Chapter 14

How could she let herself forget again? She stuffed the note back into her pocket, not taking her eyes off the boy. Boy, she thought bitterly. His hair was the same, but he wore different clothes than last she'd seen him. Clean ones. And where had he found that ridiculous hat? Kiara stepped between them as if protecting the demon.

"Get back," the warrior warned. "Do you know what he is?" she asked. Cole whispered something and reached for Kiara's arm and Evangeline lifted her blade threateningly. Cole held Kiara protectively to the side, extending a hand to ward the warrior off. Kiara looked up at him and muttered what appeared to be "It's alright." Cole let her go but remained close. Had he thought Evangeline intended to threaten Kiara and not him? Or had he protected her on instinct? This was not a mannerism of a murderer. Evangeline was taken aback but reminded herself that he had once defended Rhys just as fervently and it still hadn't changed the fact that he was hurting people.

Kiara glared. "Yes, I know who he is." The girl answered pointedly.

Evangeline focused on Cole. "You murdered the Lord Seeker. He deserved it, yes, but you still murdered him. They found him in his bed. Was he even awake?"

Cole frowned. "He was going to kill the mages. All of them. Seeing red, so much hate. 'There deaths will serve as an example to all who come next. The Circle of Magi is gone; A new order will take its place. The Seekers of Truth will stand triumphant in the Maker's sight.' So I came and I killed him instead."

Evangeline couldn't find words. The Lord Seeker had sent for an exalted march? She shouldn't have been surprised, but somehow she was. She knew that whatever 'Order' he had intended to establish would have been cruel. Mages really would have been prisoners, or worse. When she didn't speak, the girl did. "He has changed," Kiara demanded. "Regardless of his past, he spends every moment he can helping others with little to no regard for himself. I haven't met many spirits, but as Compassion, he is one of the kindest people I've ever met. Killing a monster to stop him from massacring mages is not the same as what you're implying."

Evangeline was astonished. Compassion? "You mean he's a spirit?" The girl nodded. "But why would a benign spirit take the form of a boy?"

Cole's pale blue eyes went distant, sad. "There was a Cole. The templars locked him away and forgot him. His belly hurt like knives and his throat hurt as if he'd swallowed needles. He was afraid. I pushed through and held his hand until it was over. But when the templars found him, they covered it up so no one would know, not even the Lord Seeker. I . . . I couldn't stop them. So I made myself real, became Cole the way he wished he had been, without magic. I wanted to do what he could not, but the world was too real, too much. I forgot. I . . . became Cole," he repeated.

Sadness tightened her chest. Sadness for the boy who had starved to death and sadness for everything this . . . spirit had gone through to help him. Something was different about him now. The same big eyes that had reminded her of a child before now held more. He'd learned. Grown. Evangeline lowered her weapon. The warrior took a deep breath and then marched around them. "We should go. Do you know the way out?"

"Yes," Cole answered. He sprinted up front to lead the way.

"How's your arm?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Better when I don't think about it," came Kiara's reply. Fair enough. Along the way, Evangeline became confused by the lack of templars.

"Do you know where everyone is?"

"Outside, fighting."

"Fighting who?"

"Each other," the girl said with a laugh.

"What?" What kind of group fell apart so easily? An angry one, she decided. And the red lyrium around them definitely felt angry. As they neared the entrance, the unmistakable sounds of a battle echoed to them on the drift of a cool breeze that was painfully cold against Evangeline's feverish skin. They paused just out of view when they finally saw it. Evangeline could see

"What's our plan?" Kiara asked.

"There are fewer of them now," Cole observed, listening. "Furious, festering, confused. Too big, two big horns. How many are there?"

"What do you mean?" The warrior asked. Kiara began grinning wildly. Evangeline peeked around to the exit. A templar was actually scrambling past to get away from something. A few moments later, an enormous Qunari stormed past wielding a massive two handed hammer.

"The Inquisition is here," Kiara elaborated.

