Sonea proved a quick study, and she had mastered the ability to pass Akkarin power by the second day. A combination of enthusiasm and inexperience led to her giving him more than she probably should have, however, and she swayed on her feet when she stood to leave. Akkarin steadied her, looking at her in concern. "Are you going to be able to make it back to your quarters?" he questioned.

"I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Perhaps I should walk with you."

"Because that would not be suspicious."

"We can use the tunnels."

"They go into the Novice quarters?"

"There's a single entrance in the basement." Noting her face, he frowned. "Remember what I said about exploring alone," he reminded her, crossing his arms.

"I know, I know. I promise not to go exploring without you." He studied her for another moment before deciding that she was likely telling the truth. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and healed away some of her exhaustion before beckoning her forward. She followed him through the tunnels to the Novice Quarters, kissing him firmly on the lips before she slipped out the door. He smiled the entire way back to his Residence, and part of him wondered just what the other magicians would think if they could see the famously aloof High Lord now.

As Akkarin lay down for bed that night, he could feel Sonea's power pulsing within him, somewhat unfamiliar but at the same time possessing a note of familiarity that he had never felt with other magic he had taken in the past. He wondered if it was related to the shared experiences and made a mental note to research it further. However, it was not only the additional power which caused him to relax more than he had in quite awhile. There was another feeling deep within him, one that he had thought he might never feel again. Hope.

As soon as Sonea had mastered passing him power, she insisted on helping in some other way. She had suggested going to the Slums to make contact with some people she knew there who might be able to help him, but he had dismissed that idea. He had only recently killed one of the court magicians which meant they had some time before the next one came. Additionally, he did not want anyone associating Sonea's questions with the man he had killed. Though it seemed unlikely, for Akkarin had covered his tracks, Akkarin had not come as far as he had by taking unnecessary risks. Instead, he had suggested they could work together to search for the "secret weapon"-which Akkarin suspected was instructions on the use of black magic.

He had not anticipated how much more enjoyable it would be to search with two people. It was not just the stolen kisses—though he very much enjoyed those as well—but also the lack of loneliness. Sonea had an endearing habit of whistling softly while she searched the winding passageways, and the soft noise served to remind him that he was no longer alone, not just in his search but in many other ways as well. He had not realized just how much he missed companionship until that point.

Though they had fallen into a routine of taking dinner together every night when Akkarin did not have other commitments, they did not search the tunnels every night. Akkarin insisted that Sonea focus on her studies, and he himself had a number of court duties and Guild procedures that took up a good deal of his time. When she had expressed displeasure at needing to return to her dormitory after dinner to study, a displeasure Akkarin shared, he had suggested that she simply bring her work with her, giving her free use of his library. She had eagerly taken him up on his offer, and nights they were not searching the tunnels often found them both holed up his study, her in an armchair with a small tray in front of her on which to rest her books and him at his desk as they each focused on their respective tasks.

On one such night, Akkarin was frowning at some of the notes he had taken about Elyne in his last meeting with the King's court when he heard a familiar voice in his head. Akkarin?

Lorlen?

I find myself with a rare free night. I'm nearly at your Residence now, hoping I can talk you out of doing paperwork as well. It's been far too long, old friend.

Akkarin glanced over at Sonea who had sat up in the chair, watching him carefully. She had obviously heard Lorlen's call though he was not sure if she had listened to the rest of it. He held up a finger as he answered his friend. I think you might be able to manage to talk me into a short break. I will see you soon. He felt Lorlen's presence fade away and focused his attention on Sonea. "Knowing Lorlen, he is likely nearly at my doorstep, so I do not think it wise for you to attempt to return to your dormitory now. You can stay in here; we generally talk in the sitting room anyway." She nodded as he stood to leave, stopping briefly in front of her to press a quick kiss to her mouth.

"Why don't you tell him?" she questioned as he turned to the door. He turned around, confused. "About us, I mean," she clarified. "You said it was not against Guild rules, and I know he's your friend, so it seems right to tell him."

"We can talk about this later," Akkarin promised, knowing that he needed to be in the guest room soon, for he and Lorlen were close enough friends that Lorlen would not necessarily wait for Akkarin to receive him.

"Right." Her eyes dropped. Sensing her distress, Akkarin cursed inwardly.

"Sonea, this has nothing to do with you, I promise. Can you please give me a chance to explain my reasoning later?" She finally looked up, meeting his eyes. After a moment, she nodded. Akkarin let out a small sigh. "Thank you. I will be back later."

