This one is NSFW!

Seventy-Seven

The New World to Come

It was an hour after sunset when Tal returned at last. Rosa was eating with her mother, a meal of blueberries, spindleweed, and melon with poached fish. Halesta had done little but feed and walk with her in the hours since Tal left. Other elves in the sanctuary went silent or bowed when they recognized her, although Mythal's sentinels were unmoved.

According to Halesta, they all knew she was the one who had stayed the Dread Wolf's hand, stopping him short of unleashing terrible chaos. They didn't seem to consider Solas' contribution—killing two Evanuris—in as positive a light. Whether that was due to lingering religious beliefs or because Solas himself didn't want to spread the knowledge of how the Veil weakened, Rosa didn't know.

They were in the tall tower across the lake, overlooking the sanctuary and the grassy hills all around, when Tal found them. He landed in a heap at Rosa's side, pulling her close in a sideways hug. Rosa couldn't help but recoil. He smelled heavily of wine.

"I still can't believe it," he blubbered, crying. "You're really awake!"

"Are you drunk again?" Halesta barked. "This is a happy time, not a miserable one."

"I'm only tipsy," Tal protested, glowering at her. "And this is happy drinking."

"You were supposed to be getting Solas," Rosa muttered, though she couldn't help smirking. His joy was contagious.

Now Tal pulled away from her, plopping down onto the stone of the walkway beside her. "I did," he said, harrumphing. Then he made a shooing motioned at Halesta. "Get. He will be here any second."

Halesta wrinkled her nose. "And why would you stay with her?"

"I won't stay, really. But I am totally willing to be the insufferable third wheel if she prefers," Tal said, chuckling. He popped a handful of blueberries into his mouth. "Plus, I actually like the bastard, so I'm a tolerable third wheel for Solas, too."

Rosa tried to settle the flutter in her stomach. After two years...how would Solas react? How would she react? She didn't even know. Tal said Solas checked on her often, but never lingered. What did he do outside this place? Did he harbor some terrible, black rage that she had stopped him? Would he resent her?

She remembered a flash of green, a shout of terror. NO!

Halesta huffed and cast Rosa a last, complex look. Then she rose to her feet and walked away, heading for the eluvian on the other side of the walkway that would return her to the lake sanctuary.

Tal eyed her as he bit into a crunchy section of spindleweed. After swallowing he asked, "So, do you remember it?"

"Remember what?" she asked, her stomach clenching with anticipatory anxiety.

Tal's brown eyes locked with hers, solemn. "Dying."

She bit her lip, considering. Slowly, she shook her head. "Not…really." But then she stared fixedly at the fish bones on her plate as memories did stir, like shadows cast on a wall. "I…recall the Void Mirror. And…babae."

Tal coughed, choking on his latest handful of berries. "What?"

The chill of that place still lingered in her bones. Rosa quickly reached for her wine. She downed the rest of it and then held the cup, realizing it was more earthenware. It was probably crafted here. The paint on this one was of pinks and blues—a sunset or sunrise. She decided not to say more.

After the silence lengthened, Tal reached over and laid a hand on her wrist. "Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to send you back to a dark place."

"I…" She grimaced. "I don't remember it well." Relaxing, she smiled at him. "I'm just glad I found my way back—even if I did lose two years."

Tal released her wrist and patted her knee in a gesture that surprised her with its fatherliness. "I just…wanted to be sure you remembered how you wound up in uthenera." He gazed at her sidelong, waiting for a sign she understood his meaning. "Solas is going to bring it up, I'm sure."

She clenched her jaw and nodded gravely. "I made him choose. And when he wouldn't…" Her hands opened and closed in her lap, reflexively. "I…called his bluff."

"You died," Tal told her, his voice cracking. "You died and Loyalty brought you back."

Sorrow cut at Rosa as she remembered the spirit that had saved her from red lyrium Blight. She turned her senses inward, searching for it. When she probed, deep inside herself, she thought she felt it—but Loyalty was now as much a part of herself as Mythal and Flemeth were interconnected. It was indistinguishable from herself.

Seeing her distress, Tal said, "Loyalty sustains you now. Or, that's what Solas told us. That's how it brought you back."

Absently, Rosa nodded. That rang with truth, deep and gloomy. Yet, up until now, she'd thought her nearness to death was only in uthenera. But the truth was that she had no memory of going over the precipice the first time.

"So," Tal said, letting the word drag out, slurred slightly by his inebriation. "Guess I should get to talking about him." He cleared his throat and shifted in place, but did not rise. Rosa watched him, waiting, but Tal seemed reluctant. Finally her brother grunted and blurted, "Are you…ah, what—or how do you feel…"

Rosa cocked one brow, amused at Tal's blundering. "I feel fine. A little tired and weak, but fine otherwise."

