Spoiler warning: Inquisition - In Your Hearts Shall Burn mission. Also, disclaimer, I don't own a bunch of the dialogue from that mission that I have used here.

He was angry but he wasn't about to let her get herself killed.

Cullen watched from the shadows as Solana greeted the guards and gave them each one of the bread rolls from the basket she carried over her arm. The rest were for the malificar, he knew.

The War Council had been unable to agree on a course of action for the blood mage. The only thing they had been able to agree on, eventually, was that it could be the Herald's decision. She was to remain in the cells at the Chantry until he returned.

For the past few days, he'd seen Solana perform the same routine. After she finished with the mages at the lake, she'd come here and have the guards let her into the woman's cell. There she'd sit with her, sharing the food. Then they'd perform magic. The guards would eye them warily but Solana would lightly tease them if they looked too nervous. She was the Hero, she'd remind them. They were in no danger.

She did exercises with the malificar like she'd done with the other mages. She'd devised a series of games – making the bread float or similar nonsense - and used those to test her ability. At first the woman had been a trembling mess, but now she seemed far more relaxed. She even smiled a few times and when Solana returned her smile, Cullen's heart twisted with longing.

Footsteps rang on the stairs behind him and he tensed, shifting further into the darkened guard alcove and hoping the new arrival didn't draw attention to his presence.

"Commander?"

He cringed. Cassandra. Someone must have told her he was down here. She stood at the foot of the stairs. She didn't see him immediately and he briefly considered pretending he wasn't there. Especially when he heard Solana informing her that he wasn't.

Childish. That would be childish.

He sighed and stepped forward into the light. He intentionally didn't look at the mages, he could only imagine their horror that he'd been spying.

"Ah!" Cassandra seemed completely oblivious to his discomfort. "There you are. Ma- the Herald approaches Haven. He sent word that he's prepared to seal the Breach immediately, tonight if we can be ready."

"Can we be ready?" He asked Solana, still without looking at her.

"Yes. I believe the mages are prepared."

"I'll tell the men." He turned to move past Cassandra, back up the stairs, but she stepped into his path.

"We're meeting in the war room."

"Of course we are."

Her eyes narrowed. "Is something the matter, Commander?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, he could feel a headache coming on. "No, nothing's the matter."

The way Cassandra's gaze lingered said that she didn't believe him. Perhaps she sensed how close he was to giving in to his cravings? There was going to be an army of untested mages in the ruins of the temple tonight. He owed it to everyone to be in the best possible shape, to prepare for the worst. Didn't that mean using lyrium?

"I should join you," Solana said. Something jolted in his chest.

"Of course, we welcome your input," Cassandra replied.

Well, this wouldn't be awkward at all. He heard the cell clang shut, the quiet goodbyes to the maleficar and the guards and then she was beside him. He still didn't look at her, even as the three of them moved upstairs. But he could feel her presence, it made his skin tingle like rampant magic. It made his heart thud and brought a bitter taste to his throat. He shouldn't be this affected.

Josephine was waiting for them at the door to the war room. She and Cassandra exchanged a few words before going inside. Cullen made to follow, but Solana caught his arm.

He was forced, finally, to look at her. Her brow was furrowed in concern, her beautiful eyes were focused on his face.

He flushed cold and then hot. His stomach clenched as if he was about to go into battle. He hadn't wanted confrontation. He'd been avoiding it for a week. But now she'd caught him watching, it was inevitable.

"Cullen…"

Oh Maker, did she have to say his name? Say it like that?

"Now isn't the time," he said stiffly.

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long have you been watching? Just today or…?

"Not just today, no."

"You don't trust her."

"Of course I don't –" He dropped his voice, aware that they were hardly alone. The hall was always full of people going about some or other business. "Of course, I don't trust her. Do you have any idea –"He closed his eyes. "You saw what they did to me. Why in all of Thedas would you think I would trust her?"

"She wasn't involved with what happened to you."

"How can you know that?"

"I asked her."

