Akkarin was bone-tired as he followed the group of Warriors into Imardin. He did not remember the last time he was so tired—even during their exile in Sachaka, he had managed to sleep for a few hours after Sonea insisted on keeping watch. But after Arlo had escaped from his magical bonds when Akkarin tried to sleep for a few hours on the journey, he had not trusted anyone else to keep an eye on the prisoner, even after Balkan reluctantly agreed to let him take Arlo's power each night. Akkarin's only consolation was that he had been able to avert the worst outcome—the man Arlo had attacked had recovered.

Akkarin had spoken with Sonea each night to assure her of his safety, but due to his fatigue and need to keep watch, he had kept the conversations short. Even if they had been longer, they could not fully make up for the lack of her presence. After years spending most of his time with only his family for company, Akkarin had difficulty adjusting to his long absence from them.

They had talked briefly about what they would do next, but Akkarin hesitated to commit to a specific action without knowing what the Guild's response would be to his news. Though Sonea agreed with him, he could hear in her mental voice that she was not happy with his decision. He was fairly certain that if she was not worried about the children, she would have already started making her way to Imardin. Even with the children, he suspected she would not stay away forever, particularly since Akkarin expected the Guild would not let him leave so easily this time.

The other Higher Magicians were waiting for them as they walked through the gates of the Guild. Balkan had let them know about Akkarin's presence, so none were surprised, but Osen watched Akkarin dismount with undisguised contempt. Vinara and Peakin, however, looked almost happy as they glanced over at him, and Vinara even nodded once in greeting. Akkarin returned the greeting automatically. Balkan and Garrel, who had also come to meet the Sachakan, stepped over to the others, and they conferred quietly for a minute. Akkarin knew he could hear what they were saying if he stretched out his senses, but he was too tired to care. He had a good idea of what it was anyway.

Finally, Osen nodded curtly and approached Akkarin as the other four moved to the prisoner to block his powers. Akkarin watched carefully while they did so. He had drained Arlo of power just before entering Imardin, but the man was quite strong naturally and had already regenerated quite a bit of power. "I'm to take you to your temporary quarters," Osen said, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Once they are finished," Akkarin said. Osen frowned but did not contradict Akkarin. At long last, the four Higher Magicians looked up, Balkan nodding in their direction.

"Come," Osen commanded, and Akkarin followed him to the Magicians' Quarters. Akkarin wondered how the other magicians would feel about a black magician living among them, but he realized that the Higher Magicians likely had not told any of them about his presence. He was sure word would spread soon enough, however; the Guild did love its gossip.

As they began to ascend the steps in the Magicians' Quarters, Akkarin heard other booted feet behind him and glanced back to see four Warriors following them. They were too close to simply be going to their own quarters, and Akkarin realized that they were meant to guard him. If he had been less tired, he may have objected to their presence, but as it was, it was easier to tolerate them for the moment. If he truly wanted to leave, four Warriors would not be able to stop him, and if their presence gave Balkan peace of mind, so be it.

They stopped at a door on the third floor, and Akkarin watched with some internal amusement as his guard lingered at the end of the hallway, obviously under orders not to make their true purpose known but unsure of how to achieve that. "You will stay here for the time being," Osen said, opening the door with an extension of his will. "Once we have dealt with the immediate crises, someone will be by to speak with you."

"I will be here." Akkarin stepped into the room. Osen opened his mouth once more as if he wanted to say something else, but he thought better of it in the end and spun around, striding away quickly. Just before Akkarin closed the door, he saw the Warriors moving closer and caught flashes of fear in their surface thoughts. He smiled grimly. Perhaps that could work to his advantage, but he needed sleep before he could think of how.

Once Akkarin had secured his door magically, he changed into his sleeping trousers and lay down on the bed, one of the few pieces of furniture in the apartment. Putting on his blood gem, he called to Sonea. She answered almost immediately. Did you make it to Imardin? In response, he sent her a mental picture of the room where he lay. Magicians'Quarters. And here I half-expected them to put you in the dungeon. Akkarin could tell she was trying to lighten the mood, and he sent her a quick feeling of appreciation for the effort before sobering.

