A/N: I know this has been all from either Akkarin or Sonea's perspective up to this point, but I decided it would be interesting to start bringing in some new perspectives, so you will see those starting in this chapter. The majority will still be from Akkarin or Sonea's perspective though.

Akkarin felt Sonea's panic and paused in his preparations for bed to focus on what she was seeing. He cursed under his breath as he noted the novices surrounding her, but he forced himself to simply watch, knowing he could not always come to her rescue or it would raise a good deal of suspicion. When he saw her send her globelight to her attackers, he found himself blinking along with them, having not expected such an action. Pride surged through him at her unique solution, and he returned to his preparations with a small smile on his face. Unfortunately, just as he was sliding into bed, he felt another surge of panic and focused back on Sonea, wondering if she had not evaded her attackers after all. After watching for only a few seconds, he pushed the covers back and rose from bed to begin dressing again just in case. It seemed he would not be going to bed just yet after all.

As Akkarin made his way through the tunnels to the exit in the Novice Quarters, he heard Ahrind's call for Rothen and Garrel. He was no longer able to see what was happening, and he guessed it was because Sonea's emotions had calmed somewhat. He supposed that was a good thing, but it worried him that he did not know what was happening. He knew that Sonea would not submit to a Truth Read, for she was much too intelligent to do so, but Ahrind could make her life quite unpleasant without one. Akkarin's one consolation was that Rothen would be there, and he knew the older man genuinely cared for Sonea and would advocate for her. Akkarin was just not sure it would be enough.

Akkarin stopped at the exit he sought, pacing in front of it but not going out into the halls of the Novice Quarters. A fierce debate raged in his head. His heart screamed at him to help, to ensure Sonea was treated fairly, but he knew that could raise far too many suspicions, particularly given his interference in her previous fight. Logically, the safer option was to stay out of things until he heard the punishment and only interfere then if it was egregious. For the first time in a long time, however, Akkarin was struggling to take the logical course of action.

Eventually, Akkarin turned away from the door, telling himself it was the correct thing to do. He walked slowly back to his own Residence, turning towards his study once he reached it. He knew that he would not be sleeping that night, so he decided that he might as well use the time to get some work done.

Akkarin was watching as the sun rose, and he breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw Sonea's familiar figure headed toward the Baths. He longed to rush out to meet her and figure out what had happened, but he held himself back. He would meet her in the empty classroom as usual that night, and he could hear what had happened then. Surely he could wait that long.

By the time he finally made his way to the classroom through the tunnels, Akkarin was beginning to doubt the wisdom of waiting. He had three separate people comment on his distraction in two different meetings. He had pleaded tiredness each time, but he was not sure if they believed him. Akkarin had a reputation for intense focus, and he rarely let anything distract him. Sonea, however, seemed to be a rule unto herself, and he was not quite sure if he would ever be able to fully predict her—or how he would act around her.

She was not waiting for him as she usually was, and he frowned, glancing around. Had he been incorrect in his assumptions? Had something more severe happened to her after all? He was beginning to consider whether or not it would be wise to go searching for her when he saw her familiar slight figure coming through the door. She smiled when she saw him, closing the door behind her. He gave a small smile in return, starting to turn toward the tunnel entrance, but she shook her head. "I have to get back. I have library duty for the next two weeks."

Akkarin's eyebrows rose. "That does not really seem like a punishment for you."

"Except that it means less time with you." His lips turned down as well as he considered that. Their time together was already limited by all their commitments as well as their desire for secrecy. Surely he could think of a way to increase that time. He thought back on the previous weeks, remembering how often other duties had come in the way of their time and wished, not for the first time, that he did not have the responsibilities he had. But of course, that was an impossible wish that would take him nowhere.

Those thoughts did lead to another possible solution to their difficulties, however. Hoping he was not presuming too much, Akkarin said, "You know, I can have Takan keep the guest room made up more often if you would like. It would mean you would not need to worry about late night ambushes, and we could spend a bit more time together." Fortunately, her eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"I would like that very much," she agreed.

"What time are you finished tonight?"

"Ninth hour."

"I will meet you then and have Takan push dinner back a couple hours."

"You don't have to-"

"I want to. I have grown rather accustomed to company while eating." He smiled at her, glanced around out of habit to ensure they were alone, and then pressed a quick kiss to her lips before disappearing back into the tunnels. Takan, please push dinner back two hours for the next two weeks, he sent through the blood gem. And go ahead and make up the guest room. He sensed his servant's assent coupled with a sense of smug satisfaction that Akkarin decided to ignore. Akkarin considered what to do with his unexpected free hours. It did not take him long to decide. There were a few items which the King had brought up in his meeting that day that Akkarin hoped to discuss with Lorlen, and he was sure his friend was still in his office though it was nearing dinner time. Perhaps after a quick discussion Akkarin would even be able to convince Lorlen to leave his work and get a proper meal.

