As I mentioned in the summary, this is a sequel to the High Lord's Fate, so you will likely be somewhat lost unless you read that (or at least the first 6 chapters and the last 2; the rest are similar to the books, just told from Akkarin's perspective). This one returns to a lot of the political intrigue from the first few chapters of the High Lord's Fate. Unlike the High Lord's Fate, it will be told from different perspectives with the perspective shifting from one chapter to another. Sonea, Akkarin, Regin, and Balkan will be the main narrative characters (I don't see many stories with Balkan as a main character here, so I thought it would be fun to write—plus it plays well with the long-term plot). Dorrien, Dannyl, and King Merin will pop up from time to time.

This starts about five and a half years after the High Lord's Fate.

Sonea watched as her sons ran, laughing, around the yard with their younger sister toddling after them as fast as her chubby legs could carry her. "You be the wolf now!" Orson called back to his brother, and Lorlen obediently dropped to all fours to carry out his brother's instruction. Giggling, Rya followed her brother's example, and the two were soon crawling across the yard, howling in pleasure as Orson attempted to evade them. It was a scene Sonea had never imagined she would be part of. Childhood in the Slums was not the carefree, easy existence that her children enjoyed. Children went hungry more often than not, and at five, her sons would have been the right age to begin "helping out" with begging or–for some less reputable parents–thieving. And once she entered the Magicians' Guild, she had assumed that she would not have a family. She planned to dedicate her life to the Guild, and that would not have given her time for a family. And then Akkarin had entered her life, and so much had changed.

As if he had read her thoughts, two strong arms wrapped around her from behind. "You seem introspective," he remarked.

"Just thinking about how different life could have been."

"Any regrets?"

"Just that we did not do this sooner." Akkarin smiled, an easy half-grin that graced his features more often than not these days. Without the pressure of the Guild and the secrets he had needed to keep, he had started to relax as well, and Sonea had found she enjoyed the gradual change. Though she had fallen in love with the aloof, powerful High Lord, it was easier to stay in love with Akkarin the father and provider who always seemed to have time to romp with his children or take a long, meandering walk through the woods behind their house with her.

Sonea turned, snaking her own arms around his neck, and she had just pressed her lips to his when a small body hit him in the knees, propelling him forward slightly. She stumbled as well, and he steadied them both before turning a stern look to his son. Orson, as usual, was oblivious to his father's disapproval. "Daddy, you be the wolf now!" he exclaimed. Akkarin arched an eyebrow at Sonea who snorted.

"Now this I'd like to see." Akkarin's eyes flashed as he registered the challenge in her tone, and then, much to his children's delight, he threw back his head and let out a long howl before grabbing Orson and hoisting him over his shoulder.

"Looks like I caught dinner!" he exclaimed, bounding across the grass. Two shrieking children followed him, begging to be caught as well. He began tossing all of them in the air as they all laughed in delight. Sonea watched with a fond smile before deciding that it was not fair that they should have all the fun without her. She stepped out to meet them, and her sons soon spotted her, jumping onto her back. Akkarin joined the fight, and it did not take long for the combined weight of her family to bring her to the ground, laughing.

Later that night, Sonea and Akkarin sat in companionable silence in the room they had designated as both a study and a library. Each had a book open in front of him or her as well as a glass—Akkarin's contained wine but Sonea, who had already had as much as she felt she should drink at dinner, had water. Both books, perhaps unsurprisingly given their readers, were books about magic. In fact, the library had a fair few books on magic though most were hidden among more mundane titles. Sonea was still not sure how Akkarin had obtained all of them, and she was not sure she wanted full details. She suspected Takan had smuggled many of them out of the High Lord's Residence, but she supposed whoever the current High Lord was likely would not miss them given the extensive collection there. Sonea found it somewhat amusing that the man who had once sworn to keep all magical knowledge within Guild control had removed so much of it, but if Akkarin appreciated the irony, he did not show it. Though he had certainly grown much more relaxed and carefree in their day-to-day life, when they were talking about the Guild or magic or Sachaka or anything related to those topics, he reverted to his former emotionless, strict mask. Sonea sometimes felt that she was his novice once again rather than his companion though he did include her in more of his decisions.

