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

Misgivings

Dorrien collapsed gratefully into a chair. The last of his patients had left and his time was now his own. The latest outbreak of sweating sickness had kept him busy for days. But it does stop me thinking about things too much, he mused.

Recent events at the Guild had been truly shocking. He found it hard to believe that the High Lord and Sonea had been accused of practising black magic and exiled. Nothing like that had happened in the history of the Guild for hundreds of years. That shock had barely faded when the terrible news of what had happened at the Fort became known.

The loss of mental communication was perhaps the most difficult thing of all. Dorrien had been so used to contacting all his friends, his father in particular, exchanging news and gossip, but now he was cut off from the Guild, with little idea of what was really happening. There must be dozens of magicians, spread across Kyralia in the same position, he thought.

A courier had passed by earlier in the day, and Dorrien glanced again at the message he'd left. Keep watch for strangers coming through the South Pass, it read, although just what he was supposed to do if he saw any, he had no idea. Write a letter, perhaps?

One practical thing he could do was to spend a little time each day, patrolling the area around his village.

Early the next morning, he saddled his horse and set out on his first inspection. The surroundings were mainly woodland, broken by small clearings and crossed by a number of streams. Dorrien didn't really expect to find anyone, but he supposed that a stranger sneaking into Kyralia might see the woodland as a good place to stop and perhaps spy on the village. If he didn't find any intruders, at least he would have had a pleasant ride and a little exercise.

Dorrien almost missed the dark outline at the foot of a fairly large tree. He dismounted silently and walked quietly towards it. As he got closer, the outline resolved itself into two people asleep. He crept nearer and saw they were a bearded man holding a woman against his chest, his head resting against hers. There was something about them which was familiar, but Dorrien couldn't quite place them.

As he stood there, uncertain, the woman stirred and her eyes opened. To Dorrien's utter shock, he found himself staring into Sonea's eyes. As she began to smile, Dorrien went completely cold.

"What are you doing here?" he said grimly.

Sonea's smile dimmed. "Dorrien,,,,I….we….." Her words faded into silence as she took in his cold demeanour.

"We came to warn you." The man spoke quietly.

Dorrien's gaze turned towards him. "You, too! I might have known it" he said as he recognised Akkarin. "You are both exiles, turn around and go back to where you came from. You are not wanted here."

"The King has recalled us," Akkarin stood as he spoke, and turned to help Sonea rise.

"I do not believe you." Dorrien's voice was flat. "There has been no word from the Guild and as all mental communication is forbidden, I cannot confirm your story. But you would know that!"

Sonea and Akkarin looked at each other silently for a moment, before she turned and walked towards Dorrien.

"Dorrien, it is true, the King has recalled us. You must know about the fall of the Fort and the fact that the Ichani are moving towards Imardin. We came to warn you that others are coming through the South Pass. We are only a few hours ahead of them."

Dorrien's certainty began to weaken. What Sonea said about the Fort was true and that did confirm Akkarin's justification for his learning black magic. If that was the case, it would be likely that the King would recall them.

Sonea put her hand on his arm. "We need to rest, we are exhausted. Once we have recovered our strength, we will go, just give us a little time."

Dorrien had just opened his mouth to reply when two things happened at once. A man stepped out from the undergrowth and shields snapped into place around Sonea and Akkarin.

Ichani, Sonea sent as she hurled forcestrikes against Parika. Dorrien instantly activated his own shield but to his horror the Ichani's power blasted through it easily and Dorrien found himself crumpled on the ground, unable to move, pain lancing through his body.

The Ichani ignored Akkarin and Dorrien and walked steadily towards Sonea, forcing her back with each blast of his forcestrike. He smiled at her and spoke in heavily accented Kyralian.

"So, Dakova's little pet magician has a pet of his own! I think I will keep you for myself – you can replace the slaves that you killed." He grinned at her, "You would make a nice little pleasure slave after a bit of training. I look forward to that."

Akkarin furiously kept pace with Parika, striking continuously at his shield, but without effect. The Ichani focussed all his attention on Sonea, until, after a particularly fierce blast, her shield failed and Parika grabbed her wrist. To Dorrien's horror, the Ichani pulled out a knife and made a cut on Sonea's arm and then another and another, as she apparently Healed each one. Parika looked astonished, watching in fascination as each cut disappeared almost immediately. So engrossed was he, that he didn't notice when Sonea put her other hand on his arm and concentrated.

With a cry of pain, Parika fell to the ground and the clearing was quiet again. Akkarin quickly bent over the Ichani, made a cut on his neck and held his hand over the spot. As soon as he had made the black magician's body safe, he turned to Sonea and held her tightly against him.

"I thought I'd lost you!" he said. "You should have run as soon as he appeared."

To Dorrien's surprise, Sonea wound her arms around Akkarin's neck and pulled his face close to hers. "I told you, I will never leave you. If we die, we die together." She whispered, before kissing him passionately.

Dorrien closed his eyes. He hoped they hadn't noticed him watching, but he thought perhaps they were too engrossed in each other to remember him. A moment later, a cool hand was laid on his forehead and Akkarin's voice said, "You're badly wounded. Stay still."

Dorrien felt power flowing into his body and muttered to Akkarin to save his strength, but he was ignored, Akkarin merely saying that as Dorrien was a Healer, he was better placed to do the actual Healing and he could regard the power as a loan.

It was some time before Dorrien felt able to stand. His horse had disappeared during the attack, so there was nothing for it but to walk home, taking his unexpected guests with him.

Over a late breakfast, Dorrien listened to what had befallen the two exiles. As Sonea and Akkarin did not hesitate to answer any of his questions, he could only believe they were telling the truth. The appearance of Parika was the final proof that Kyralia and its magicians faced a serious threat.

"How can I help?" Dorrien asked.

"We have to get to Imardin; we must be close by when the Guild asks for our help. I have friends in the city who will keep us safe until then." Akkarin replied. "Can you get us a change of clothing and some horses?"

"I have a better idea," Dorrien said slowly. "We can travel together, you two as my servants. That way, if people are looking for a man and a woman on their own, they will not pay any attention to three people travelling together."

Later, when Akkarin had gone outside, Dorrien sat down beside Sonea.

"Are you sure this is what you want, little Sonea?" he asked. "Rothen believes you were coerced into helping Akkarin and that, somehow, he has you under a spell. I find it very hard to believe you willingly learned black magic. There are good reasons why it is forbidden – it is evil!"

Sonea smiled at him, before answering. "Akkarin persuaded me by showing me the truth. I had access to an Inchani's mind and I saw everything. It would have been impossible for him to lie or mislead me. Once I knew what work Akkarin was doing to keep Kyralia safe, I could not let him do it alone. What would have happened if he had been killed? There was no one to take his place, except me."

Dorrien sighed. "I wonder what would have happened if I had persuaded you to come away with me? We liked each other, I think. You thought about becoming a Healer, so we could have worked together. This house could do with a woman's touch."

"Yes, I liked you, but I didn't really know you. You were only in Imardin for a few weeks, not long enough to really get to know someone enough to decide to spend the rest of my life with him."

"But you know Akkarin well enough?"

She smiled, "Yes, I know Akkarin well enough. It took a while to persuade him, though!"

While his guests were taking advantage of a large supply of fresh water and a bathtub, Dorrien put fresh bedding in a small room at the back of his cottage. After his conversation with Sonea, there seemed little point in making up two beds. He sighed. I should have tried harder to get to know her when I was at the Guild. Rothen would have been pleased, I think. It's too late now! Who would have believed that cool, aloof Akkarin and impulsive, emotional little Sonea would have fallen in love?