"That's great," Tal said, but he grimaced. "Except, what I actually wanted to ask was about Solas. How you feel about him. You asked to see him, but…was it to slice him open from chin to navel, or…?"

Rosa blinked, taken aback. She snorted after thinking on the question a moment. "I'm…not sure." Her last memories of him were all tainted with pain. His grip on her left wrist as he took the Anchor from her. His stubborn refusal to set aside the path of destruction. Her desperation to reach him, at any cost.

She'd succeeded. Solas was alive. Thedas was still whole, as was the Veil—albeit altered and tenuous. She should be ecstatic. Yet after the long sleep…she just felt hollow. As if this was all still a dream.

It didn't help that it did feel disturbingly close to the Fade.

Tal nodded at her and grabbed one of the fine fish bones from her plate. Using it to pick at his teeth, he didn't say anything for a time. Then, once he finished, he met her eye with surprising somberness, despite his lack of sobriety. "Reason I ask is…well, I don't know for sure, but I think you broke Solas that night in the Black City two years ago."

Rosa frowned. "I broke him? If you mean I forced him not to destroy Thedas, then yeah…"

Tal shook his head. "Not quite that. You died, remember? Loyalty brought you back, but your mind was still gone. For two years. So…" Tal shrugged in a gesture of helplessness. "I don't think Solas has recovered from that. I think he thinks you'll hate him. And, honestly, you probably should considering everything, but—"

"You don't hate him," Rosa said, reading that truth plainly in the way Tal spoke of the Dread Wolf so candidly. There was little or no trace now of the anger and rage she recalled in her brother before.

"I did at first." Tal heaved a long sigh. "But it's hard to hate him now because of all he does for us." He swept a hand, indicating the food. "He took charge of all the disparate groups here, organized hunters and gatherers so we could start becoming self-sustaining. We forage for food both around here and through the eluvians. He brought the sentinels from Mythal's temple here to start teaching everyone magic and how to read and write elven. We have a lot more mages than before. And he's teaching everyone how to interact safely with spirits and demons so we don't fall to possession." His lips pinched tightly together. "The shemlen haven't fared as well because they don't have teachers—leaders—like him."

This was the first indication Rosa had heard that the world outside was suffering from the changes in the Veil. Her shoulders fell and she stared forlornly at the little pile of blueberries. She shouldn't care about the humans, wouldn't have cared about them just a few years ago, before she became Inquisitor. But now her thoughts went to Cassandra, Iron Bull, Blackwall, Varric, and all the others who'd face more danger from the weakened Veil without any of the benefits the People enjoyed.

"You're worried for the shemlen," Tal said, reading her easily. "For the Inquisition." He took a short breath. "Don't be. There's tons of humans. They're adaptable. They have mages, too. They'll survive." He leaned a little closer, smiling. "But I think they'd do better if the Herald of Andraste miraculously returned from the dead."

She scowled. Although being Inquisitor still felt like who she was, she knew it would be jarring to her friends and the Inquisition as a whole to suddenly return after two years presumed dead. If they had realized the effect the weakened Veil had on elves it might even prove disastrous for Rosa to reappear and try to take up her mantel as Inquisitor again. Leliana knew about her heritage and would have learned of Solas' true identity too by now. She doubted the spymaster believed Solas was truly dead, though she might think Rosa was. She would see betrayal and manipulation if Rosa resurfaced, not a helping hand.

"I can't go back," she muttered. "Leliana and the others would see me as a traitor." She shot her brother a miserable look. "Do you really think they'd believe me that I stopped Solas from destroying the world? They'll think I helped him. They'll think I weakened the Veil to help the People."

Tal nodded, shoulders slouching. "Yeah. I didn't think about that." He fidgeted and then plucked a few more blueberries from the pile. "So you'll want to retire?"

"I don't know what I want anymore," Rosa said and winced as she heard her voice catch. "I should be overjoyed. I achieved everything I meant to. Corypheus is dead. Solas is alive. The Veil is still sort of intact. Thedas survived and all my friends and family are alive…" She didn't speak the last sad truth—all of her family but her father, of course. The thought only left her gloomier with remembered grief.

"Yeah," Tal agreed with a grunt. "He thought you might wake up adrift like that. I guess it's common post-uthenera. Especially when someone entered it involuntarily."

"It's just…" Something massive and painful swelled inside her, full of hurt. Tears pricked her eyes, but she fought them down by blinking savagely. "I've missed so much. I've lost so much time. Felanaste was a baby when I last saw him. Now he can walk and talk and paint bowls for me!" She covered her face with her hands and tried to keep her breathing even.