They are still not quite sure how to deal with me, but I suspect that I am going to be here in some fashion for quite some time.

We have both known that since we learned what was in Arlo's mind.

I am sorry that I am not there with you and the children.

Don't worry about us; we're fine. Something about her mental voice set off alarm bells in Akkarin's head. She had acquiesced to everything far too easily—though she had accepted his dedication to the Guild as part of him and dedicated herself to the same cause because of him, she was far more likely to condemn the Guild than he was. And yet she had said nothing about his return home since he had fought Arlo, not even the subtle hints that the Guild did not deserve his devotion which she had sometimes dropped when he was working long hours researching or working on defensive magic.

You're planning something.

She was quiet, and he knew he had caught her. As a rule, they did not lie to one another. Ever since he had confessed what had happened on his travels to her, the trust they had built had been one of the most important parts of their relationship, and neither was willing to harm it. I sent Takan to Imardin three days ago, she finally sent, her mental voice sounding contrite. He is going to establish contact with Cery and work on finding a house in the Inner Circle that can be well-protected with both Cery's men and magical wards.

A pounding started behind Akkarin's forehead, and he let out a long breath. Don't you think you should have consulted me about this?

You would have tried to talk me out of it.

Because it's a bad idea. I don't know much about the situation here since I only caught snatches of conversations, but I know enough to realize that we are walking into a political strikefield. Everyone is taking sides. Add the Sachakan threat to that, and this is not the place where I want my children or their mother.

Because we would be so much safer in an isolated cabin in the mountains that border the very country that is threatening us?

You know there is no good way over the mountains where we are into Sachaka. That's why I chose that location.

And you know as well as I that a single Ichani or Ashaki and his slaves can cross the mountains anywhere if they're familiar with the terrain.

I just want you and the children safe, Sonea.

And the best way to achieve that is for us to be near you. You cannot deny that.

I still don't like it.

If fighting does break out, we would be that much closer to a border and could send the children somewhere outside of Kyralia to keep them safe.

And what about you?

My place is with you.

Though Akkarin knew she spoke from the heart and could even appreciate the sentiment, he nevertheless felt a stab of foreboding. How far would she take that statement? Sonea, he sent, infusing his mental voice with a note of warning.

We can talk more when I arrive. With some difficulty, Akkarin forced his anger back. He knew that Sonea was only doing what she thought was best, but he could not help but feel annoyance that every part of his life was out of his control at the moment.

Alright. But if it is too risky here, you and the children will leave Imardin immediately.

That is a decision we will make together. She was not as accomplished at controlling her anger as he was, and it completely suffused her mental tone.

Goodnight, Sonea.

Goodnight, Akkarin. She paused for a moment before adding, I love you.

I love you, too. And he did. No matter what else happened, that was something on which he could rely.

Though most of Akkarin's fatigue had disappeared the next morning, his headache remained. He thought about calling Sonea to continue their conversation from the previous night now that his head was a bit more clear, but he eventually decided against it. He had known Sonea long enough to realize that she would need more time to let her anger cool before she would be open to discussing the situation rationally. He would call her that night after she had put the children to bed so they could talk uninterrupted.

His stomach reminded him that he had not yet eaten, and he pushed himself out of bed and dressed quickly. After a moment's consideration, he decided to use the opportunity to figure out exactly what restrictions they had placed him under. He stepped to the door, opening it to find four Warriors looking at him rather nervously. The corners of his lips twitched, but he kept his face neutral as he looked at them expectantly. Finally, one spoke. "The High Lord asks that you stay in this room for now," he said, his tone shaking a bit.

Akkarin's eyebrows rose. "Indeed? Is it also the High Lord's intention to let me starve, Lord. . ."

"Malthen," the man supplied. "And no. I will let him know that you are awake and request food."

"Do that." Malthen nodded at one of the men beside him, and he quickly left, presumably to deliver the message. Akkarin was happy to see the Guild was still taking the ban on mental communication seriously.

"Is there anything else you need?" Malthen ventured after a minute of silence.

"Not at the moment, thank you." With that, Akkarin moved back into the room, settling in a chair to consider his situation and next steps.

