Cullen's hands lifted to push back the hood from her head so he could see her face. The moonlight shining down on her tanned skin as his bare fingers ran through her hair. His thumbs stroked over her cheeks as he lowered his head until his lips were painfully close to hers. "Anywhere that you are, I would be there. I would fight against anything or anyone that stood in my way."

He felt her lips against his and every part in his body were lit on fire. He watched her eyes slowly lower as he pulled her tighter against his body. Her hands grasping at the leather straps of his cuirass as if she were afraid that she would fall. Their bodies became as one as they held on to each other, fearing that they would dissolve and blow away in the wind.

Then suddenly, he pulled away. She stared up at him, her eyes begging for more. His cheeks flushed as he felt the same desire she wore on her face. The desire to have more, need more than he knew should ask from her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

"For what?" she questioned.

"This is not right," he answered, shaking his head. His hands came off her as if she burned him. Taking several steps back, he put distance between them. "I can't do this to you."

"Because of Sebastian? I do not love him, Cullen." She pulled her cloak tighter around her body, suddenly feeling cold from the lack of his warmth against her. "You know that this marriage is a sham."

His hand came up to run his fingers through his hair. Turning away from her he tried desperately to gather his thoughts. Trying to think of a way to say what needed said.

"I wanted this, Cullen," she said, taking a step closer to him. Evelyn frowned when he held up his hands to stop her, taking a step back to further the distance between them. "Maker knows I've wanted you to do that since Haven."

Cullen looked at her, the pain in her face was breaking his heart. The words came out of his mouth too fast for him to think about a better way to do it. "We've been poisoned."

"What? Andraste's ass, Cullen. What are you talking about?"

"The bush we fell into. In Haven. It was full of thorns that poison anyone that we got pricked by it. Making us infatuated with each other. It may make us desire each other," he said. His eyes once again meeting hers, seeing the confusion on the face. "Dorian called it Rupert's Remorse."

"You've talked to Dorian about this?"

"Yes," he said, nodding his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Your brother said he found a potion that will counter it. He has made it and -"

"You've talked to my brother, too?!" Her hands balled up in fists at her side as she continued to look up at him. A finger came up, pointing at him as her voice raised. "You've spoken to Dorian and my brother about all of this and didn't bother to think that you should have let me know? Why not put it on the Chanter's board for everyone to know."

"No one, I think. Maybe Solas." Cullen heard her curse under her breath when he mentioned the other mages name. "I am sorry. I didn't know about it until you came back from Crestwood."

She slapped him across the face. Rage in her eyes as she waved a finger in his face. "That's been more than two months ago, Cullen!"

Swallowing hard, Cullen nodded as he felt the sting to his cheek where she slapped him. He knew he deserved this, but he also felt he was not at fault.

She spun around, balling her fingers in her hair as she groaned. "I am such a fool! My father's right. No one would want me except for Sebastian only because he has to marry me." She turned to face him, the tears falling down her face. When he started to step closer to her, she moved back further. "No! Don't come near me."

"I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid. I was afraid I actually had feelings for you."

"Feelings for me? You can't be serious, Cullen. It's all a lie, isn't it?"

His head slowly nodded. "Possibly."

She turned and walked away. "I'm finding my brother and we fix this tonight."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Lysette kicked the door shut to the small room as she fell forward pressing Maxwell against the table behind him. The table slid across the floor causing them to giggle. Looking down at the table, he turned to look at her, placing a finger over his puckered lips.

"Shhh," he said. "We have to be quiet."

The templar recruit covered her mouth as she smiled widely.

Pulling her against his body, Lysette could feel his growing need that was matched to the one she had. Maxwell's hand found her face as he leaned in to give her a kiss. It was gentle at first, innocent. As the need grew between them, the kiss became more passionate, intensifying.

Even through their clothing, her touch seemed to burn through him, igniting every spark of desire he had. His hands worked their way down her waist to her hips as he bent his knees slightly. His hands slid further down to her bottom to lift her up, her legs wrapping themselves around his waist as he carried her to the table to set her down. Lysette's fingers worked quickly on the buckles of his robes, moving at a frantic rate. He cursed when he became tangled in the long robes while trying to get it off.

"Ugh…" he muttered as he pulled away to get it off. Fighting it, he found her looking at him with an amused grin on her face and a little laugh.

"You think this is funny, templar?" he asked stepping back into her embrace.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning against him. Her lips burning a path against his skin as she kissed his neck working their way to his ear. Nibbling on his earlobe, she whispered, "Hilarious, mage."

"No, it isn't," Maxwell said as he moved back over her.

Gently sink his teeth into her throat, his hands grasped her waist under the tunic she wore. He ached to get her undressed and beneath him. She pushed him back as she tried to get the buckles of her vest open. Lysette needed to feel his fingers against her skin.

"No one is going to…" she began before he pulled her in for another long kiss.

"No," Maxwell answered. "No one will find us."