Tal laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's only two years, asamalin. If Solas is right, we'll live for hundreds now because the Veil has weakened. The older elves have all seemed to age in reverse over the last two years. You'll have—"

Footsteps clapped on the stone, drawing closer. Tal fell silent and then rose fast to his feet, swaying. He caught himself with one hand on the tower wall. Then he puffed out his chest and strode past Rosa as a familiar figure approached around the curve of the tower.

It was Solas, dressed simply in a tan tunic and breeches that might be his same humble green that he wore when he pretended to be just an apostate. The air seemed thicker, harder to breathe for Rosa at the sight of him, green under the Veilfire orbs hovering over their little dinner site. Her magical senses picked out his power as a weight in her periphery, like the orb. Normally she only felt that in the Fade. Now it was here, in reality.

Rosa hunkered lower; pulling up the fox fur blanket her mother had left her with earlier. They were sitting on a bear fur, their meals spread out in clay bowls overtop of it. Her stomach flip-flopped, though she wasn't certain whether it was eagerness or dread. Uthenera had left her scrambled. Or perhaps it was the memory of trauma.

Or dying, though she didn't remember it.

"She's still a little out of sorts," Tal was saying, his voice soft. Gentle, but not deferential. It was as if he was warning a friend of potential danger. "Go easy on her."

Solas said nothing, though Rosa guessed he nodded. She didn't turn to look and instead sent one arm snaking out of the fur to pick a single blueberry from the plate in front of her. She popped it with her tongue against her teeth and let the tangy taste calm her nerves.

Tal's footsteps retreated and a soft tread drew nearer. His shadow passed over the Veilfire sconce. She didn't lift her head but instead took another berry.

He sat on the far end of the bear fur, cross-legged, and rested his hands in his lap. The wind whistled past them over the walkway, cool from the valley and rich with the scent of greenery. Rosa turned her head to stare out at the dark and noticed dozens of orange and green lights. Campfires and Veilfires. Little hearths spread out over this place. There were far more elves here than she'd thought.

"How many of the People are here?" she asked.

Solas' breath was so soft she barely heard him above the wind. "Nearly fifty-thousand."

She shivered. That was larger than many cities. Her heart flushed, warm at the thought of so many living here, far from humans, slavery, Circles, and alienages. And from what she witnessed earlier in the day, many of them weren't soldiers. There were tons of youngsters like Felanaste here, as well as elders. Solas did not ostensibly seem to be raising an army. It was a community. A society.

At least, not from her limited insight on the sanctuary.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She snorted. "That seems to be the only thing anyone ever asks me since I woke."

"Apologies," Solas said quickly. "I do not mean to offend. I am…somewhat of an expert in uthenera. I merely wished to ascertain—"

She turned her head, finally looking at him. "Are you afraid I'm going to slip back into it?"

Solas' face looked tired and worn, though also brighter somehow—rejuvenated. Yet the concern and tenderness she saw in his gaze eased the knot of tension inside her belly. Her strange, mixed emotions and hollowness had begun to wear thin as this reality continued playing out with no sign of ending. Any fear she had of fury from the Dread Wolf evaporated.

"It is possible," he hedged. "Though unlikely."

"Well," she said, finding herself smiling slightly. "That's a spot of good news."

"Yes," he agreed, stilted now. It was an odd reaction to her first smile. He averted his gaze, staring out into the night as the wind rose again, buffeting them and the tower. The Veilfire flickered, more green than white for the duration.

Rosa cleared her throat and reached again for another berry. Before popping it into her mouth, she said, "Tal told me everyone thinks I'm dead. And they think you're dead."

He nodded, still staring out into the dark. "That is the belief among most. However, I doubt Leliana and many in your inner circle are convinced of it." The corner of his lips twitched up once, twice. "And there are the frequent sightings of the Dread Wolf among elves, of course."

This was more the Solas she would have expected. Although his comment sent a lance of apprehension through her as she wondered what exactly he was up to, it also helped loosen that knot inside her again. She stared at him across the mostly eaten meal, admiring his strong cheekbones and lips. A smidgen of her old desire, the spark between them, unfurled. The cold of uthenera, of his last betrayal when he took the Anchor, still dampened her heart, but those things were distant after the long sleep.

In some ways…this felt like another life. Another world. A dream. A rebirth. And she could feel a little of her brash nature stirring. The same reckless pleasure seeker who pursued and seduced Solas in the Hasmal Circle, even suspecting he was Elvhen and would hurt her, just as her father did with her mother.

And he had, but he came back. He hadn't forgotten her, just believed their love was impossible because of who he was and who she was. It was the same every time he abandoned her.

