As soon as the wraith turned its attention on Vera, she knew something was wrong. She couldn't quite place the unease she felt. Sealing the rift should have been a simple task—this was something she'd done a hundred times—but this time, something was not the same. Was the magic of the rift different somehow? Did closing the Breach change it, weaken it? Was there some other magical phenomenon happening nearby, making itself known to her in the same way that Solas could sense the elven artifacts? She did not know, but something was off, something she could feel in her skin—
The realization struck her as suddenly and painfully as the Wraith's distant magical attack. For the first time in more than a year, Vera faced battle without Solas's magical barrier protecting her.
The barrier—his unspoken "I'm right behind you," his care and concern, his need to protect her, magically embodied in a single spell—was gone, and its absence left her feeling more defenseless than she'd ever been.
Vera cast her own barrier, protecting herself and her friends, painfully aware that it was not Solas's magic coursing through her. She threw everything she had at the demons, then, and when they'd all been burnt to a crisp, she sealed the last remaining rift in Thedas with an anguished cry.
She gasped for breath and doubled over.
"Vera," Cassandra cried, moving towards her. Cole was right behind her in an instant, whispering soothing words that she did not register. She shut her eyes tightly. The rifts, the Breach, the purpose of the Inquisition, her lover—all of it was gone, and the absence of it all, the simultaneous relief, despair, and heartbreak, hit her with the force of an explosion.
Vera did not know how long she stood there, thoughts warring inside her head until she could not distinguish them anymore. Distantly, she heard Cole's soft, comforting voice; on the verge of being overwhelmed by her own torrent of emotions, Vera finally allowed compassion to soothe her. Slowly, the crushing weight she'd felt lessened; slowly, she came back to her senses and stood up straight, wiping away tears that she did not remember shedding. The concern in her friends' expressions nearly caused her crying to begin again.
"Thank you, Cole," she said earnestly, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder. She pulled Cassandra into an embrace, adding, "And you too, of course, Cassandra."
As Cassandra struggled for words, Vera spoke first. "We'll all have a talk when we get back to Skyhold," she promised. "We'll need it."
Vera pulled out of the embrace and led the way back to camp. Her companions stared after her, dumbfounded, but followed.