As Lysette freed the first buckle, she heard Maxwell begin to curse as he pulled away. Her ears were pounding, feeling every heartbeat. "What?"

Then she heard it. Someone was screaming Maxwell's name and knocking on the door to the lab. Her eyes widened as she tried to gather her clothing to redress as he did the same.

"My sister," he grumbled through clenched teeth.

"The Inquisitor?" Lysette questioned.

Maxwell frowned at her with an apologetic expression. "Yeah."

"Open the damn door!" Evelyn shouted from the other side as she knocked on the door a couple more times. "I will kick it in."

"Wait a minute," he said. Closing his eyes, he took a long, deep cleansing breath. Opening his eyes again, he waited to make sure Lysette was fully dressed. "Ready?" he whispered.

"No," she said, shaking her head.

The door pushed open before Maxwell could stop it. Spinning around he found his sister as well as Commander Cullen standing outside of his lab.

"Come on in," he said, lifting his arms outward.

Evelyn stormed into the lab and walked up to her brother until she was toe to toe with him. "Why in the Maker's name didn't you tell me about the thorns?"

The sibling had seen that look on his sister's face enough to know that she was long past just being mad. Maxwell's eyes moved to the commander. "We were supposed to talk to her together."

"Obviously he didn't," she said. Evelyn straightened herself when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Lysette standing in the corner of the room, trying to look like she was not there. Turning to the templar recruit, Evelyn looked at her. "I think if you have some place else to be now is a good time to go. Don't you think, recruit?"

Lysette shook her head. "Yes, ma'am." She threw Maxwell a remorseful smile before she ran out of the lab.

Rolling his eyes, Maxwell moved away from his sister and walked over to the table. Folding his arms across his chest, he leaned back against the table and looked at the two. "Maybe shut the door unless you want all of Skyhold to hear you throwing a tantrum."

Cullen stepped inside the lab, shutting the door behind him. "We need the potion."

"Obviously," Maxwell said, looking between the two.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Evelyn asked. She pointed at Cullen who stood behind her as she looked at him. "He's kissing me and then tells me that we've been poisoned."

Maxwell's eyes widened as his jaw slacked. He started laughing to the dismay of his sister. "You two kissed? That's great."

Shaking his head, Cullen looked at the mage. "Now is not the time, Maxwell."

Shrugging, Maxwell pushed himself off the table. "So, as I explained to the commander. Dorian and I believe that you both got poisoned by Rupert's Remorse."

"The thorny vines in Lover's Embrace," Evelyn said, folding her arms across her chest. A lopsided shrug lifted her shoulder when her brother looked over his shoulder at her. "I do occasionally listen to you when you ramble."

Picking up two vials, he turned fully around to face them both. Setting them down on the table, he looked at his sister and the commander. "It's your choice. If you ask me, you two are perfect for each other."

"No one is asking you," Evelyn said. "The both of you should have came to me when you noticed something wrong." She looked at Cullen. "I really thought there was…" She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Never mind." Turning back to her brother she pointed at him. "You're my brother. I thought you had my back."

"I do, Eve," Maxwell said as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his robe. "I love you, but I also saw how Cullen looked at you and how you looked at him."

"But it's not real, is it?" Cullen questioned. "How could we be sure that what we feel is genuine or not?"

Maxwell shrugged again. "I don't know." He watched his sister wipe tears from his face. It broke his heart to see her like this. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his head. "I spoke with Solas to get his opinion. He looked at the recipe and thinks that we don't need to add the blood to the potion. It should just neutralize the effects of the thorns. It may take a few hours or a few days, but it will work."

She turned and looked at Cullen, her heart racing as she stared up into his amber eyes. Once again, she had felt herself lured into something that possibly was not real. She knew she could not blame him if this were all real, but he should have told her what had happened.

"Whatever needs done, do it," she said, insistently.

Nodding his head, Maxwell walked over to a cabinet and pulled out two small vials. Walking back over to the table, he sat them down and stepped away again. He watched the two people walk up to the table and pick up the bottles. She was about to uncork it when he saw Cullen reach out and place his hand on her wrist to stop her.

"I am truly sorry this happened, Evelyn. I honestly have had feelings for you for since we were in Haven," Cullen said as he looked down at her.

"But none of it is real, is it, Cullen? If we were poisoned, it's all delusional. It's not real," she said. Removing his hand from her wrist, she shook her head. "I will not continue to live a lie."

"Like you do now with Vael?" he asked.

She felt like he had just punched her, but he was right. "I know Sebastian doesn't love me. He has never told me otherwise. Unlike you who has known about this for months and not once told me." She turned to her brother. "Both of you and Dorian has held this against me. Not anymore."

Cullen and Maxwell watched her uncork the vial and quickly swallowed the contents. Dropping the cork and vial on the table, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Without another word, she turned away and left the lab.

Stepping up behind the Commander, Maxwell placed a hand on the other man's shoulder. "I have never seen her genuinely happy before than when she's been around you. You brought out a side of her that I haven't seen before."

