew what to expect if I was found. Dakova was very creative in punishing disobedient slaves and I thought he was downright cruel, but Parika far surpassed him," he abruptly recounted in a low, raspy voice.
Sonea remained silent, waiting for him to talk further. Since he had told her about Sachaka at the spring, he had never spoken about it again. Sonea could only assume that the encounter must have shaken him up.
"I didn't get very far. They tracked me down with their yeel and Parika suggested they let them play a little, as he called it. When they finally let me go, Dakova dragged me back to camp tied to his horse. He forbade me to heal myself. The bites became infected and I thought I was going to die when Dakova finally allowed me to at least heal the infection so I could work again. Later I once witnessed Parika beating one of his slaves to death because he had broken something. Every one of Dakova's slaves feared him" Akkarin took a big sip from his glass and continued to stare into the distance.
Slowly Sonea rose, put down her wine glass and knelt in front of him. She didn't know exactly why she did this, but she took his free hand in hers and looked up at him. "Parika won't hurt anyone else," she said softly.
It took him a moment to respond."Maybe I should just face Kariko and put an end to this," he muttered.
"No!" she exclaimed impulsively. His words frightened her. The encounter with Parika must have triggered more in him than she had previously thought.
"Why not? You would finally be free" His voice sounded bitter, his gaze hard as he looked down at her. "I've become more like Dakova than I ever wanted to be"
"Don't say that" she whispered in horror. "You're nothing like Dakova"
"I am not? I've ruined any prospect of a carefree future for you, I've taken you hostage, I've forced a blood ring on Lorlen. I broke my oath and put the guild in grave danger"
"You are not a bad person Akkarin. If you were like that Ichani you would have gotten Lorlen, Rothen and me out of the way long ago" She smiled grimly as she thought of what the Ichani had planned for her. "Well, you might have made me your bed slave too"
His expression softened."You are still far too nice Sonea" Something about the way he said that made her shiver