A bark of laughter escaped his lips. "Yes, of course, blood mages are known for their honesty."

"Do you really think I would have kept quiet about her if I thought she'd hurt you?"

She spoke softly but her words seemed to echo. Cullen found himself staring at her. Not ' hurt us', 'hurt you'. Him specifically. He was at once intensely aware of her hand, still on his arm.

Her gaze dropped. "Look, you don't have to like me, but I'd appreciate if we could at least work together. I understand you freezing me out. I know what this must look like to you, but you're not the only one who wants to keep everyone here safe."

"Sometimes it does feel like it."

Her eyes met his again. "What would you have done if I'd told you about her? Locked her up? Chased her away? Made her tranquil? Killed her?"

"No." He said quickly.

"No to which part?"

"The…" he swallowed. "The last part. That's not… that's not how I am, Solana. You should know that."

She blinked and her gaze softened. "I do know that," she said quietly. "But I also know how you feel about duty. And I know what you… Cullen, it haunts me, what they did in that Tower, how I found you… I can't imagine what it must be like."

He pulled away from her. She pitied him. He didn't want that. "You think my experiences made me unreasonable."

"Didn't they?"

He was drawing breath to respond, to say he wished he hadn't opened up to her, he hadn't confided to her about Kirkwall and how far he'd let things get before he'd taken action, but the main doors of the hall swung open and the Herald walked in, clad in his shining armour. His helmet was tucked under his arm, his hair was dishevelled, but he still looked like something out of legend. He grinned at them and clattered forward.

"Solana! I hear I have you to thank for readying the mages for the task ahead."

"You can thank me if you don't die."

Cullen stiffened at her words, but the Herald laughed and patted her shoulder. Then he took Cullen's hand and shook it. "Oh, I'm certain Cullen here will ensure I survive. Are we meeting now?" He moved into the room without preamble, and Cullen could hear him warmly greeting the others.

"We should…" he said to Solana.

She nodded. "After you, Commander."

Sounds of laughter and singing permeated the air and Cullen had to admit that it was pleasant.

He also had to admit that Solana's mages had been impressive. Not a single one had faltered. The change in the days since he'd last seen them was staggering.

She'd trained an army in less than a fortnight.

And she said she didn't deserve the moniker Hero of Ferelden.

He thought he should thank her, try clear the air after their argument earlier. But by the time he'd gathered up enough courage to try to find her, she'd disappeared. He expected she'd be with Leliana, but the spymaster was talking to Josephine down by the gates. Solana wasn't with the Herald, or Cassandra or with the mages. Had she gone back to her cottage? Another thought occurred to him and it filled him with dread. What if she'd left, feeling her duty done?

No, no she wouldn't have done that. She came here for help with the Wardens. She wouldn't simply leave.

Unless he'd driven her away?

He ran through the things he'd said to her. None of them seemed harsh enough in his memory to have that affect. But perhaps he'd come across as harsher than he'd intended?

"You're looking for The Hero?" Varric asked. Cullen jolted. The dwarf was holding a flagon in one hand and his cheeks were rosy. "I heard you asking the Seeker. I saw her go into the Chantry. You might have luck there."

The Chantry. Of course. "Thank you."

"Commander!"

He spun to find one of his men, bent double, heaving in air. "There's… there's a force approaching."

"I wasn't any help after all."

"Don't say that." Solana passed Celeste the bundle of food she'd taken from the festivities.

"It's true, though. I was supposed to help mend the sky."

"It's hardly your fault that they wouldn't let you go."

"Well, technically it is. I did turn myself in."

Solana sighed. "The Breach was only one of the things the Inquisition needs to fix. You'll get your chance."

"If they don't make me tranquil… I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you for the food and for everything else. It seems you keep saving me." She offered Solana a smile that didn't quite reach the eyes. "I'm sure you want to get back upstairs."

They could hear vague whispers of song from where they sat. Solana shook her head. "I've never been one for crowds. Even before… well before the Blight." She meant before her self-imposed isolation. "It's difficult to know what to do with yourself. I'm never sure where to stand."

