Disclaimer: I do not own these characters – they belong to Trudi Canavan.

Feelings Explored

Sonea stirred. She stretched out her hand, only to discover an empty space alongside her in the makeshift bed. For a moment she was disorientated but as memory returned, she opened her eyes and looked for Akkarin.

The small cave-like space was partly illuminated by weak sunlight and she could see that it was empty. Where is he? she thought, Why didn't he wake me?

She scrambled into her shirt and trousers and crawled to the entrance. Remembering to keep her head low, she looked carefully around, but there was no one in sight. She retreated to the bed and tried to untangle her hair prior to tying it back. As she did so, she remembered what had happened the previous night.

Sonea was fully conversant with the mechanics of lovemaking. A teenage slum child had as much chance of not knowing what went on between men and women as of finding a pot of gold. She had also heard the nighttime sounds of her aunt and uncle in the room next to her own. Nothing, however, had prepared her for lovemaking between magicians.

She knew from her mind-touch with Akkarin that he desired her as much as she wanted him, so she was prepared for the physical passion which followed those first kisses; the touch of smooth flesh caressing smooth flesh, the gradual building up of pleasure until it almost took her breath away, the explosion of feelings as their love-making reached its climax, but it was the other thing which stunned her – the joining of their minds and their power, so that their passion occurred on two planes at once, the physical and the magical.

She had no words to explain it properly, the completeness of it was impossible to describe, all she knew was this was something she could never give up and that she wanted to forget everything else in the world except Akkarin.

"Sonea"

She jumped, as Akkarin crawled into the small opening, carefully holding a small bag.

"I have found some berries and nuts – not the most exciting of breakfasts, but nourishing all the same." He smiled at her and she felt the hot colour rush to her cheeks.

She mumbled a reply and turned to smooth out the ferns and grasses which made their sleeping area. Why is it difficult to look at him after what happened last night, she wondered.

She heard a low, musical laugh behind her and felt the touch of his hand on her arm.

"Shy, Sonea?" he teased. He joined her by the sleeping space, putting his arms around her and nuzzling her neck. "What has happened to my fearless novice?"

She twisted round until she could look at him properly and took his face between her hands. She kissed his eyes and then the corners of his mouth before covering it with her own. She felt his response as, breakfast forgotten, they lay once again on the soft pile of bedding.

Their minds joined once more, they gave themselves up to the demands of their bodies, until, at last, Sonea lay quietly in his arms. She watched the patterns of light on the walls of their refuge, as the day lengthened and the sun rose higher in the sky. It had been a whole day since she had first kissed him – 24 hours of passion, day-dreaming, exploration and discovery, their task forgotten in the joy of finding one another. But it couldn't last.

"Did someone say something about breakfast?" she said.

After they had eaten, Akkarin began to explain his plan for the next few days.

"We need to find the Ichani and see if we can discover what they are planning to do. It will not be easy, we have few resources and the landscape will not always provide us with cover, so we must be careful. If we can disrupt their progress, or kill their slaves, it will give the Guild time to work on their defences." He sighed. "Lorlen has been calling me, using the ring. He doesn't wear it all the time, but I can sense his fear, when he does."

"Have you answered?"

"No. It is not time yet. We are so far away, there is nothing I can do and Lorlen must find his own path now." His face hardened for a moment, "He allowed the Guild to exile me and he must have known I am the only person who can save them."

Sonea looked down at her rumpled clothing and ran her hand through her sticky hair.

"I need to get clean and do something about my hair!"

Akkarin laughed, "Typical woman, we are hunting dangerous enemies and all you want to do is have a bath."

"You could do with one yourself" she said tartly, "Otherwise you may find yourself sleeping downwind, until you do!"

They collected together what little they had in the way of belongings and set off again. Just before they left, Sonea had turned and looked for the last time at the little cave. Such a poor place for such a wonderful experience, she thought. We should have had a soft bed, good food and fine wines, not a bed of ferns and a few berries! She let her mind slip back to memories of the Residence and tried to think what it would have been like to sleep in Akkarin's room. Stop! she told herself sternly, you lived in the Residence for years and nothing happened. He would never have let you find out what he felt. It was only his exhaustion and weakness which let you discover it now.

Outside, the bleak landscape stretched to the far horizon, rocky crags and tall cliffs dominated, with the occasional bush or tattered tree to break the monotony. In the first shock of being thrust over the border and abandoned by their escort, Sonea hadn't really taken in her surroundings. Even the long walk until they found the cave had not really made an impression on her. She had been too tired and too caught up in her own thoughts to view the scenery.

But, this desolation was oppressive, weighing heavily on her spirits. They had to go on. They had to survive. At least, they still had their magic; survival here with blocked powers would have been impossible. Akkarin had survived it before, so she could rely on him and he would not abandon her, not now, not when they had just begun to love each other.

Sonea sighed and moved from contemplating her feelings to the practical. "How will we find food and water? Surely nothing much lives here."

Akkarin smiled, "Oh there is always something, if you know where to look."