A knock at the door fifteen minutes later announced the arrival of his food. Akkarin opened it with a small exertion of his will, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise when he saw Lady Vinara standing on the other side, a tray floating just in front of her. "I did not realize that your duties included delivering food to prisoners now," he remarked.

"You know as well as I that you are not a prisoner, Akkarin." Vinara stepped inside with the tray, and the door shut behind her. She levitated the tray to the small dining table on one side of the room before nodding to it. Akkarin stood, moving toward it.

"I did not realize you usually guarded the doorways of those who are not prisoners."

"Everyone is well aware that four Warriors would not stop you if you wanted to leave."

"So I am a voluntary prisoner."

"I do not particularly care what you call it."

"Why are you really here, Vinara?"

"We need to talk."

"Well, then I suppose you should join me for breakfast." Akkarin gestured to the tray she had brought, and they both sat down and began filling their plates. After a couple minutes, Akkarin felt the vibration of sound shield go up around them. He looked to Vinara whose normal severe expression seemed even grimmer than usual. After a moment's thought, he slipped his free hand into his pocket and clasped his blood ring. Even if he and Sonea had argued the previous night, she still deserved the right to hear what Vinara had to say since Akkarin was sure it would affect both of them.

Sonea, you may want to hear this, but you should put on your ring. I do not want to draw attention to mine right now. He felt her assent and a moment later, her presence entered his mind.

"The King sent me," Vinara explained. At Akkarin's raised eyebrows, she added, "Somewhat indirectly. There is a great deal of dissension among the Allied Lands at present, and as I'm sure you've figured out over the past few days, it's reflected in the Guild as well. Given what you just learned from our prisoner, well, you can see why there is concern."

Akkarin frowned. "There were some concerns about Lonmar before I left, but I thought those were settled with the King's marriage."

"It seems they were not. And now all of the Allied Lands are talking of unhappiness with Kyralia's dominance and the fact that all magicians are trained in the Guild. In the past year alone, there have been three groups of rogue magicians in other lands. The last two were particularly difficult to disband since they seemed to have tacit royal approval. And on top of that, the Guild itself has been weakened considerably and not just because of the number of people we lost fighting the Ichani. We're receiving fewer foreign magicians to train, and those already in the Guild are suspicious of others. And even among Kyralians, there is a good deal of suspicion centered mainly around who might be conspiring with foreigners."

"I don't see what this has to do with me," Akkarin said. "I had thought that Balkan was keeping me here to talk about what to do with the Sachakan man I found and determine my punishment for allegedly breaking the Guild's banishment."

"Balkan doesn't have the diplomatic skills nor the leadership skills necessary to unite the Guild at a time like this. He's using the one method he does understand–force. He cracks down hard at the first sign of dissension which is simply causing more rifts to form. He's also created networks of spies to figure out who to punish next. Nobody trusts anyone else anymore. And we cannot face the threat of which you informed us in that state."

"I still do not understand what you want me to do about this."

"We need a strong leader, someone who understands politics and human nature and who can promote unity rather than dissension. The king agrees that Balkan is not that leader. He told me that you were the only person who would be able to take on such a task and that he would be forever indebted to you if you would do so."

"It's not possible."

"Why not?"

Akkarin's eyebrows skyrocketed. "Have you forgotten I'm a black magician, Lady Vinara? I'm likely to cause just as much disruption as the current political crisis. There are a number of people in the Guild who still believe I should have been executed."

"I would not be so hasty to say so. We had a vote soon after you. . . left about what to do about black magic. Most of the Guild agreed that someone would need to learn it in order to prevent another invasion."

"Who did learn it?" Akkarin asked sharply. He would have expected Balkan to have brought that person with him to face Arlo, but he had seen no signs of such a person, and Balkan's reaction to Akkarin's suggestion of using black magic indicated that he was not accustomed to being around anyone who practiced black magic.

Vinara winced. "No one yet. We've had no suitable volunteers."

"And yet you think I would be accepted?"

"I do, and King Merin agrees. You may be a black magician, but you also clearly saved Imardin from invasion and you're still one of the most politically savvy and strongest High Lords the Guild has ever had. People will overlook a lot given that. I think if we put in some reasonable restrictions, such as frequent testing of your power, you could garner a good deal of support. Actually, the subtle inquiries I've made indicate you already have some."