She cleared her throat. "Tal told me the humans aren't doing as well as us with the weakened Veil."

He frowned but finally turned to meet her eye, solemn. "No. The humans experience none of the benefits we do from the weakened Veil. They fear spirits and demons and magic."

He dipped his chin to her, as if hurrying to acknowledge her next thought. "I expected you would wish to aid them should you waken. I will not stop you should you decide to leave Revasan." A muscle in his temple flared, revealing his discomfort at this idea. "But my hope is that you will work as I do—within the dreaming, unseen—to accomplish your goals."

Rosa said nothing, just watching him, trying to gauge whether she thought he was trying to manipulate, mislead, or otherwise omit something vital. He seemed so genuine and she hadn't sensed any untruths.

After the silence dragged out long enough to become uncomfortable, Solas added, "The People need you."

"From what Tal told me, they seem to need you, too."

Solas looked away now, mouth quirking down in a micro-frown. "There are many here who will never trust me." He let out a sad sigh. "And with good reason. I destroyed Elvhenan when I erected the Veil. They do not know the truth of their so-called Creators, though Tal and Mythal's sentinels have endeavored to educate them. They still cling to the Evanuris' lies."

"That will change," Rosa murmured. "With time."

"It is time we may not have," Solas muttered under his breath.

The knot in Rosa's stomach tightened threefold. "The Veil is crumbling?" She dropped her volume, afraid of this line of conversation, but knowing they must have it. "What do you know? Tell me the truth."

Swiveling his head, Solas regarded her with an inscrutable expression. "It will fail in time, yes."

"How long?" she pressed, leaning closer over the remains of the meal separating them.

Solas' eyes narrowed marginally. The muscle in his temple flickered again, catching the green Veilfire light. "Of that, I cannot be certain. I have entered the Black City a dozen times as you slept to observe the device that entraps the Evanuris and uses their mana to power the Veil. Each visit has shown me it is stable, but degrading—as it always has. The Veil has naturally weakened over the ages since I first created it. One day, many years from now I suspect, it will fail entirely."

His eyes crinkled with sorrow. "I have hastened that inevitable failure by eliminating Elgar'nan and Falon'Din. Yet, the Veil may endure longer than we live, despite our extended lifespans. Yet, I remain the only one capable of facing the remaining Evanuris. I will have more time than I did previously, but…" Eyes dropping to the food separating them, Solas hung his head. "I fear your efforts, Rosa, have only delayed what must be. I am sorry."

Though Rosa's heart sank at this news, she steeled her spine and drew in a deep breath, focusing on the positive. "But…we have time to prepare now. We can make sure both our people and the rest of Thedas are ready." She brightened as the idea seized her, sparking again something other than the haze of numbness and shock that had enveloped her since waking. "And with the Veil weakened, we live longer. Better. We can be ready as we never could before."

She reached across the bear pelt, grasping Solas' hand. It was warm, but damp with anxious sweat. She remembered for an instant an echo of memory from the deep sleep—her father's cold touch, chilly as the grave. Solas was real. Solid.

This might feel dreamlike, but it was real.

His eyes focused on her in a way they hadn't quite before now. She realized that he, like her, wasn't in his right mind. Although he'd been awake over the last two years, he wasn't present. He was waiting, frozen. Going through the motions. That was what Tal had meant when he said she broke Solas that night in the Black City.

Solas' hand turned over in her loose hold until they were palm to palm. His fingers curled around her hand, meeting hers just as his eyes now locked with hers. He was present now, too. They sat in companionable silence for a moment, but Rosa's heart had begun hammering inside her—not with dread, but excitement.

"We cannot afford to wait until I am an old man," he cautioned her. "If the Veil persists longer than the extended natural span of our lives…" His expression was wary, watching her.

"I know," Rosa said, pinching her lips together. "But we can prepare everyone and pick the time." She edged closer and grabbed his other hand, squeezing. "You won't have to fight them alone. You can bring me, Tal, the sentinels, Flemeth…"

He made a face as though he'd tasted something bitter at that name, but he said nothing. Apparently whatever black rage he harbored about being thwarted had landed squarely on the old crone's shoulders. The expression cleared quickly, smoothing as he refocused on her.

"The work you suggest will take many years," Solas murmured, but she could see him turning the ideas and possibilities over in his head. "But…it is not impossible."

"We can save the people and Thedas," she said, wonder making her voice breathy. Laughter bubbled out of her then and Solas frowned, confused.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking of Flemeth," she said and couldn't help but smirk at his bitter lip curl again. It was fun to rile him as always. "That night, when she agreed to help me follow you into the Black City, she told me there'd be a price. Not my life, but something unpleasant." She snorted. "She was right." She smiled. "I thought she just meant that she would take the orb. Now I see it was more. But losing two years was worth it. I found the middle road I needed."

