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

RESOLVE

Sonea was tired. They had been on the move since early morning, trying to take advantage of the terrain to hide their journey from potential spies. It seemed to her that Akkarin was driven by the need to cover as much ground in as short a time as possible. Even the stops for food had been short, with barely enough time to swallow the small birds that Akkarin had caught and cooked.

For all the relentless pressure to cover ground, they had not managed to travel very far from the cave. The landscape was full of treacherous ravines and jagged cliffs and had they not been able to levitate, they would have been forced to retreat many times to find an alternative route.

"Come, Sonea, we must try to find shelter before nightfall." Akkarin got to his feet and held out his hand to her. "It's is getting late."

Sonea sent a little Healing into her aching legs and painful back before trying to unfold her legs to stand up. From their vantage point, they could see a wide expanse of lower ground and, just as she turned to follow him, Sonea caught a glimpse of a movement out of the corner of her eye.

Akkarin? Can you see over there? she sent.

He quickly dropped down and pulled her with him, scanning the lower ground as he did so.

It's a yeel, a tracking animal. If it catches our scent, it can track us anywhere. Akkarin's mental voice expressed annoyance and concern. Where there is a yeel, an Ichani will not be far behind.

And so it begins, Sonea grimaced. She looked at her companion, who was deep in thought. I still can't tell what he is thinking! That calm, remote expression hides everything. The High Lord is back and my lover has disappeared!

Following Akkarin's lead, Sonea stayed low to the ground and scrambled up the track of a dried up mountain stream. As the path turned a sharp corner, she could hear the faint noise of dripping water.

Can you hear that?

Akkarin nodded. It could mean another cave or at least a gap in the rocks where we could shelter. His face assumed that faintly distracted look she knew meant he was using magic. A moment or two later, water appeared in the dried up riverbed, and, as she watched, it ran faster until it filled the path, and rose to their mid-calves before continuing down towards the foot of the cliffs.

She turned a questioning look upon him and he laughed gleefully. Yeels cannot track through water. Now let's see what we can find.

It took them almost twenty minutes to discover the source of the dripping water. A natural hollow had been formed, hidden in the rocks, and water slowly ran down the cliff face until it was channelled into a groove, which drained it into the hollow. Behind and to the side of the hollow was a dark slit in the cliff face, only a foot or so wide. Had they not been looking so closely, they would have missed it.

Akkarin motioned for Sonea to stay where she was, and disappeared into the darkness. He was gone for quite a while and she was just beginning to feel anxious when she heard him call to her. She squeezed into the gap and found herself in a narrow passageway. She lit a tiny light globe and followed the twisting passage for several minutes until she emerged into a fairly large, dry space and found Akkarin sitting cross-legged against a fallen boulder.

'Welcome to our inn for the night! It is warm and dry, there is a little pool of fresh water at the back but, unfortunately, nothing to eat!"

She sank gratefully down next to him and sighed in relief. He put his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat quietly for a few moments and then Sonea remembered something important.

"What about the yeel and its companions? You said they couldn't track though water, but they will find out we came in this direction if they pick up our scent. If they find us here, we are trapped."

"We must hope that my trick with the water will be sufficient to distract it. It's important to try to keep your magic hidden too. You don't conceal it as well as I do and an Ichani can sense it. Give me some of your power now and I will store it."

Sonea allowed her power to flow into Akkarin until he said that it was enough. Then she got to her feet and began to explore the cave. At some time in the past, it had been carved from the rock by a powerful flow of water. That same water had deposited many layers of soft sand-like sediment, so it seemed they would have a reasonably soft bed.

She found a small pool of water at the back of the cave, just deep enough to have a comfortable wash. Glancing at her companion, she saw he was distracted again so took the opportunity of stripping off her dusty clothes and sat down in the pool to get rid of the sticky dirt from her body and hair. She also soaked her clothes to get rid of as much grime as she could before drying them and herself with a little magic.