"Alright, stay behind me." Evangeline moved toward the mouth of the cave, sword at the ready. The sheer chaos when they stepped outside even there Evangeline. Despite fighting a group of almost a dozen well trained individuals, the templars were indeed fighting each other as well. There were few left. Kiara giggled behind her. Evangeline pulled herself out of her surprised stupor when one of the templars charged for them. The fool was in a blind rage. He didn't even have a weapon! She cut him down swiftly. His cries drew attention. Several of the Inquisition's people looked over. Joy and relief soothed her when she found Rhys among them. His brown eyes met hers and neither could pull themselves to look away.

At least, until the ground started to tremble in what felt like footsteps. A terrible roaring sound filled the air. Evangeline found the source. An enormous templar monstrosity with red lyrium protruding from it's back. One of its forearms had been changed into a large, bulbous shard. It trampled several templars, heading straight for them.

"That's the one that took me," Kiara informed her.

Evangeline readied herself, wishing desperately that she had found armor in the cave, though she would probably lack the strength to wear it in her condition."Get back in the cave," the warrior commanded sternly.

"Cole, no-" Kiara's defiance was cut short as Cole disappeared with her. Evangeline braced herself, the monstrosity only a few paces away. She wove under its wide swing and jabbed her blade at its abdomen with arms shaking from withdrawal. The blade bounced off the red lyrium piercing through his armor. Cole appeared on its back and he tried to find anywhere his daggers could slip into with no avail. A bolt of frost struck the beast from behind and pushed it into a stagger. She couldn't tell if it had actually done any harm. Briefly, she looked to meet Rhys's eye fifteen feet away and then returned her focus to her enemy.

It reached up and tossed Cole from its back. He sailed through the air until his back collided with the edge of the mouth of the cave above her head. She heard the air leave his lungs. His head struck a rock and he fell toward her. Her breath caught and she dropped her blade to reach up to catch him. His weight sent her to the ground, but he was still breathing when she rolled him off of her and his eyes fluttered open dazedly.

"No!" She heard Kiara shout. She spotted the girl in time to duck as she leapt over them and Evangeline turned to see the behemoth swinging its club toward Kiara, despite the spells Rhys was casting at it. Instead of being clobbered, Kiara became flushed in a brilliant, nearly blinding light that radiated warmth and filled Evangeline with a strong sense of bravery, despite how exhausted she was. Kiara floated above the ground, arms stretched out protectively. The templar was sent backward with a forceful wave of magic and it thudded against the ground. Behind it, the rest of the Inquisition was rushing forward. The rest of the templars were dead. Kiara's light faded and she drifted back to the ground. Cole appeared at her side, which was fortuitous since her knees buckled under her as soon as she landed. He caught her and eased her to a seated position on the ground. The brutish templar was finished off and the battle finally ended.

"Are you alright?" Cole was asking. Nora sprinted to where he sat with Kiara leaning back against his chest. Rhys ran in front of Nora to meet Evangeline in an embrace at Cole's side and they backed away for a little privacy as he cupped her face in his hands.

"Kiara?" Nora knelt in front of her. The girl's eyelids seemed heavy with exhaustion. The Inquisitor wasn't oblivious to the gashes that covered her arm and however she had somehow managed to transform into the Aspect of Courage on this side of the veil, it had left her weak. But she was laughing. Warmth filled Nora but poor Cole looked so confused. Nora smiled. "Solas says you were causing trouble for the templars."

"Thank the Iron Bull for giving me the idea."

Iron Bull roared with laughter behind the Inquisitor. "She learns well."

"How did Solas know?" Cole asked.

"She pulled me into her dream. Something I've been teaching her."

"Do you lot do nothin' but teach the girl? She should 'ave some fun, too, you know." Sera complained.

"Bar fights are fun," Iron Bull argued. Nora would need to have a word with him later.

"I think all of this can wait until we get Cerulean back to Skyhold," Varric interrupted.

"Agreed." Nora looked up at Cullen, standing tall at her side. "Can you oversee the Inquisition's investigation here?"

"Of course, Inquisitor." he said with a nod.

"Can you walk?" Nora asked her sister. While the others had been talking, the girl had fallen asleep against Cole's chest.