And me? Sonea's voice echoed in his mind. He ignored it.

"What position am I to have if I were to return?" Akkarin questioned. Vinara hesitated, and the smile he gave her was almost feral. "I'm sure you've thought of something. What you are asking me to do would be rather difficult if I am simply another magician. Plus I have all the skills and knowledge of a Higher Magician."

"Head of Warrior Studies."

"You have the vote?"

Vinara winced slightly. "Lord Peakin, Lord Rothen, Lord Telano, and I are for. Lord Balkan and Lord Garrel are against. Director Jerrick, Lord Osen, and Lord Abel are unknown."

Lord Osen would vote against, Sonea remarked in his mind. Akkarin considered for a moment, but he suspected she was correct. Osen had always been suspicious of him, and the younger magician had never forgiven Akkarin for his treatment of Lorlen. A familiar pain entered his heart at the thought of his late best friend, but he resolutely pushed it away, and his tone was even when he next spoke.

"So technically, the vote could go either way."

"I think we could ensure a satisfactory outcome."

"And what about my status as a black magician?"

"We talked extensively about that when we first started looking for someone to learn black magic. Someone suggested a new discipline, but it would be so small that it hardly seemed worth it. And so we had decided that whoever learned black magic would remain in their old discipline with a black sash to indicate their additional learning. Heads of Disciplines now wear white as does the High Lord."

"What restrictions would I have as a black magician? I could not perform the task you proposed if I had someone constantly watching me."

"We've had such trouble finding volunteers that we have greatly relaxed our original criteria. The main one now is a periodic testing of your power to ensure you are not accumulating more than we expect. Of course, there will also be restrictions on when you can use black magic. But there are not many ways to ensure you meet those restrictions. Ultimately, it comes down to trust." Akkarin's dark eyes bore into hers.

"And do you think the Guild will trust me?"

Vinara considered her words carefully. "I think you stand a better chance than any other magician I know."

And me? Sonea's voice asked again.

That would only matter if you are returning to the Guild, and I still do not agree that is a good decision.

It's my life, too, Akkarin.

And what about our children? What exactly is your plan for them if we're both back at the Guild? I refuse to allow others to use them as pawns against me.

They can stay in the city with Takan, and we can visit discreetly. Cery has a place in mind. No one will know that they're ours.

And if someone does find out?

They won't if we're careful.

It's much too risky, Sonea. I refuse to allow such foolishness!

You refuse? Since when do you control my actions?

Since you are putting my children in jeopardy with them.

Have you ever considered that I could actually help the children by going back to the Guild? You know as well as I do that we need more information to determine how to help the boys until we can safely release their magic, and the Guild is the best place to find that information.

I could do that research.

It does not sound like you would have the time.

"Something wrong, Akkarin?" Vinara's voice broke him from his mental conversation.

"Nothing," he responded curtly, wincing slightly when he realized he was letting his anger at Sonea seep over into his tone. Quickly, he relaxed his face into a neutral expression. "I will have to think more about this, of course."

"I am sure there will be plenty of time in the next few days. I also imagine there will be more questions for you in the next few days about what you learned from our prisoner."

"I assume you blocked his powers successfully?"

"Yes. He will be unable to hurt anyone again." Akkarin nodded, grateful to hear that.

"Have there been any decisions about what to do with the information from his mind?" Vinara pursed her lips, seeming torn, and Akkarin's lips twitched in amusement. "Come now, Vinara, if I am to be a Higher Magician, I will eventually be privy to these discussions. In addition, I am still the only person around who has an idea of the political situation in Sachaka."

"We still need to discuss it and involve the King. However, I am guessing that he will be calling you to talk at some point, so you could always ask him your questions."

"You know as well as I do that Merin will only give me the answers that will persuade me to his way of thinking."

Vinara gave him a look that he could not quite interpret. "No, I don't," she finally said. "And that is part of the problem. I hope to hear more from you soon." With that, she stood and left the room, giving Akkarin much to think about.