Sonea, of course, knew why he was so disciplined about their continued study of magic. He did not believe the troubles with Sachaka had ended—in fact, he had once confessed to her that he felt they were just beginning. This belief had played into many of the decisions they had made from leaving the Guild to their choice of location to settle, a cabin in the foothills of the Steelbelt Range less than a days' ride from the Sachakan border, to the creation of an area protected by magic behind the house where they practiced dueling while the children rested many afternoons. No matter what others in the Guild may have thought of them, Akkarin remained loyal to it and Kyralia and Sonea remained loyal to Akkarin. Akkarin even still maintained contacts in the city—Sonea suspected Cery was the main one though he would not confirm that fact—in order to keep an eye out for any more slaves or magicians killing Slum Dwellers. So far, they had heard no reports of such things, but neither Akkarin or Sonea could truly relax, feeling that the peace was was only temporary.

In the last year, Sonea had switched her study to shielding magic as well as searching for any information she could find about Naturals—which was, unfortunately, precious little. All of their children had displayed great magical potential. They had expected as much given their own magical potential, but what they had not quite expected was how Lorlen's and Orson's potential reacted when they were around one another. Soon after they turned three, they started having the occasional magical flare-ups. When Akkarin examined them, he found that their powers had not been released—which made sense given how young they still were. Nevertheless, there was enough magic leaking out of their bodies that it was easily detectable. There had been no damage done yet, but Sonea imagined it was only a matter of time. The flare-ups seemed to increase in intensity when the boys were physically close, but neither Sonea nor Akkarin had the heart to separate them for long. Therefore, they had to find other ways of dealing with the flare-ups. They had tried shielding them at first, but standard shields kept out all objects, and they were continuously manipulating the shields to allow the boys to retrieve objects, a frustrating experience for everyone. Akkarin had found the first breakthrough, an explanation in one of the books about how to create an object that would attract stray magic. They had created a few of these and instructed their sons to always have one in their pockets. They had agreed easily enough, and though Sonea and Akkarin had needed to remind them sometimes, for the most part, they had kept the objects with them, and the objects had absorbed the magic. Both Akkarin and Sonea realized, however, that as the boys' magical flare-ups increased, there was always a potential the objects could not handle the amount of magic released and fail catastrophically. Though neither voiced the specific concern, in the back of their minds, both also wondered what would happen if their powers did release naturally much earlier than expected. The release of Sonea's powers had almost had devastating consequences, and while the boys were not as strong as she was yet, their potential continued to grow. Sonea even suggested she and Akkarin release it safely and teach them Control, but he had dismissed that idea, reminding her that even some teenagers could not safely learn Control. Sonea had shivered at that thought, remembering the stories.

As Sonea flipped to another page in her book, she saw a sudden flash of something that was certainly not from the quiet study in which she sat. A feeling of panic suffused her body as a mental voice called, Help! He's much too strong and has already killed many of the villagers. Sonea did not recognize the mental voice. She watched in horror as two booted feet approached the sender before a knife slashed downward. The vision ended suddenly, and Sonea jerked back to her current situation. She glanced over at Akkarin who was already on his feet, the book he was reading pushed aside.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Lord Grongen," he answered shortly just as a second mental voice, one Sonea recognized as Lady Vinara's, answered the question as well.

Lord Grongen! As expected, Lady Vinara received no response. Sonea did not know why the Head of Healers had even tried—even she could tell the man was dead. Sonea was not exactly sure what had happened, but she knew it was serious. Since the Battle of Imardin, most magicians had been more cautious about mental communication, and with their remote location far from the Guild, Sonea and Akkarin rarely overheard any unless they concentrated. However, it was clear that Lord Grongen had sent a message he intended all magicians to hear. Sonea also suspected he was considerably closer to them than the Guild.

Akkarin seemed to share her thoughts. He had pulled a map down from one of the shelves and spread it across his desk, his finger tracing something. Sonea stepped closer to see that he was following the foothills of the Steelbelt Range. "Lord Grongen was a Healer that graduated the year you came to the Guild," Akkarin explained. "I don't remember much about him except that he was one of those Healers who wanted to work outside of Imardin."

"That's a lot of area to cover."

"The communication came from somewhere to the west of us. Given what just happened, I would imagine he's near the Steelbelt Range."

Sonea's eyes went wide as she realized what he was implying. Truthfully, at the back of her mind, she had thought the same thing, but she was having a hard time accepting it. "You think whoever killed him is an Ichani."

"That is the most likely explanation." Akkarin's finger paused on a dot, and Sonea leaned forward to read the name. Gallia.