Something hopeful and tender glimmered in Solas' eyes. "I was not glad of that night," he admitted, softly. "But as I learned the Veil had weakened after my actions, that I would have needlessly died there had you not…" He cut himself off, blinking rapidly as he struggled to contain emotion.

He watched me die, she realized. He's carried that guilt for two years, never knowing if I would waken. If I could forgive him for it. For everything.

"It is better for the People that I lived," Solas finished. "You were right."

They stared at each other, hands still clasped. Whether it was the nearness of the Fade through the diminished Veil, or just Loyalty's latent talents, Rosa sensed his mounting emotion. That same excitement lay within her, billowing up and out, fluttering in her chest. Somehow that terrible night in the Black City had worked to give them both what they wanted.

And right now, that was only each other.

"How should we begin?" Solas asked, his smile sharp and alight with anticipation.

She knew exactly how she wanted to answer that question.

Rosa shrugged out of the fur and rose to her knees, leaning over the plates between them as she tugged his hands to her. Solas answered in kind, pulling her closer as his hands leapt to her waist. Their lips crashed together, starved for each other and ravenous at the reconnection.

Plates clinked and clattered as he swept them aside. Rosa shuffled the remaining distance on her knees, all the while with her lips and hands still on him. She was in his lap in moments, breath rushing and hands sliding over his chest and behind his shoulders.

A few meters away, around the wall and out of sight in the shadow of the tower, Tal smirked. He'd walked away at first, to give the couple the illusion of privacy, but then he cast invisibility over himself and tiptoed back.

Now, lingering in the shadows to listen in on the reunion on the off chance either of them needed rescue from the other, he covered his mouth with one hand to stifle giggles. Halesta wouldn't be happy, but phooey on her.

This was going much better than he expected, based on how removed Rosa had seemed when he spoke to her throughout the day. He'd been trying to get a read on her heart the whole day, determined to delay the meeting if it seemed she was unready, for everyone's benefit. After all, Solas had waited two years, what were a few days or weeks comparatively, if Rosa needed it?

But the clatter of plates and then the rough breathing told him all he needed to know.

Void take him, but what a wonderful day!

As quietly as he could, Tal turned and tiptoed away for real this time. He'd find his mother first and give her the good news. And then Nola. And then Halesta. And Lyris. And anyone who'd listen to the good news.

The fever of desire, of reconnection and awakening, made her greedy, needy. Her hands dug into his collar to find warm skin. His scent rose to meet her, woody and male with a hint of pine. It was unchanged from her memories, deeply ingrained despite the long sleep, and only helped enflame her now.

He seemed to have a similar reaction, breaking their sloppy kiss, breathing fast but deep as he nuzzled her neck and ear. His hot breath on her skin made Rosa shudder and her heart pound. The headiness of this place, with the Veil so weak that she could almost feel the Fade, made it all the more dreamlike as he pulled back to look over her. His hands cupped her jaw on either side, his thumbs resting on her chin, just beneath her lips.

Tears gleamed in his eyes and spilled onto his cheeks as she watched. Solas leaned his forehead to hers, his breath ragged with emotion as much as desire. Rosa felt her own eyes stinging and shut them, trying to contain her tears.

"I had lost hope that you would ever waken," he admitted, slipping into elven as he often did when under emotional duress. He made a tight noise in his throat, a sort of choking sound. "I'm so sorry…you are a magnificent soul and deserve far better than me."

Rosa swallowed the hitch in her throat and squeezed tightly where her hands rested on his shoulders. "We've been over this," she reminded him softly, smiling as she nuzzled his chin. "I decide what I deserve and who I want." She trailed her lips gently along his jaw, making her way to his ear. "And it's always been you."

"Vhenan," he said, his voice still gruff with emotion. It seemed part entreaty and part protest, as if he couldn't believe this was happening. Maybe it felt like a dream to him as much as it still did to her.

Rosa could feel the moisture from his tears, transferred from his cheeks to hers. She blinked, shedding a few of her own, and whispered again into his ear. "I forgive you."

He let out a shuddering breath, full of longing and relief. His arms tightened around her and he held her motionless for a time. Rosa tucked her face into the crook of his shoulder and neck, trying to commit everything about this moment to memory so she could cling to it if it turned out to be a dream after all. They clung to each other, listening to one another's breathing and heartbeats.

The chilly night wind stirred again, whistling as it rushed over the tower stones and through the railing. When Rosa shivered, Solas hummed and finally withdrew from her slightly. He touched her chin with warm fingers, lifting it and smiling at her. "Perhaps we can continue this somewhere warmer?"