Celeste chuckled, taking a piece of roast ram from the food pack. "I usually choose somewhere at the edge. That way you can see everything but no one watches you." She glanced up. "They did it to us intentionally, you realise? They made us socially inept. They never wanted us to be able to function outside of the Tower. You were there from a young age too?"

"Yes." She'd been a few years ahead of Celeste. They'd lived on different floors, their paths had never crossed. She helped herself to a small slice of baked apple.

"Do you ever miss it?" Celeste asked.

An interesting question from someone who had fought so hard to leave. "I miss… I miss life being that easy. But I doubt I could go back."

Celeste seemed about to say something, but there was shouting from upstairs, an urgent distressed sound quite different from the merrymaking they'd heard before.

The guards, who'd been playing cards at a small table across from the cell, come to their feet, the one reaching for a weapon.

"I'll go find out what's happening," Solana said.

The main hall was a mess of frantic chaos. People were running around, shouting instructions, panicking. Solana managed to snag an Inquisition recruit by the sleeve.

"What's going on?"

He was red-faced with eyes wide. "There's an army," he spluttered. "Army attacking us."

"What army?"

But he tore away.

She pushed through the disarray to the large doors, which were hanging open. There she could hear the sounds of battle, and the mountain before her was flecked with the light of advancing soldiers. Whatever army was attacking, it was huge. The last time she'd seen anything like it had been at Ostagar and the memory chilled her to her core.

Haven couldn't survive that. There was no possibility.

She stood rooted in horror, until someone pushed her aside.

One of the trebuchets fired. Not at the army, but at the mountain. She watched in awe as an avalanche of snow buried the first advance.

Brilliant thinking.

Time. That's all they needed. Time to get everyone out.

That spurred her to action. She dashed forward, pulse racing. She needed to find Cassandra or Max or Josephine – or Cullen. See how she could help.

An all-too-familiar screech rent the night. Before she could accept what it was, a swath of flame cut in front of her. She leapt back, landing in the snow, staring up at the sky, at the thing. She knew it instantly.

An archdemon.

This was a Blight.

This was a blight and the Wardens were too distracted to do anything about it. She reached for her staff and traced the movement of the beast in the sky, how it circled back towards the army.

There was a reason she'd survived. There was a reason that she had lived while Alistair had perished. This was the reason.

She scrambled to her feet and made for the front gates, passing soldiers and mages fighting side-by-side, facing off against unfamiliar abominations. She was so blinded by her desperation to get to the creature that she didn't see Cullen until he grabbed her bodily.

"Where in the world do you think you're going?"

How was that even a question?

"I'm a Warden." He was pinning her arms to her sides. "I need to-"

"What you need to do is get to the Chantry with everyone else."

The archdemon screeched again and swooped around. Cullen flung her against the palisade as flame tore through the spot where they'd been standing. She cast a barrier, and the fire licked the edges, narrowly missing Cullen's back.

A few days before, she would have given anything to be pressed this close to him, but now all she wanted was to fulfil her destiny.

"I need to fight it."

He was breathing heavily, peering down at her. "No." He grabbed her arm and yanked her beside him as he marched to the Chantry. Everything was burning, smoke choked her lungs and made her eyes water. There was no use struggling against Cullen, his grip was iron.

He pushed her inside. "Frederick, watch her! She is not to leave."

The young Templar who'd been overseeing her mage lessons gave her an apologetic smile with a shrug, which she answered with a scowl. Cullen strode deeper into the room to where Leliana and Josephine were locked in urgent debate.

The doors flew open to another rush of people seeking shelter. The Grand Chancellor urged them in. Solana noticed he was clutching his side. As Max, Cassandra and Varric entered, the old man collapsed.

She started towards him, but suddenly there was someone with him. A strangely pale boy in an over-sized hat.

"He tried to stop a Templar. The Blade went deep. He's going to die," the boy informed Max.