"No, that's Dorrien's village," she told Akkarin. "I doubt they'd have two Healers." If her mention of Dorrien affected him at all, he did not show it, instead continuing to move his finger along the mountain range. "Do you think they're attacking again?" Sonea ventured to ask.

Akkarin frowned slightly before shaking his head. "If they had a significant number of people, they would be more likely to enter through the passes. A single Ichani and his slaves could make their way over the mountains though given enough time."

"Lord Grongen also said 'he'," Sonea remembered. Akkarin nodded, his finger pausing on another dot on the map.

"I suspect he's around here somewhere," he explained, circling an area with his finger. "It's less than a day's ride from here if you ride hard."

"But considerably further from the Guild."

"Yes." He turned to her then, letting her see the worry in his face. "I must-"

"I know," she interrupted. He nodded before crossing to a bookcase on the opposite side of the room. With a small exertion of his will, part of the bookcase swung into the room, revealing a small alcove on the other side. Reaching in, he pulled out a number of items. Sonea left the room, soon returning with his saddlebags. He gave her a quick smile before beginning to pack the bags. Sonea's eyebrows rose when she saw him put in a set of black robes, and he turned to her with a sly smile.

"It never hurts to inspire fear before you even strike." It did not take long for him to finish placing items in the bags. He turned to Sonea then, holding something in his hand that was wrapped in cloth. He pressed the item into her hand, pulling the cloth away before wrapping her fingers with his and closing them around it. Sonea knew immediately that it was his blood gem, a realization that was confirmed when she felt the crash of feelings wash over her. There was love, desire, longing, and something even deeper that she could not name but which left her with a warm feeling similar to that which suffused her body after they made love. In response, she pulled the cloth off of her own blood gem, lowering some of her barriers so he could feel that she reciprocated completely. He gave her the familiar half smile before leaning forward, pressing his lips to hers. She stumbled backwards slightly before he caught her, pulling her to his body. Feeling the hard planes of his chest pressed against her own awoke her desire, and she longed to retire to their bedroom or even just lock the door of the study, but she knew it was not the time. He needed to move as quickly as possible.

When he finally pulled away, he pushed a curl off her forehead with a tenderness that still surprised her despite the years they had been together. He did not say anything, for after the experience with the blood gem, nothing more needed to be said. Sonea had to admit, the gems were much more effective than empty declarations of love. "You should take my power before you go," she told him as he started to pull away.

He shook his head quickly. "No. I don't know what his plans are. If he comes this way. . ." His voice trailed off, but Sonea could see the concern lining his face despite his attempts to hide it.

"If he comes this way, you will almost certainly run into him. Besides, I will regenerate much of it before he arrives, and I have Takan if necessary." When he opened his mouth to object again, Sonea pressed a finger against his lips. "I am not taking no for an answer. You are riding directly into danger while I am staying safe at home. Besides, if anyone comes here, they would have to get through our wardings anyway."

"I still have a good deal of reserves from Takan. We have not been using much in our latest bouts." Sonea simply stared at him expectantly, and he finally sighed and took her hands in his. "If I had known how stubborn you were, I do not know that I would have taken you as my novice, no matter what you knew!" he grumbled.

"Any regrets?" Sonea asked, knowing the answer even before he spoke it.

"None." He leaned forward and kissed her again without stopping the draw of her power. It added a new dimension to the sharing of power, one that Sonea found she quite enjoyed. All too soon, he had taken much of her considerable reserves and pulled away. He wrapped her blood gem in the cloth again before pocketing it. "We should only put them on when we want to speak with one another. I will let you know when I arrive."

Sonea nodded, pocketing his gem as well. They stepped together out of the study to find Takan waiting for them, a bundle of clothing and food in his arms. Akkarin nodded his thanks, packing those items as well. Takan then handed him his knife before sitting in a nearby chair. Quickly, Akkarin drew power from his servant as well. Once he had Healed Takan's arm, he cleaned the knife and put it in his belt before moving to the door. Grabbing his cloak from the hook beside the door, he shrugged into it and then turned back to Sonea. "Give the kids my love," he told her. She nodded.

"Take care," she said though the words seemed inadequate. With one final half smile that he reserved only for her, he stepped out into the night. A few minutes later, she heard the sound of his horse's hooves on the dirt road that led to their cottage. She turned to Takan who was watching her carefully. "It is long past time to retire for the night," she finally said.

"Of course, my lady." The servant backed out of the room leaving Sonea to go to her bedroom where she knew she would not sleep that night.