Rosa chuckled and pressed close, kissing him rather than answering verbally. Solas responded eagerly, lips moving against hers until his tongue forded into her mouth brazenly. She sighed against his mouth, fencing his tongue with her own. Her hands dropped low from his shoulders and neck toward the hem of his humble tunic. She swept her hands up beneath the fabric, feeling the stark heat of his bare skin and the ripple of supple muscles. Now, with her heart rushing in her ears and her body flushed with fiery desire this felt more and more like reality.

Solas broke the kiss, gasping at her touch. He pulled away, his gaze tender with love but simultaneously hungry and raw with want. He gripped her hands and started to get to his feet. Rosa rose as well, letting him lead her around the walkway encircling the tower to a green-gold mural. Solas lifted his right hand to it and his palm sparked green with a crackle like storm school magic. The mural became translucent, allowing them passage.

"Does it hurt you like it did me?" Rosa asked him as they walked inside the tower, out of the wind.

His expression in the dim light was an unclear mixture of shame and sadness. "No," he admitted, though it sounded reluctant. "The Anchor was meant for my use. I still cannot comprehend how you carried it as long as you did. And used it with far greater skill than I would have ever imagined."

"My heritage probably helped," Rosa murmured.

Stopping, Solas turned toward her and brought her hand to his lips. "Never attribute your successes to others," he told her softly. "Claim them as your own, with pride."

She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, but couldn't find any words for a response. Her ancestry had always been both curse and blessing—and always a secret to be guarded. But to Solas she realized she wasn't a granddaughter of other Evanuris, or the child of his long time friend. She was just herself and he was right. Her accomplishments were her own, no one else's.

Solas extended the same right hand toward a sconce on the wall and veilfire roared, casting the space around them in green light. Rosa saw a small living space with an old hearth set into the wall, a large porcelain tub opposite, and a pleasant bed that could easily fit two people—complete with a blue bedspread that looked shiny, like silk. It looked suspiciously close to something from the Winter Palace.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Solas chuckled. "Orlesian nobles enjoyed collecting eluvians as decorative artifacts some years ago." He smile grew smug. "And I, in turn, enjoyed collecting some of their furniture, seeing as they were kind enough to leave the doorway open for me, as it were."

Rosa laughed, stepping closer to him and soaking up the heat of his arms as he wound them around her. She brushed her lips over his throat as he chuckling quieted. "I think my people are going to have to make a new legend for Fen'Harel to capture that image of the Dread Wolf stealing Orlesian furniture."

Now Solas laughed, apparently enjoying the idea as well. Rosa hooked a few fingers into his tunic at the collar and tugged him down to kiss her. Solas obliged, still breathing quick from the laughter.

As the kiss deepened his hands slid over her, dipping into the curve of her waist and then the rise of her breasts. Rosa did the same, slipping her hands under his tunic to again feel his bare skin. She felt gooseflesh rise wherever she teased and heard his breathing hitch slightly.

Solas' deft fingers began opening her buttons one at a time until his hands also slid in to meet her bare flesh. She sighed against his mouth as he traced one hand up her stomach and delicately around her breast. With the other he went lower, trailing magic in his wake that soon had her burning with increasing need.

When he broke the kiss, nipping along her jaw to her neck and ear, Rosa moaned and started fumbling with the lacings on his breeches. But impatience made her give up after a moment when she felt his arousal twitch. She gripped his length through the fabric, squeezing. When he gasped against her skin, hands and mouth both stilling at her touch, Rosa grinned.

Solas cupped her face in his hands, breathing fast and rough, and let out a husky laugh. "I'm afraid if you continue like that…" He shook his head and, even in the dim greenish light from the veilfire, Rosa could see he was blushing. "It's been a long time…"

"Then let's fix that," she teased and pressed closer to get her hips flush with his.

Solas' breath was hot on her skin as he chuckled. "Indeed."

They made their way to the bed, shedding clothes as they went, and collapsed together onto it, arms and legs akimbo. Solas perched over her, kissing her on the mouth fiercely first before breaking away and moving down her body. Rosa's breath rushed in and out and her heart drummed in her ears as he traced one nipple with his tongue. His hands caressed down to her hipbones and navel, always leaving the tingling heat of his magic in their wake.

Rosa arched her back, impatient and needy, rising against his mouth on her breast and then his hands as they slipped slowly, teasingly, between her thighs. Solas made a deep noise, a masculine purr, as he playfully flicked her nipple with his tongue andat the same moment stroked a finger into her folds, deliberately teasing her. Rosa would have laughed, but she didn't have the breath. And when she managed to lock eyes with him through the haze of anticipation and sexual tension, the love and desire she saw burning in his gaze left her even more breathless.