Cullen shook his head. "She's right though. It's all a lie." Uncorking the vial, he drank the contents. The sour mixture made him shake his head as it went down his throat. Setting the bottle down, he looked at the mage and sighed. "I am sorry that I did not speak to her sooner."

Shrugging, Maxwell tilted his head. "Kissing her and then telling her probably wasn't a smart thing."

"I have done some stupid things over the years but that was probably one of the worst." He slapped his hand on the mage's shoulder, nodding his head slightly. "I think it would be wise of me to go to my quarters and stay there."

"I think that's a good plan."

Walking to the door, Cullen stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "I'm going to ignore that I saw one of my people in here with you. I hope there will not be a problem."

Maxwell smiled, shaking his head. "After Evelyn scared Lysette I'll be lucky if she speaks to me again."

"Give it time," Cullen said. "If it's real, she'll be back."

The mage watched the other man walk away. Leaning against the doorframe of the lab, Maxwell blew out a heavy breath. "I hope you're right, commander," he said.

He was not sure if he was thinking about Lysette. Or if it was for his sister and the commander.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"And what happened next?" Solas asked as he looked down at her hand.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "He cast some kind of blood magic. Said that Corypheus taught him how to control it." Opening her eyes, she looked at the elf mage. "It brought me down to my knees, Solas. It was painful."

The mage released her hand and walked around his desk to sit down. "Has it felt like that before?"

Leaning back on the chair, Evelyn rested her elbow on the armrest and placed her chin in her palm. "In Haven. When he stopped me from running away when he tried to remove the mark." Sighing, she looked down at her palm. "But even then, it wasn't that painful. Whatever Erimond did brought me down to my knees, screaming."

Picking up his cup, Solas sipped on his coffee. "The mark has changed and will continue to do so. However, I do feel that it is stable."

"Stable?" She sat up and reached out for her cup of coffee. "It was going crazy when I was angry. I mean, it was sparking, humming."

Setting his cup down on the saucer, he pressed his fingertips together and looked over them at her. "It could mean that you are becoming more in tune with it. Just as you have been able to release a burst from it energy from the mark, you may be able to cast another attack with it."

Evelyn frowned as she looked at the elf. "I thought you said this wasn't magic."

"It is not," Solas said. "In theory it could be considered magic. It does draw from the Fade and has the ability to close the Veil."

Taking another long drink of her coffee, she allowed the caffeine from it to slowly work its way into her system. She had been able to sleep through the remainder of the night after leaving Maxwell's lab. Once returning to her quarters, she took a sleeping draught and went to bed praying that earlier events did not creep into her dreams.

"I do believe, in theory, that you may be able to use the mark not just as a defensive ability but possibly an offensive ability as well," Solas said. Picking up a small plate, he offered her a small sandwich.

"Thank you," she said, picking up one. "You keep saying ability, but it sounds a lot like casting magic."

Nodding, Solas said, "It would be a bit of both."

"What about – "

She stopped when the door opened to the rotunda and Cullen walked in. His hand was holding a kerchief to his nose, it was red from bleeding. Jumping up from her chair, she walked over to him and lead him back to her chair.

"Are you all right?" she asked, grabbing a cloth napkin from Solas's desk.

"I'm not sure," Cullen said. "It just started to bleed and won't stop."

Solas moved around the table and tilted Cullen's head back as he removed the cloth napkin from the commander's face. "I am assuming that you take the potion last evening?"

"We both did," Evelyn answered.

"Is this an effect of it?" Cullen asked as Solas pressed the cloth napkin back against his nose again.

Nodding, Solas turned to Evelyn and held out another napkin. "Inquisitor."

Evelyn lifted her hand and touched her nose. It was now bleeding as well. Covering her nose, she looked at the mage. "What's happening?"

Solas folded his arms across his chest. Lifting a hand, he began to rub his chin. "Your bodies are rejecting the toxins from the thorns." He looked between the two. "It will not last for long. You may need to lay down for a while so your body will recover."

"I'm too busy to lay down," Cullen said, looking up at Solas.

Solas turned to look at Evelyn. "I would postpone leaving for at least another day."

"I was not aware that Hawke or Stroud had returned," Cullen said, looking up at her.

"They haven't," she answered. "I'm going to go lay down. If it doesn't stop, I'll let you know."

Cullen kept his eyes focused on anything but the Inquisitor as she left the rotunda. Standing nearby, Solas tapped a finger on his desk as he leaned against it.

"I am sorry that this did not go as well as expected," the elven mage said.

"What's done is done," Cullen said. He closed his eyes and blew out a heavy breath. "She has made it very clear that she is not pleased with my behavior."

Solas smiled as he picked up his coffee. "And from the echoes from the library above she was not pleased with Master Pavus as well."

"Great," Cullen mumbled.

"She threatened to throw him off the balcony and would purchase me a new desk if he landed on it."

"She slapped me," Cullen said, shaking his head.

"Unfortunate," Solas said before taking a sip of his coffee. "I was so hoping for a new desk though."