"Take your time. I have plenty of work."

Akkarin arrived in the guest room less than a minute before he sensed Lorlen's presence outside the door. He sent a mental instruction to Takan to bring wine and light refreshments to the sitting room as he willed the door open. Lorlen stood on the other side, hand raised to knock. He shook his head at his friend as he stepped inside. "One day, Akkarin, I am going to get used to your mysterious ways."

Akkarin gave him a small smile. "Ah, but then I will have to change them to ensure they stay mysterious." He gestured to his friend to enter, closing the door behind him with a thought. "Wine? Takan should have some ready in the sitting room."

"You know I would never refuse wine from your collection." They walked together to the sitting room where Akkarin poured them both a glass of Anuren Dark. As they drank, they chatted, keeping the topics light. It was a rare opportunity for them to talk about something other than Guild matters, but Akkarin found himself enjoying it less than he usually did. He knew the reason why as well—his thoughts continued to wander to the woman waiting for him in his study. It did not take long for his sharp friend to catch on to his distraction. "Your mind seems to be elsewhere tonight, Akkarin," Lorlen remarked.

"Just tired," Akkarin told him immediately.

"Aren't we all." Lorlen took another sip of wine, studying his friend carefully. Akkarin kept his face impassive, but Lorlen knew him better than anyone else, and he knew his old friend could not be fooled easily. "If I did not know any better, I would say you're keeping secrets from me."

"Oh?" Akkarin's tone was even.

"You always did like your secrets."

"And you always liked to try and guess what they were."

"I rarely did though."

"You were right more than you probably realize." Lorlen looked at Akkarin, his face incredulous, and he shook his head at his friend.

"On that note, I should probably go. I think it would do us both good to get some sleep tonight. Perhaps I will be better able to guess your secrets tomorrow."

"We shall see." Akkarin stood and walked his friend to the door. He waited until the door closed behind Lorlen before heading back to his study. When he stepped through the doorway, he stopped, and a smile tugged at his lips. It seemed he was not the only one who was not getting enough sleep—Sonea, too, had fallen asleep in the chair, a book still open in her lap. Careful not to disturb her, Akkarin crossed to the chair, closing the book and setting it on the side table. He stared at her for a moment, unwilling to wake her. Finally, he sent out a mental call to Takan to prepare the guest room. If the servant was surprised, Akkarin heard nothing in his mind voice, and it did not take long for Takan to send back that he had made the preparations. After that, Akkarin carefully bent down and lifted Sonea into her arms, noting that she weighed very little. He supposed even a year of good food could not fully make up for a childhood of hunger.

Akkarin carried her to the room Takan had prepared, setting her gently on the newly-made bed. She stirred slightly but did not wake. Carefully, Akkarin pulled the covers over her slim body and leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. He watched her a moment longer before turning and leaving to prepare for bed himself.

When Sonea woke the following morning, she stretched before freezing, suddenly aware that she was not in her room. For one, the tiny window in her room would not admit nearly as much light as she currently saw, particularly not in the early morning since it faced west. Secondly, her bed, though far nicer than any she had slept on in childhood—when she had a bed—was not nearly as soft as the one on which she lay. She panicked for a moment, trying desperately to remember the previous night, and after only a few moments, the details came rushing back. She had been waiting for Akkarin to return from his conversation with Lorlen, and she must have fallen asleep in the study. She was not quite sure how she ended up in a bed, but she strongly suspected Akkarin had something to do with it.

Carefully, she rose, stretching. She had not had so restful a night's sleep in quite some time, for she constantly worried that someone might use that time when she had her guard down to hurt her in some way. She had meant to ask Akkarin if there was a way to shield her room to prevent such a thing, but she had not had a chance. Making a mental note to do so sooner rather than later—a full night's sleep truly did feel marvelous—she straightened her robes as best as possible and left the room, hoping Akkarin was awake so that he could take her back to her room in enough time for her to have a nice bath before her first class.

She found him in the sitting room, a book open on his lap. He looked up when she entered, smiling broadly. "Sleep well?"

"Very. Though my robes certainly look it."

