"Thank you for this, Inquisitor," Solas says as he steps in line with Keela. She keeps her eyes on the foliage of the Hinterlands and mind somewhere far away.
"We might as well be of some use while we wait for the army to return from the Arbor Wilds," she replies. "And if this rift is as large as you believe it to be, we shouldn't let it remain untouched any longer."
"Of course. However, I am grateful that you agreed to allow me to accompany you in this endeavor. It," he pauses, struggling for the correct words. "was well of you, in light of recent complications."
Keela lets out a huff of laughter no one would assume to be true mirth. "This is your quest, Solas. I am not so petty a thing to keep you from it due to recent complications."
He opens his mouth to apologize, but Keela waves it away, uninterested. She could fill an ocean with his sincere words and still be left parched. The ruin where the rift hides comes into view between the trees.
She stops and turns to him, perhaps not feeling as generous as he thinks her to be. "Besides, after the last time we traveled together, what could you possibly do to me that could be worse?"
His brows come together at that and she can recognize the flash of pain in his eyes. It's the same one sending splinters into her heart. Keela sighs. "Come on."
The rift is indeed large, but Keela's anger is a more formidable foe. She lashes out with fire and lightning, fills the air with ozone and the acrid smell of burning bodies. Hers is a storm with no escape. When all enemies have been vanquished, the tear in the Fade stitches shut with a snap.
"Maker's balls," Blackwall mutters into the still as he pats out a flicker of flame on his arm.
"I'm sorry, I was…I'm sorry," Keela apologizes. It is not her that Blackwall pins with an accusing stare, but the other elf across the room.
"No harm done, Inquisitor."
Unfortunately, not all her problems can be solved with fireballs and thunder. She lifts a hand to the absent lines of her vallaslin. The marks are gone, but the memories sink into her skin, her bones. If only he could take them away so easily. Without meaning to, she lifts her eyes and finds his across the room and the space between them seems to sizzle as if she is still casting electricity from the air.
They spend a few more minutes investigating the ruin, finding little of worth or interest, before making their way out into the open. Despite completing their mission, Keela doesn't feel as if they have accomplished much, although it is clear Solas disagrees.
"Now that the rift is sealed and the artifacts working together, no new tears should form as the Veil continues to grow stronger," he says as they climb the stairs. "I doubt it will help us in the fight against Corypheus, but it should put Thedas more at ease."
"They're not happy you've shut the door tighter," Cole murmurs.
"Spirits are not meant to be in this world."
"Yes, not this one. The price you had to pay, you promised us, but then he-"
"Another time, Cole," Solas interrupts, and Keela knows that cool tone. She reaches out for Solas' arm and stops them before they step out into the light.
"What are you hiding now?"
"Inquisitor-"
"Keela. Have you forgotten how to say it? How can you-" Her fingers tighten into his clothing as she swallows down her words. She sees Blackwall shift with discomfort from the corner of her eye and the motion smothers the hurt and leaves a hollowness behind. She lets go of Solas and takes a step back. "Nevermind, keep your secrets."
She emerges into the sunlight and beyond the reach of the hidden temple. The day is warm, bright and clear, but she notices nothing but the turmoil warring within. This was a mistake.
"Keela." Her feet skid to a stop and she hesitates to turn around and dispel this sudden dream. She finds his posture defeated, his eyes filling with regret and honest longing. He opens his mouth to speak, but it is not his silken voice she hears. An arrow whistles by her ear and lodges itself deep in his throat.
"Solas!" Instinct makes her fling a barrier around their party and she hears more arrows thunk against the magic. She moves forward, but Blackwall is there to support the apostate as he begins to sink to the ground.
"I have him," he says. "Go."
Keela turns to face their sudden enemy. Cole already dashes between their ranks, her angel of death on swift, silent wings. When she spots a woman with a bow, white rage spirals from deep within.
"Cole!" she shouts and he catches her intent in the swirling inferno of her eyes. He disappears from the meager ranks in a flash and Keela takes a breath. The world slows, blurs, as she lifts her arms into the air and brings the sky crashing down.
Fire and rock rain down in a storm with no horizon. The ground vibrates from the strength of the attack, the air fills with explosions and screams, but Keela has no care for it now. She trusts Cole to finish whoever might emerge from her wrath and rushes to the ground next to Solas.
The arrow is gone and replaced by Blackwall's firm grip. Red seeps through the cracks in his fingers, rolls from Solas' mouth, and Keela shakes her head when she feels blood seeping into the fabric of her pants. There is too much.
"Potions?"
"I gave him all I had," Blackwall reveals.
"Move!" Whatever healing magic she knows, she forces into her hands and wraps them around the slick skin. "Solas help me, you have to help me."
He shudders, gasps for air. His skin has grown pale and she can no longer feel the heavy beat of his heart beneath her touch. Keela grasps onto the sides of his face and gives a shake. "Solas!"
His gaze is hazy, unfocused, the black of his eyes blooming. Keela feels him struggle for another breath. "No no no. Don't do this. Solas, no! Please stay with me. Please!"
Eyes shut as he breathes out and Keela holds her own, waiting. When the valley fills with silence she shatters it with screams, burying her face into his still chest, shaking fingers clawing at his tunic. She grips tight, but there is no keeping him now.
He is gone.