He flashed her a carnal grin and then moved low until she felt his hot breath on her sex. Her muscles quivered, taut with expectation. She had just enough wherewithal to think that if this was a dream it was the best one she'd ever had.

And then his mouth was on her, the heat of it unbelievable. She gasped, desperately trying to resist the need to grind against something as his tongue flicked over her clit. Slow and deliberate strokes, building in tempo.

She moaned, grinding her teeth and curling her toes as the knot of pleasure inside her spiraled higher and higher. When he slipped a finger inside her and moved it in time to match his tongue, rubbing, Rosa felt as though she would explode. She cried out as the climax washed over her, crashing against her in waves of pleasure. Solas kept his tongue working over her and his finger stroking rhythmically as she rode out the throes of bliss.

When it subsided, leaving Rosa panting, legs shaking, and bathed in sweat, she felt a strange mixture of emotions bubbling up inside. Tears stung her eyes, but laughter built in her chest. She remembered again her father's cold touch when she was still in uthenera, standing before the Void Mirror. She was so grateful that whatever, or whoever, she'd seen—whether it truly was Felassan or just a spirit wearing his form—had intervened and convinced her to find her way back to wakefulness.

As Solas moved to lay beside her on the bed, a smug and triumphant look on his face, Rosa rolled onto her side and hooked her leg over his hips. She put her weight onto him and Solas rolled onto his back, letting her perch on top. His arousal was beneath her, thick and hot, but she didn't react to it just yet.

"I saw…" She broke off, clearing her voice when she heard how coarse it sounded, and tried again. "While I was asleep. Just before I woke up, I think, I saw my father." Solas' brow furrowed at her words. His eyes still held a smoldering look. It seemed to be difficult for him to think right now. She couldn't blame him. She had terrible timing—but before she forgot, she wanted to run it by him.

"It could have just been a spirit wearing his form," she admitted, dropping her head low to nuzzle his jaw. "But…it reminded me who I was and it pleaded with me to turn back. To find the path that would let me wake up." Her voice caught and she sucked in a short little breath.

Solas wound his arms around her, stroking her back with one hand and her hair with the other. "I'm afraid," he said, and then also had to clear his throat to rid it of the huskiness. "I cannot tell you if what you saw was a spirit or…"

He didn't know what she'd seen, and she'd expected as much. She could sense his sadness creeping in—old grief for Felassan's death. Although Solas was the one to kill him, Rosa knew he mourned Felassan just as she and Tal had. And, over time, he'd come to regret his choice. Of all the things Solas had hid…this was the worst. The most personal and painful. Rosa had been angry with him over that more than anything else and had let that stubborn resentment rule her.

But no more.

"Whatever it was," she said, nuzzling his ear. "I'm so glad it convinced me to come back." She pulled away enough to stare down at him, caressing his cheek. "He asked that I give everyone my love. I'm sure he meant you, too." He gazed at her, his eyes too bright with moisture, though his pupils were dilated still with passion.

Rosa pressed close, stopping just short of her lips meeting his. "I love you. I never stopped. And…" She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a tear bittersweet tear fall. "I forgive you. For Felassan. I'll always wish you hadn't done it, but…I can accept it and I know why you did it."

"If I could change it…" Solas whispered, and she could hear the grief now thickening his voice. He stroked her hair, brushing the tip of her ear. "If I could bring my old friend back…" He broke off, the old loss lingering between them, still painful. She could hear it thickening his words, weighing them down.

"I know," she said, smiling as she caught his hand in hers, twining their fingers together. "But that's the past. Let's focus on the future." She drew in a deep breath, tracing his jawline to his ear and nibbling it playfully. "And on the here and now."

She moved her hips over his length and felt him twitch in response. Solas hummed appreciatively in the back of his throat. Rosa captured his lips for a long, deep kiss. Slow and leisurely at first, but then with increasing hunger as she kept teasing his cock with her entrance and then sliding away again.

When he arched his hips, eager to be inside her, Rosa altered her angle and gave him his wish. Solas gasped as he slid inside her to the hilt. She grinned down at him, running her fingers down the length of his chest. The first little thrust made Solas grit his teeth, breathing fast. The second and third had him fisting the covers and then cursing colorfully in elven.

Rosa ground against him, speeding up as she felt her own pleasure growing in that familiar, delicious coil of tension in her belly. She slowed down to tease him when he was right at the edge of losing control. He lay gasping beneath her, hips straining, desperate for more friction. Rosa delayed, kissing him as she made slow circles with her hips, rocking against him. Even these small motions made him moan, writhing beneath her. His hands on her hips were sweaty, his grip tight as he tried to guide her.