His smile simply widened. Marking his place in the book, he set it aside and stood, crossing to her side to give her a kiss. "There's a guest bath across from the room where you stayed that you're welcome to use. Takan snuck into your room early this morning and retrieved a clean set of robes." That answered Sonea's question. Her face fell, an expression Akkarin obviously noted, for his smile disappeared as well. "What is it? I thought you might be amenable to taking breakfast with me, but if you would rather go to the Foodhall-"

"No, I would love to take breakfast with you!" Sonea assured him quickly. She had actually been planning on skipping breakfast in favor of a bath, for she had assumed the baths would be relatively empty during breakfast, her preferred state for them. "I just. . . if Takan can get into my room, I assume that means others can as well."

"I see." He nodded knowingly. "There are ways of creating magical locks. I can show you sometime though perhaps not right now. I have to be in Court in an hour, and I know you have classes this morning."

"I'll bathe quickly," Sonea promised. "I should be down in a quarter of an hour."

"I will let Takan know."

They chatted amicably over breakfast, having grown much more comfortable with each other during their many nights together. Sonea questioned the purpose of the Court visit and was amused at Akkarin's grimace. "Budgets," Akkarin told her succinctly. "We go through the same song and dance every quarter and the money ultimately ends up allocated in approximately the same way, so I do not understand why we continue to discuss it except that others seem to enjoy sitting through hours-long meetings to accomplish nothing."

"Can the king not just tell everyone how much money he's going to give them?"

"Technically, I guess he could, but a leader is only as strong as the support of those he leads. If the king becomes too heavy-handed with the Houses, they could make life very difficult for him and ultimately undermine his rule."

Sonea shook her head. "I will never understand all of this political stuff."

"I think you might find you will understand more than you imagine in time. You are quite clever, Sonea. Don't sell yourself short."

Sonea blushed, focusing on her food for a minute or so before changing the subject. "You mentioned there are ways to create magical locks?"

"It is something that is typically easier to show than explain." He looked at her expectant face and chuckled slightly. "But since I know you will probably spend all day thinking about this, I suppose I should at least point you in the correct direction. You need something to work it on—most magicians use doorknobs since they are used for similar purposes already though you could technically put it on anything that would impede a person's progress into an area, such as the hinges or even a stone—and then use your magic to stop it from moving. I typically hear people liken it to knotting a rope, weaving the magic in such a way that whoever wants to get in has to 'unknot' it before they can open the door or remove the obstruction. I, however, have found it easier to think of it like weaving a piece of fabric—with a knot, there is only one thread to undo and many shortcut the process so they themselves can undo it easily. With a piece of fabric, however, there are so many threads crisscrossing that it is nearly impossible for anyone but the maker to understand how to undo them but still relatively easy for the maker to insert a quick release of sorts to unravel the whole thing."

Sonea considered his words for a moment before nodding slowly. She could understand how such a thing might work though she was not exactly sure where to start with it. It was certainly something she would need to think about further. Akkarin chuckled again as he watched her. "Just try to focus on at least some of your lessons today," he suggested. "I promise to show you tonight." She nodded though she was not sure she would be able to do as he asked.

As promised, Akkarin did show her how to form a magical lock that night. Though he could break it easily, he assured her that most magicians would not find it quite so trivial and would likely give up long before they opened it. Trusting him, Sonea put the lock on her room as soon as she returned that night, renewing it each morning and evening. Having it in place certainly helped her sleep better and that, combined with the good food she received most evenings with Akkarin and the frequent long walks through the tunnels—which were not at all level—quickly left her stronger and healthier than she had ever been.

As the summer break neared, Sonea began staying later and later at Akkarin's Residence, often only returning when he forced her to leave so she would have enough time to sleep before her morning classes. She had considered suggesting that she could simply stay in his guest room as she had on the night Lorlen had visited, but Sonea had never been the type of person who was overly forward, and she found herself blushing at the mere thought of suggesting such a thing. Despite what many others seemed to think given her origins, Sonea was quite inexperienced when it came to relations between men and women. She knew the basic mechanics, of course—one could not grow up in the Slums without gaining such knowledge, but she had no first-hand experience. For his part, Akkarin seemed in no hurry to progress further than the long, pleasurable kisses they had shared so far. Sonea wondered if there was something wrong with her. In talking with other women in the Slums, most agreed that men were generally after only one thing, and Akkarin had not even suggested it. Perhaps he was embarrassed about his relationship with her. It would certainly explain his reluctance to tell Lorlen—something he still had not spoken about with her.