Lorlen heard the knock on his door and called for the visitor to come in without looking up from the stack of papers in front of him. When he heard the door shut, however, he finally tore his eyes from the papers, frowning, for most people he knew rarely shut doors unless there was something they wanted to discuss privately. In Lorlen's experience, private conversations were rarely good. "Lord Balkan," he greeted the Head of Warriors. "Please have a seat." Lorlen gestured to the chair in front of his desk, now more confused than ever, for the formidable Head of Warriors rarely sought him out.

"Thank you, Administrator." Balkan took a seat, smoothing imperceptible wrinkles out of his robes. "I will come straight to the point so I do not take up too much of your time. I have some concerns about the High Lord."

"Akkarin?" Lorlen questioned, surprised. Balkan had always been one of Akkarin's main supporters—even in the beginning when many others in the Guild felt he was too young and inexperienced to make an effective High Lord. Balkan nodded grimly, his expression serious.

"When I was returning to my room from the Night Room two weeks ago, I saw him returning to his Residence from near the stables, but I know there were no Court functions that night, for I have a cousin in Court. That same cousin mentioned that he's been late to two separate morning meetings with the King in the past month, and when I went to see him at his Residence three nights ago, he did not answer my knock despite the fact that I had seen him enter less than an hour before." Balkan spread his hands wide. "None of these things seem like much individually, but all together. . . well, let us just say that they are somewhat worrying."

Lorlen steepled his fingers under his chin as he listened. Many of the things Balkan had noticed were things Lorlen himself had noticed as well. Lorlen had always believed in giving his friend the benefit of the doubt, so he had not pursued his thoughts too far, but he should not have been surprised others noticed. As he considered what Balkan had witnessed and what he himself knew, however, an explanation came to mind that seemed unlikely at first but upon further thought seemed quite reasonable. "I understand your concerns," Lorlen said carefully, "but I think perhaps we are both overlooking a likely explanation for this behavior." At Balkan's still-confused expression, Lorlen clarified. "Akkarin is still relatively young and unmarried."

Balkan's eyes widened. "Oh. I admit, I did not consider that." He frowned for a moment. "Has he told you who he is seeing? I assume it is not another magician or we would have heard of it before now."

Lorlen spread his arms wide. "He may be my friend, but he is often just as mysterious to me as he is to others. But he has seemed. . . happier lately."

Balkan nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I think I understand what you mean. I suppose his family will be happy to have him finally settled. I know his mother has been quite persistent."

Lorlen gave a small smile. "That is certainly one word for it." He thought for a moment. "Lord Balkan, it is perhaps best that we keep these speculations to ourselves and discourage others from speculating as well. Akkarin deserves to keep his private life private as much as anyone."

"Understood. Thank you for talking with me today and helping to settle my fears." Balkan rose, and Lorlen walked him to the door. As it opened, both startled upon seeing the subject of their conversation standing just outside it.

"High Lord!" Balkan exclaimed, shooting Lorlen a nervous glance.

"Lord Balkan, I did not expect to see you here." Akkarin's tone was as neutral as ever, and Lorlen could not read anything from his face. Had he heard their conversation? Was he upset about their speculation?

"I just had something I needed to discuss with the Administrator."

"Of course. Anything I could assist with?"

"No," Balkan said quickly. "The Administrator was able to help me out quite effectively."

"Excellent. If you have concluded your business, there are a couple matters I would like to discuss with the Administrator as well."

"Of course." Balkan gave a belated, somewhat awkward, bow before quickly leaving the office. Akkarin stepped inside, the door swinging shut behind him. As always, Lorlen's best friend had a presence that seemed to fill the room. Lorlen studied Akkarin for a moment as the other man looked around, trying to figure out if his guess was correct. His face seemed as impassive as ever, but Lorlen thought he might see a twinkle in Akkarin's eyes that had not been there a few months before. But perhaps it was just his imagination.

"What can I do for you, Akkarin?"

"I actually came to discuss some reassignments to the forts and other requests from the King, but I get the impression that you have something more interesting to discuss."

Lorlen sighed, knowing it was impossible to keep secrets from Akkarin for long. "Balkan came to me with some interesting observations about you."

"Oh?" Akkarin's eyebrows rose, and for a moment, Lorlen thought he saw a flicker of fear, but Akkarin's face quickly smoothed into his normal implacable expression. "I was unaware that my actions were so interesting."

"He was just worried what they might mean." Lorlen looked at Akkarin expectantly. Akkarin stared back silently. Lorlen gave in first. "I assured him that the explanation was likely innocent." Lorlen peered at his friend carefully. "It was, wasn't it?"

"You would have to enlighten me as to what actions he found concerning and how you explained his observations."