"She's tiny. I'll just carry her." Iron Bull crouched down and scooped her from Cole's lap. She continued to slumber, cozy in his meaty grip.

Nora watched Kiara bound in front of the company, seeming to have found renewed energy. Sun warmed the snow capped mountains and brightened the atmosphere. Everyone was talking and most were laughing, save for Solas who only ever seemed to laugh to himself, never out loud. Nora lagged back with Rhys and Evangeline, whose fever finally seemed to be easing a bit. Regardless, Rhys kept a close eye on her condition and always walked close by her side. Both also seemed to glance in Cole's direction often.

"He's a good young man," Nora noted. "I understand you both knew him before."

"Yes. Evangeline explained the changes he's gone through. I can't believe a spirit got so lost trying to help a dying mage." Rhys's tone turned downcast. "Even now, when I see him, I think of the scared young boy we found hiding in a cupboard so his father wouldn't hurt him."

So that had been the real Cole's life? Nora frowned at the snowy rocks she carefully climbed. It was horrifying to think that, in a different situation, that could have been Kiara's life. Always hiding for fear that she could be punished for having the gall to be born with magic. She spotted Solas watching Kiara with a peculiar pouted pucker, deep in thought.

"What is it, Solas?" She asked. His glance flitted to her, the scowl deepening.

"Every time one of you steps into the Fade, you break rules I was unaware could be broken."

"What was that back there?" Rhys asked. Nora and Solas exchanged an uncertain look, but Rhys was an expert in the field of Spirits, just as Solas was. Maybe he could think of something they hadn't.

"Kiara is a Dreamer like Solas. When we fell into the Fade at Adamant, we found Kiara in some sort of Aspect state."

"I believe it to be Courage," Solas added.

"So that's what I felt," Evangeline mused.

"Yes. But up until now, she has never done so on this side of the Veil. She should be unable to," Nora said with a frown.

The Enchanter's brows furrowed. "An Aspect you say? How could a mage, even a Dreamer, turn into an Aspect."

Solas shook his head. "We do not know, but I've been pondering her outburst. She mentioned that the Veil felt thin at the cave and that's what allowed her to reach through to egg the templars into a brawl. It's possible she reached through the other way when she felt her friends were in danger."

Nora looked over at Kiara. She was squinting against the sun and holding a hand up to block it. Cole passed her and Kiara's gaze flicked mischievously to his hat. She plucked it from his head and ran off, clasping it tightly to her head so he couldn't take it back. Blackwall guffawed at Cole's dumbfounded expression. Rather than demand his hat be returned to him, he followed her frantically.

"Wait, you'll fall!" He yelled. Nora laughed. Both seemed so normal, but both were anomalies of the Fade. Perhaps that was why they connected so well.

It felt wonderful to be back at Skyhold. Kiara took a deep breath of the contained mountain air in the hold. The scent of bread wafted from the kitchens, but a much more important task needed her attention than filling her empty stomach. Since the Keep had been further repaired over the months since they'd claimed it, a building had been set aside as an infirmary. While the rest of Nora's inner circle marched exhaustedly through the main gate, Kiara sprinted in front toward the infirmary. A dozen Inquisition soldiers were being treated inside. Mother Giselle stood from a bedside and gasped.

"Oh, they found you! What a relief?"

Kiara looked around frantically but didn't find Dorian anywhere. "Where is he?" She asked. Mother Giselle didn't need her to clarify.

"Upstairs," she answered patiently.

The girl bounded for the wooden staircase. Realizing she had ignored the priestess, she called back down the stairs as she ran, "I'm sorry, it's good to see you, too." On the second floor, all beds except one were empty. Dorian was sitting up reading a book. He smirked into its pages, pretending not to have noticed the ruckus she had made, but when she froze at the top of the stairs his expression softened. He set the book down and held his arms out to her.

"Come on, then," he encouraged. Teary eyed, Kiara sprinted to the bed and threw her arms around him. He made a grunting noise on impact but hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Her voice wobbled but she refused to cry on him. She'd done enough to him already.

"I'm alright, I promise."