Sonea was so lost in these thoughts as she walked the silent corridors of the Novice Quarters, returning to her room after another late evening with Akkarin, that she did not notice she was no longer alone until a familiar voice remarked, "Well, the Slum Girl returns to us at last. Tell us, where could you have possibly been until almost midnight?" Regin questioned. Sonea's heart sank as she looked up and noted he stood in front of her flanked by at least half a dozen other novices, blocking her path back to her room.

"Nowhere good, that is for sure," another novice remarked.

"I'm just going to bed," Sonea said, moving toward them. They closed ranks, preventing her from moving too far.

"Not so fast. I want to know where you were."

"It is none of your business."

"It is if your. . . associates do something to endanger the Guild."

Sonea could not stop a small smirk. "I think you would be surprised at just who my associates are." Regin's eyes narrowed, and Sonea sensed that he was about to strike a moment before he did. Quickly, she raised a shield, deflecting his strike as well as the many that followed. However, she knew that her shield would not hold up to sustained attack. And though she was sure Akkarin would come to her rescue—assuming he saw what was happening, for she was still not sure exactly what triggered their shared visions—she knew it would be highly suspicious if he continued to show up at exactly the right moment. Besides, she preferred to fight her own battles. With that thought in mind, she began to consider what she could do in the current situation. Brute force would not work—though the most powerful novice, she did not have enough power to overcome all of her opponents.

Sonea heard Akkarin's voice in her mind suddenly, hearing advice he had given after she had complained about her struggles in the Arena. Sometimes the best option is to do something completely unexpected. Sending Forcestrikes straight at an enemy's shield will rarely win you a battle. Something unexpected. . . Sonea considered what that might be for a few moments before an idea popped into her head. With a quick glance around the hallway to make sure that the lighting was dim enough, she reached into her power source, shutting her eyes tightly as she used a good deal of her remaining power to make the brightest globelight she could.

She extinguished the globelight after only a few seconds, opening her eyes. Her opponents had all tossed hands over their eyes, groaning in the aftermath of the blinding light. Without waiting for them to recover, Sonea slipped by them, quickly making her way to her room and locking herself inside. With a sigh, she set down her books, turning to her wardrobe to prepare for bed.

Sonea had just managed to slip on her nightgown when she heard a loud banging on her door. Wondering if the other novices had returned for revenge for the blinding trick, she called out, "Who is it?"

"Lord Ahrind," the magician's gruff voice answered. "I just heard some serious accusations against you that we need to clear up immediately."

Sighing, Sonea put on a dressing gown and crossed to the door and quickly dismantled her lock. She found Lord Ahrind waiting outside, scowling, with Regin and his followers just behind, looking quite smug. "What exactly am I being accused of?" Sonea questioned.

"Regin says that you attacked him and his friends and blinded them. Three of them are still under a Healer's care recovering, and the rest have only partial vision right now."

"I only sent the globelight at them to stop them from attacking me!"

Lord Ahrind's eyebrows rose. "Are you making a counter accusation?"

Sonea opened her mouth to agree before suddenly remembering all the secrets now contained in her mind. She knew from Rothen that a Truth Read was only supposed to confirm what happened during the crime in question, but he had mentioned that it was possible for other thoughts to leak through, particularly strong ones. Sonea's thoughts about Akkarin certainly fell into that category. "Surely a globelight would not cause permanent blindness," she finally said.

"So you are admitting to creating a globelight to blind your fellow novices?"

"Temporarily."

"Why would you want to temporarily blind them?"

"So I could return to my room."

"What was stopping you?"

"They were!" Lord Ahrind looked between Sonea and the novices behind him for a few seconds before sighing.

"It seems this is going to take longer than I had hoped. Come along; let's go to my office to sort this out. I will call both your Guardians. If I have to stay up late for this, they should, too." He beckoned Sonea forward, and she reluctantly left her room. Lord Ahrind did not give her time to reset the lock on her door, but she supposed the people most likely to break in were currently with her, so it hopefully would not matter too much. She was much more worried about the upcoming conversation. Could Lord Ahrind force her to submit to a Truth Read? She supposed Akkarin would be the only person capable of doing such a thing, and he already knew the secrets she was hiding. Except, of course, for her worries about his feelings for her. She bit her lip. Those were thoughts she would prefer to keep to herself. Perhaps if she just stayed quiet, they would simply Truth Read Regin since he had accused her of blinding him. That should at least show that she had a reason to do so. She might still be punished, but surely they would take into account the situation when determining her punishment.