Lorlen sighed, knowing Akkarin would likely not appreciate his confession. "He had just noticed that you have been more. . . difficult to locate lately. I suggested that perhaps you had found yourself a female companion." Lorlen winced as the words came out of his mouth, realizing that his phrasing had made it seem like Akkarin was visiting a brothel.

"I see. So you were gossiping about my romantic attachments?"

Lorlen decided that if he had come so far, he might as well go all the way. "Are you seeing anyone?" Akkarin was silent for quite some time. Finally, he gave Lorlen a small smile.

"I told you that you are right more often than you expect." It took Lorlen a moment to remember their conversation from a few weeks before.

"Who is it?" he asked.

Akkarin raised an eyebrow. "I did not realize you wanted to know all my secrets." Lorlen continued to look at him expectantly, and Akkarin shook his head. "It is still relatively new for both of us and we agreed to keep it between the two of us for now. But I promise that once we are ready to tell others, you will be the first to know."

"Alright," Lorlen agreed, knowing he could not expect anything more.

"Now, if we are done discussing my personal life, I did have some actual business to discuss."

"Of course," Lorlen agreed immediately though he knew that he would be pondering the identity of Akkarin's love interest for quite some time.

Sonea smelled Takan's cooking as soon as she and Akkarin emerged from the underground room that night, and her mouth immediately began to water. She had not eaten much lunch, and with dinner later than usual due to her punishment, she was ravenous. Akkarin seemed to realize this, for he gave her a half smile and told her, "You can use the guest bath to clean up, and we can eat as soon as you are ready."

"Thank you." She started to turn and then paused, remembering something. "After dinner, would you mind taking me back to the Novice Quarters? I would like to pick up a few things from my room. . . I mean, if your earlier offer still stands." Sonea stammered a bit on the last words, not wanting to presume too much, but Akkarin simply smiled a bit more broadly.

"Of course."

Once Sonea had eaten enough to curb the worst of her hunger, Akkarin remarked, "I noticed you were a bit hesitant to accuse your attackers last night."

Sonea swallowed her food. "Rothen had told me that accusers needed to submit to a Truth Read, and I thought-"

"You thought correctly," he assured her. "However, I don't know if Rothen mentioned it or not, but there are ways to hide memories from others. A determined magician could likely still find them, but during Truth Reads, magicians are generally only concerned with the event in question and will not press too hard to learn other truths. It would still be best to avoid a Truth Read if at all possible, but it should give you some measure of protection if there comes a time when you feel you cannot reasonably refuse."

"Rothen did say something about doors, but he only showed me the basics. I'm not very sure how well I could keep memories hidden."

"I can show you more if you would like."

"I would."

"Have I mentioned yet how impressed I was with your trick with the light last night?"

Sonea blushed slightly, focusing on her food. "I just remembered what you said about doing something unexpected."

"It was certainly that."

Sonea considered for a moment, remembering a question she had been meaning to ask him for quite some time. She had hesitated before, for she was just a novice and he was the High Lord, and she knew he had many important duties. However, he seemed genuinely happy to spend time with her, so perhaps he would not be averse to the idea. "It is actually the only duel I have won lately," she admitted. "I am not particularly good at Warrior Skills. I have the power, but my execution is. . . not great."

Akkarin studied her carefully for a moment. "Do you know why?"

Sonea considered the unexpected question for a moment. No one had ever asked her such a thing before—her teachers had a number of explanations for her lack of success, most of which seemed to boil down to her origins. "Growing up like I did, I never learned anything of strategy," Sonea said, parroting what she had heard before. "We were too focused on getting food to think of the political machinations that those in the Houses grow up considering, so that makes me less prepared for strategic thinking in the Arena."

Akkarin continued to study her, his face expressionless. After a few moments, he shook his head. "I do not believe that is the problem, and I think that if you consider it for longer, you will agree."

"What do you think it is then?" Sonea challenged. She knew her anger was misdirected, but she could not bring herself to care.

Akkarin shook his head. "I have not seen you fight in the Arena, so I could not say. I can say that you have shown a good understanding of strategy in your fights outside of the Arena that I have witnessed though I sense that your strategy is not always aimed at winning. You could have easily struck just at Regin, for example, and bested him which would have likely deterred the other novices, but you did not do so. Why?"

"He's not as powerful as I am. I could have hurt him!" Sonea said, her temper flaring. "I refuse to lower myself to their level. I am not the type of person to hurt others for the fun of it."

"Many would claim it was in self-defense."

Sonea shook her head. "I am the more powerful magician. That means that it is up to me to use that power responsibly."

Akkarin's face finally relaxed into an expression of sympathy. "It is not an easy burden to bear, but your words show that you are the right person to bear it." He considered for a moment. "What if you practiced with me? I guarantee you could not strike me with enough power to do any real damage."