As she put on the last of her garments, she turned and found Akkarin regarding her with an indulgent smile on his lips. "It looks like your wish came true and you've had your bath after all."

Sonea felt the hot colour rush to her face. She was still not used to their new relationship – it had all happened so quickly that she really hadn't taken it in. To hide her embarrassment, she spoke gruffly, 'You could do with a bath, too and I promise not to peek!'

Later, they ate the last of the berries and nuts and purified water to drink. There was really nothing more to do, except settle down for the night. They scooped out a hollow in the sand and lined it with their cloaks.

'We will need to keep watch in case we are tracked,' Akkarin said. 'I'll take the first watch and you sleep, but, perhaps before then…..'

Sonea felt him enter her mind and call to her to come and look. She followed his voice and found herself in a room she had never seen before, prettily furnished, with open windows leading out into a sunny garden. She moved into the garden. A fountain tinkled in the centre of a colourful flowerbed, which was surrounded by small trees and bushes. Sitting on a marble bench, she found a tall, dark haired young man reading a book. He looked up and smiled. Sonea felt her heart jump as he came towards her, taking her hands and pulling her into an embrace. This is our place, he said. No one can come here but us. If we are ever separated, we can still be together, here. He kissed her and feelings of love, joy and intense pleasure shot through her.

She opened her eyes slowly, "What was that?"

"Just another magicians' secret' he whispered. 'Lovers can create rooms in their minds where they can be together. The room is not in my mind, nor in yours, but appears in both and yet is somewhere else entirely. It is a spiritual joining, which lasts the lovers' whole lives. I have wanted to make such a room for you for a long time…."

There is so much I don't know, Sonea thought. So much to learn.

Akkarin abruptly turned away from her. "You are too much of a distraction, my Sonea," he said ruefully. "There is no time for dalliance tonight. We must be prepared for discovery. Lorlen used the ring tonight while you were bathing. He says that unknown magicians have been listening to the Guild's mental communications and they know we are here. I will watch, so sleep now."

It seemed as if she had only just closed her eyes, when she felt a hand shaking her shoulder and another covering her mouth.

"I can hear voices", Akkarin whispered close to her ear.

He took his hand away and she got silently to her feet. They moved towards the narrow opening. The voices sounded very close and distant at the same time and Sonea realised that the rock formations were acting like some sort of sounding board. The words were in a foreign language which she did not recognise.

Akkarin motioned for her to stay still and moved silently forward until he was next to the passageway. For the next few minutes, he concentrated on listening intently. Sonea began to feel a cramp in her right leg, but was afraid to use any magic to ease it in case it drew attention to their hiding place. As she remained motionless, the pain increased until it was all she could do to remain still.

At last, the voices faded and Akkarin drew her back towards their sleeping area. He watched quizzically as Sonea hopped up and down while rubbing her leg vigorously.

"Don't you dare laugh!" she said through gritted teeth. "Cramp!"

The pain gone, Sonea sat next to him, "What is happening?" she asked.

"There are two of them, a woman, Avala, and a man, Parika. They have been sent to find us. The yeel led them in this direction, but has been distracted by the water and its owners do not know where we are. They were arguing over what to do next and eventually decided to split up. Avala is going back to the North Pass to rejoin another group of Ichanis, but Parika is heading south to meet up with his slaves and then cross the border."

"They intend to attack the Fort? What can we do?"

"We can do nothing to help the Fort. We must go to the South Pass and into Kyralia. The time is coming when the Guild will need us, whether they want to or not and I must be close to Imardin when they do." A frown crossed Akkarin's face and he turned towards her, "I would be much happier if I knew you were safe."

Sonea's expression hardened, "We have had this argument before! I will not leave you. If you stay here, I will stay with you. If you take ship to the islands, I will sail alongside you. If you go back to Kyralia, then I will go too. You had better get used to the idea!"

Akkarin laughed, "I surrender! We will go together and we will stay together. Tomorrow we will head for the South Pass and hope we can get there before Parika. Come, my Sonea, let us sleep, now."