She blinked. Perhaps he had been there before and she somehow hadn't noticed him?

Cullen jogged up to Max. "Herald, our position is not good. That dragon stole back any time you might have earned us."

"Archdemon," Solana corrected. All four of them looked at her. "That looked like an archdemon to me."

"I don't care what it looked like," Cullen retorted. "It's cut a path for that army. They'll kill everyone in Haven."

She could see the fear in his eyes. His body was stiff but she knew him well enough to recognise that he was terrified. His forehead was damp with sweat, his fists kept clenching and unclenching.

The boy gazed at him, face half hidden in shadow. "The Elder One doesn't care about the village. He only wants the Herald."

"Elder one?" Solana prompted. Did he mean the archdemon? They were wakened elder gods.

But Max spoke over her. "If it will save these people, he can have me."

"It won't," the boy assured him. "He wants to kill you. No one else matters. But he'll crush them, kill them anyway. I don't like him."

"You don't like..." Cullen sighed as if deciding it wasn't worth pursuing. "Herald. There are no tactics to make this survivable."

Wait what? That wasn't like him, to give up so easily.

He was still speaking. "The only thing that slowed them was the avalanche. We could turn the remaining trebuchets, cause one last slide."

And kill everyone...

Max spoke before she could. "We're overrun. To hit the enemy, we'd bury Haven."

Cullen met his gaze. "We're dying." He said it with such finality, he sounded so calm. "But we can decide how. Many don't get that choice."

"Then I'm dying killing the archdemon." She took her staff in hand again for emphasis.

Cullen's eyes darted to her. "No," he snapped.

"You just acknowledged we're going to die here. Let me help."

He turned his full attention on her. "You honestly believe you can fight an archdemon, alone?"

He wasn't the only one staring. Half the people in the room were now looking at her.

"No," she admitted. "But I can kill it alone. With the archdemon gone you might stand a chance. If the Inquisition can but help me get close-"

"And what of the Red Templars? This Elder one?"

Her expression must have betrayed her because he threw his hands in the air and advanced on her. "You don't even know who we're fighting."

"It doesn't matter. I've fought worse."

"Awfully certain of yourself aren't you?"

"Stop!" the pale boy was suddenly between them. "There is a way. Listen." He pointed to Chancellor Roderick..

The old man struggled to his feet, wavering unsteadily. "There is a path, you wouldn't know it, unless you've made the summer pilgrimage as I have. The people can escape. She must have shown me. Andraste must have shown me so I could tell you."

Yes! This whole mountain had been covered in hidden tunnels when she'd last been here.

"What about it Cullen, will it work?" Max asked.

She saw a flicker of hope cross his features. He nodded. "Possibly. If he shows us the path." And then his expression was perfectly controlled again. "But what of your escape?"

Max was silent. Cullen's brow furrowed. There would be no escape for the Herald.

"Let me go with him," Solana insisted again.

Cullen closed his eyes as if praying for patience. "I can't let you do that."

"I know I'm a valuable resource, I know you don't want to lose that. But what makes me more precious than Max?"

"Hold on a minute," Max cut in. "The Elder One wants me, not you. The Inquisition needs a hero."

"No, the Inquisition needs to survive."

"We're wasting valuable time," Cullen said. "Solana, if you're so anxious to help, you can help with the evacuation. Inquisition, follow Chancellor Roderick through the Chantry. Move."

Solana growled in frustration. Enough of this. The Inquisition soldiers were running across the hall, stuffing crates, chests and barrels with any resources they could find. Solana turned to join them as if she was following Cullen's orders, but when no one was looking she slipped down to the jail. One of the guards was still keeping watch over Celeste.

"Commander says to free her, we're evacuating."

He didn't even question her. Celeste stood as her cage clanged open. "Evacuating? What's going on?"

"I don't know. It looks like another Blight."

"Another-"

"There's an archdemon."

Her hand flew to her mouth.

"You wanted to help, to make a difference. Now's your chance. I'm going to fight that thing. I'm going to need your help."