"Would people not find it odd if we started sparring in the Arena?"

"We would obviously need to go somewhere other than the Arena. I have a place in mind." Sonea raised an eyebrow, and he gave her a mysterious smile. "You will see soon enough. But unfortunately, I will likely not be able to spar with you too often, so it would be good to find another tutor. Having multiple perspectives is always helpful anyway." His expression grew thoughtful. "Perhaps Lord Yikmo? I think his temperament will suit you well."

"How do I go about getting a tutor? I imagine I can't just ask him."

"Generally, your Guardian would arrange a tutor. You could ask Rothen to arrange something for you. He will likely go to Balkan since I doubt he knows many Warriors personally. Balkan will probably provide a list of Warriors available—Lord Yikmo should be on that list since I do not believe he is teaching this term."

"And you think he would agree to teach me?"

"I think you will find Lord Yikmo has far fewer concerns about your origins than many others. If you can convince Rothen to give you some say in who teaches you, I would highly recommend choosing him."

"He may find it odd that I suddenly want help with Warrior skills, however. I have never expressed an interest in that before, and he has never encouraged one either."

"I think you may find he is less surprised than you expect." Sonea looked at him in confusion, and he clarified. "I doubt he is completely unaware of your struggles with the other novices."

"Right."

That night, after a quick trip the Novices' Quarters to retrieve some of Sonea's clothes, Akkarin did show Sonea how to lock her memories behind doors. Though he was able to break through them every time, by the end of the session, he assured her that most magicians would not be as successful. Once more, he cautioned her to avoid Truth Reads if at all possible, but simply having the ability to form the doors made Sonea feel more comfortable. They ended their training with Sonea giving him a good deal of her power which made her rather sleepy and glad that she had decided to stay at his Residence that night. She fell asleep with a smile on her face and slept quite well that night.

After another humiliating defeat in the Arena two days later, Sonea decided it was time to swallow her pride and ask for help, especially since Akkarin had been unusually busy at Court the past two nights, so much so that she had not seen him since he taught her to hide her memories. She tried not to be too disappointed, but it was difficult to go back to eating alone in the Foodhall and then sitting by herself in her room after having Akkarin's company for so long. Though he was quiet, he had a presence that made a room seem much more full.

Once her afternoon classes ended, instead of going to the library as she usually did, Sonea headed for Rothen's quarters. The door opened soon after she knocked, and she stepped into the room, stopping short when she saw that Rothen was not alone. There was a man just a few years older than her sitting in an armchair sipping sumi. Sonea studied him for a moment, but she could not place his face though she had been at the Guild long enough to know most of the magicians who lived there. "Sonea!" Rothen's eyes lit up upon seeing her, and Sonea felt a pang of guilt when she realized that she had not seen him much lately, for she had been so busy with Akkarin.

"Rothen, it's good to see you." She moved into the room and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug before turning to the other man in the room.

"Sonea, this is my son, Dorrien. Dorrien, this is my novice, Sonea."

Dorrien stood, a twinkle in his eyes as he took Sonea's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. She blushed, not accustomed to such attention from noblemen. "It's a pleasure to meet the woman who took the Guild by storm," he remarked.

"Oh. . . uh, yeah."

"You'll stay for dinner, Sonea?" Rothen asked eagerly.

"Of course," she said immediately, feeling another pang of guilt which she ruthlessly squashed. "Actually, I came to ask you about something as well." Rothen looked at her curiously, and Sonea blushed slightly as she felt Dorrien's gaze turn to her as well, but she forced herself to continue. "I've been. . . struggling with my Warrior Skills. I was wondering if there was any way to get some extra help."

Rothen frowned slightly. "It's not exactly my area of expertise, and there are only a couple weeks left in the term."

"One of which has my final exam. I am not looking forward to that. Isn't there anyone else who might be able to help?"

"I could," Dorrien volunteered. Sonea felt a slight sinking in her stomach, for Akkarin had suggested Lord Ykimo, and she trusted his judgment. However, she forced herself to smile as she turned to Dorrien.

"Oh. Are you a Warrior then?"

It was Dorrien's turn to blush. "A Healer actually."

"I think perhaps it would be best to find someone who has actually trained as a Warrior," Lord Rothen remarked. "I will see Lord Balkan about it first thing tomorrow. I assume you would like to start sooner rather than later?" Sonea nodded. "Okay, I will see what I can do."

"I could offer tutoring in Healing if you want," Dorrien offered, not to be deterred.

Sonea bit her lip for a moment. In truth, Healing Studies had been her best subject, so she did not need the extra help there, but perhaps accepting it would make her request for help in Warrior Studies seem less suspicious. At the very least, she might learn something about the Discipline she hoped to enter one day.

"That sounds wonderful," she said.