Disclaimer: Black Magician trilogy belongs to Trudi Canavan

"Sonea!"

Sonea looked up. She could see a blurred figure in the distance. He blinked in and out of existence as her vision failed. Was he a mirage brought by her failing mind? She couldn't say. She swayed alarmingly, and then she felt her mind slipping away, enveloped by suffocating blackness.

There was no sense of time passing. Was it minutes or hours or eternity? Sonea couldn't throw off the manacles of unconsciousness, but they weren't unpleasant, like drifting in warm and fuzzy water. The first change was a sensation of an electric current surging through her veins. Healing energy, she realized. She inhaled his scent. He was so close, his strong arms embraced her tightly.

"Did we die, then?" She whispered, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Akkarin chuckled, his relief was tangible.

"Almost," he answered.

Sonea opened her eyes and looked at him closely. His face was taut with uncertainty and worry but there was a twinkle in his eyes. He was holding her and it was impossible not to find that distracting. Her blood boiled in her veins. She couldn't tear her eyes from his. She couldn't fool herself anymore, she was in love with him. Afraid that he would sense her attraction to him, Sonea sighed and tried to disengage herself from his embrace, but he tightened his grip on her.

"I thought I'd lost you," he sighed. His face twisted in pain.

Surprised, Sonea touched his face.

"I'm fine, Akkarin," there was such a strange expression on his face. It was so… tender? She let her mind expand and touch his, trying to understand his behavior.

She saw a face; glowing and beautiful. It was her face, but it was unlike any reflection she had ever seen. That is how he sees me, she realized with a jolt of surprise. She smiled. His eyes became wary as he sensed her mental touch. He put on the same aloof and distant expression he had worn as High Lord.

His arms fell away and he stepped out of her reach giving her a better view of the ledge behind him. Her eyes widened as she beheld the prone figure of the Ichani who had hurt her. Her smile faded.

"I really killed him!" she realized, her tone incredulous.

"Yes, you did," he retorted in a clipped voice.

Obviously, he was annoyed at her. Surprised, Sonea narrowed her eyes. His mood swings were so strange it was becoming irritating.

"What!" she demanded.

"Why didn't you drain him of power? Did you think Sachaka needs another wasteland?" he asked sarcastically.

Sonea stared at him as understanding dawned.

"Oh," she gasped and looked at the corpse again. "I forgot," she admitted sheepishly. "I guess I proved to be more trouble than help on this venture. I'm sorry."

Akkarin snorted with amusement.

"Don't apologise," he chuckled. "I just think we should present the offer officially in Arvice before we take such extreme measures to alter their landscape."

Sonea blinked. Was he making fun of her?

"We need to get out of here," Akkarin went back to business before she could come up with a witty response. "Your show was very impressive, but it gave our whereabouts away. I'm certain the second Ichani is on her way, and we know she has a yeel. That's going to be a problem."

Sonea gasped and hid her face in her hands.

"I was stupid," she moaned. "I panicked and didn't even notice I was projecting until he brought out his knife."

Akkarin sighed.

"Come," he said, and outstretched his arm to her. "We'll go higher up."

She took his elbow and they levitated over the deep ravines. Finally, they settled in a shallow hollow in the rock face which gave them a wide view of a surrounding area and at the same time hid them from anyone's eyes. They would see the Ichani woman approaching well in advance.

"So," Sonea curled up on the ground beside Akkarin and wrapped her hands around her knees. "Now, we wait."

"Yes, you're tired anyway," he looked sideways at her. "Go to sleep."

Sonea shook her head.

"Are you afraid you'll have a nightmare?" he guessed.

She shuddered. That was admission enough.

Akkarin sighed.

"Would you tell me how you killed him?" he asked softly.

Sonea looked at him, bewildered.

"He didn't know healing," she said, still shocked at that realization.

Akkarin smiled faintly.

"Ah, so you stopped his heart," he guessed.

She nodded.

They sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, Akkarin burst out laughing. Sonea watched him shaking in bouts of mirth, bewildered.

"What's so funny?"

"You have just ruined the Guild's clever schemes," he explained.

Her eyebrows rose in confusion.

"I doubt they bothered to uphold the rules of courtesy when you called me," he smiled at her.

Sonea's eyes grew wide in horror.

"They were watching, too?"

"I'm certain of it," he said.

She looked at the road below them, thinking.

"So, they know now."

"Yes," he sighed. "They know."

Sonea thought of Rothen. He knew for certain that Akkarin had been telling the truth. She hoped that he would understand why she had made such choices and would forgive her now. Thinking back, she couldn't see any other way. She couldn't turn a blind eye to reality. She learned Black Magic to protect Kyralia. And she followed Akkarin into exile because she couldn't bear to abandon him to his enemies. She loved him. It was insane, and yet when she recalled an image of her face, the way he viewed her, she couldn't help thinking about his feelings for her.

"You can be very loud when you want to be," Akkarin mused, smiling crookedly. "I cannot imagine a magician alive strong enough to block your projected thoughts."

She groaned.

"In that case, I'd wager Regin found it very amusing when I forgot my magic back there," she sighed resignedly.

Akkarin chuckled.

"In retrospect," he admitted. "I do, too."

Sonea tried to elbow him in the ribs, but he dodged her blow easily.

"Are you sleepy yet?" he asked innocently.

Right on cue, she yawned expansively. Akkarin gave her a measuring look.

"That shirt requires mending," he decided.

Sonea looked down her front and blushed scarlet. There was a long tear in the middle of her chest, making her shirt much too low cut.

"Oh," she gulped.

Akkarin pulled his own shirt over his head and handed her the bundle of rough material.

"Put this on," he ordered. "I'll fix yours while you sleep."

"You?" she was incredulous.

Akkarin's eyes shone with amusement.

"I assure you Dakova never complained," he explained.

Sonea blinked, understanding.

"No peeking," she warned him.

Giving in to some theatric tendencies, Akkarin sighed dramatically and put his hands over his eyes.

Sonea watched him closely as she changed. When she was done, she grimaced. His shirt felt like an ugly tent hanging on her fragile frame.

"Ready," she tossed her shirt to him. He caught it easily.

Akkarin eyed her appreciatively, the corners of his mouth curling upwards.

"Balkan couldn't have provided us with a more hideous outfit, could he," he commented dryly.

Sonea barely registered his words. She was too busy staring at his bare chest. Nothing was left to imagination.

"What are you staring at?" he demanded self-consciously.

She shook her head jerkily. She couldn't tell him what his muscled torso made her feel deep inside.

Akkarin frowned.

"Go to sleep, Sonea," he sighed. And his sigh was so sad it made her heart ache.

She didn't argue with him this time. She curled into a tight ball and cramped into the small space of the hollow behind Akkarin. She closed her eyes and let sleep claim her.