When she broke the kiss he gasped, cursing. "Fenedhis." His blue eyes looked black, lidded as he stared at her, thrusting with her. "Vhenan," he said and she had no doubt it was begging even before he added, "Please."

The sound of his pleading pushed her over the edge and she cried out, dizzy with pleasure. She pumped hard fast over his length, riding out the sensation. And that sent Solas climaxing as well. Whether it was the sound of her orgasm or the faster pace of her hips, she didn't know and didn't care. She just tried to memorize the sound of his melodic voice moaning and grunting as he spent himself inside her, twitching.

Rosa laid out over his chest, still panting, and listened to Solas catch his breath. His right hand brushed lovingly up her side from her hip, rising to comb through her hair. He wound his other arm around her waist, holding her to him. Rosa snuggled into him, wrapping her arm around his waist as well. The swell of his chest rising and falling under her made her feel heavy with lassitude, but she fought off the lure of post-sex sedation.

Solas made a small noise in his throat, soft but deep so that it reverberated through his chest and into her ears. "It's highly unlikely you will return to uthenera," he told her, fingers still stroking through her hair, "should you fall asleep here."

Judging by the sleepy sound to his voice, Rosa couldn't help but chuckle that he was probably more fatigued than she was. She splayed her hand over his chest, gently running over one of his nipples. "I was a little afraid of that, yeah." She hummed, propping her head up with one arm t look at him, smirking. "But mostly I'm afraid I'll realize this was all a nice dream. I haven't gotten used to how thin the Veil is now."

Solas smiled at her, and indeed, he appeared very sleepy although also bright, content and satisfied. "I have feared much the same," he purred. "But I am confident we are both awake. And I am most glad of it."

He cupped her cheek, caressing his thumb over it. Rosa caught his hand, smiling tenderly at him. "Me too." She leaned forward to kiss him, slow and sensual.

As she cuddled close to him again, resting her head on his shoulder, she felt ready to let sleep take her. The Fade already beckoned, ready to receive her. She let out a small sigh and asked, "You'll be here when I wake?"

"Bellanaris," Solas murmured and gave her a little squeeze. Bellanaris ma'vhenan."

Rosa closed her eyes and drifted off.

Annnnnnd...that's a wrap! Well, almost. I have an epilogue already written! I'm very sorry for the EXTREME delay on this. Since I found out I was pregnant I've been exhausted, or freaking out with doctor's appointments. At 5 or 6 weeks in I had a "sub-chorionic hemhorrage" which was basically bleeding no one understood, but majority of the time doesn't lead to miscarriage. So, after several dicey weeks it stopped and baby was fine. But during that time I guess I lost my mojo? I don't know, but I didn't write ANYTHING, which is very unlike me. But I am now trying to get back at it. Only took me like 10 weeks, LOL. But yeah, I'm 16 weeks now and the second trimester comes with a significant boost in energy and, I guess, motivation! Anyway...

Cookie! Thank you for reviewing! Always a pleasure to hear from you! I'm sorry I made you cry, but so happy you like how it's turned out. I didn't know for the longest time how I would end this, but damn, when the time came it just spilled out. I only stalled on this very last chapter, and there only the sex scene, LOL. Hopefully this continues to please and feels like a good ending spot for these two!

Whitewolf, thank you for reviewing! SO SORRY that I made you and everyone wait so long on this one! If not for the fact I'm updating on AO3, I think everyone would probably assume I'd died, LOL. Luckily, not dead, just struggling with the whole growing a baby thing, which is so brand new to me. I will keep updating on AO3, too. Thanks for sticking with me!

Dirthara-Ma, your review still cracks me up! Yes, Solas has DEFINITELY been stewing over his misdeeds that whole two years. And thank you very much for the well wishes for me and baby! I am alternatively eager to meet baby and terrified like why did I do this again? LOL. I suspect that's normal for most first time moms and dads. I've spent most of my life avoiding pregnancy and babies, tbh, so now being all in on it is so weird. Like when my sister in law had her son I was like terrified I'd break him when I held him as a newborn. But, as you can see from what I write, there's a part of me that deeply wants all that, too. Which was why I decided to try and wham! But it'll be exciting to see the baby, and I've already been thrilled to see him/her moving on ultrasounds, like OMG! He's picking his nose! He takes after his daddy! LOL Sorry, now I'm just gushing.

And I think that's everyone! There will be a short epilogue to this story, like I said, which I will put up soon and then this will be complete! I might cry a little, LOL. It's always bittersweet when a story is finished, whether it's fanfic or a novel. *sigh* I'm just remembering all the good times we had.