The trip to the Fade from Justice's POV.

Justice could feel himself thrust to the surface. For a moment, every nerve burned as this body fell under his control. He gasped like a man nearly drowned. The air that filled his lungs was a breath of life. An old ache sang in his chest. Home. He had returned to the Fade.

Such a homecoming happened far too infrequently. There had been a time when he longed for nothing more. At first it had been a simple desire to be put right. After Anders, it became a longing for release. The mortal world, already so bright, had become an exquisite agony. Horror and beauty in equal measure, both beyond his ability to touch on his own terms. It was oftentimes more than he thought he could handle but he was no longer sure he would return things to the way they had been before. Before Kristoff. Before the Warden. Before Anders.

A gentle stirring at his side told him what he already knew. He had not come here alone. She was here with him.

"-traps."

Her blue eyes were wide and wild as she passed between worlds and then she dimmed. A shroud had dropped over her and without knowing, she accepted the lies she saw through it. She was as much a prisoner here as he was in her own world. Just so, it changed her. He could see the poison of this place working through her, warping her understanding.

"Another nightmare? Aren't you a little old to…"

The soft smile she had turned on him melted away. Before confusion could shatter the illusion, her memories were twisted and reshaped. That smile lighted her face again as she sank further into the lie. Could she not hear the demons whispering in her ear?

They would not have her.

"This is a demon's trick. We must not linger or your mind will become clouded further."

Her nostrils flared subtly as though she was breathing in his voice. She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, he knew the shroud had fallen. She had shaken herself free and could see the world for what it was. When he followed her gaze down, he realized her hand was grasped tightly in his own. A fire seemed to build in his palm. He instantly released her and got off the bed.

He was still considering his hand as she walked about the room. Like everything humans touched, an echo was left behind. He could feel the ghost of her touch on his skin. Anders had explored every inch of her but that was the first time Justice had touched her. Maybe it had only been a remnant- lingering affection for another- but it left a prickling in his fingertips.

Justice shook away the thoughts forming in his mind. He turned his attention back to her continued exploration. It astonished him how easily mortals accepted what they saw here. This was a pale shadow of the truth. She was easily the most brilliant thing in this dull place and yet she struggled to see it.

She cocked her head at him. "I'm not a mage. How did I get here?"

Outrage bubbled up. Justice refused to direct it at her. He spread a hard, angry palm against one of the walls. "Trapped by foul magic."

"Of course, because no encounter with Tevinters would be truly complete without a demon or two. Maybe some blood magic sprinkled in to spice things up." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "How do we get out of here? Spirit and all that. This is your domain, so I'll follow your lead."

He crossed his arms and held his chin up. "We must defeat the one holding us here if we are to escape. Once the demon is slain, we will be released."

"Right. Easy enough. I'm quite good at killing things. Demony things, especially."

A frown tugged at the corners of Justice's mouth. "You flirt with great peril if you do not treat this situation seriously."

She walked to the door. She stopped with one hand on the doorknob and held her other hand to her heart. "I'll be serious as the grave and gravely serious, I swear. No flirting with danger, demons, or otherwise. Spirits only."

Justice's jaw clenched and he swallowed hard. He'd felt himself on steady ground when he was making plans to free them. Demons he could handle. This woman made him feel like he didn't even know himself. All too easily, he was swept up in her wake when she walked away. He followed a half step behind as she walked into the hall. When she came to an abrupt stop, he nearly crashed into her. Every line in her body was stiff.

"The dead… pass through the Fade before moving on, right? That's what the Chantry says. Maybe they're not the best source, but you are. You would know if…"

Justice lifted his hand. It hovered above her shoulder a moment before let it fall back to his side without making contact. Frustrated with himself, he balled his hands into fists. "You will find only false mirrors and lies here. I must warn you again not to linger."

There was movement from within one of the rooms and a deep voice called out. "Is that you out there, Addy?"

She snapped straight. Justice could see her heartbeat thrumming in her rigid neck. It was up to her now, to stand or to fall. He did not doubt her conviction. She was stronger than she knew and far stronger than he had initially given her credit for. She would not stray. He spared a small smile when the moment came and she strode away without stumbling. The demon behind the door hissed out its frustration. He pulled his lip back in a snarl and followed her out of the house.

She waited for him outside in a trampled bed of flowers. She spread her arms wide.

"Why all of this? Why me? Couldn't these demons have done something to tempt you? We could have been on a kitten farm or something. It would have beat the void out of this. Although, I suppose that's Anders. It would need to be something you like." His heart gave a heavy thud. She tapped a finger to her chin, oblivious to the things he was stirring in him. "Come to think of it, do you even like anything?" Another thud. "Other than smashing Templar skulls, I mean."

Justice fixed his eyes on her. He couldn't say it. He wouldn't. When scarlet bloomed in her cheeks, he quickly turned and marched away.

"We should keep moving."

"Where? Where are we even going?"

Justice froze. Why did she insist on testing him? He glared a warning at her and picked up his pace. He needed to get them out of there. It was different outside of the Fade. She was out of reach. He'd been a passive observer for so long. When she'd been just one more in a list of distractions, that hadn't bothered him. Time had proven her to be so much more. She'd shown she could be a formidable ally when she fought against the wrongs of the world with a fire in her heart. Through Anders' eyes, he'd seen how much more she could be. Here he, not Anders, could smell her, taste her, and feel her.

They reached the neighboring home in strained silence. Justice kicked the front door down without hesitation. He would kick in every door in the Fade if he had to. He would not wait for another trap to be sprung. He didn't stop to consider that he would sweep headfirst into the net. As soon as she stepped over the threshold after him, the world shuddered around them. In an instant, they were back in her old bedroom. She tried the door in vain.

"Fantastic," she sighed. "I already know this isn't my room. Your little tricks aren't going to work on me any longer, so just come out so I can kill you already."

She had no idea that she was no longer the target. She was the bait. This room had become a cage. He prowled the perimeter. The demons, cowards that they were, continued to hide, but he could hear them buzz from the shadows. Let them take her and they would ensure that she continued to fight at his side, no matter what. Let them take her and she could be his. And on and on. It was ludicrous. As though they could take her, even if he helped them. Should they somehow manage and give all they promised, they would only succeed in destroying everything about her that he held in esteem.

However, that they even tried to tempt him meant they thought there was something in him that could be exploited. Justice had been all he had ever aspired to. It should be all that he wanted.

"I am no demon."

"I've never said you were."

She never had. She had been calm. Always understanding. At their worst moments, she acted as a balm for him and Anders both. Not willing or entirely able to look her in the eyes, Justice looked just over her shoulder. Before, he had gone to his comrades in the Wardens for advice. Now he could only pull from Anders' experience for answers. In this case, such experience was limited to one person.

"The Warden once told me that there was no harm in wanting something beautiful. I thought I understood that, but now… Kristoff was dead and I wished only for what he had with Aura, I did not want Aura. It is a demon's realm to want what is another's."

She did not understand what he was trying to tell her. He wasn't sure he could be clearer, even if he dared. He had already said far too much. His fingernails dug into the palms of his hands as he waited in captivated silence.

She sauntered over to him and leaned in. She flashed her teeth in a wide smile. "Justice, is this your way of saying that I'm beautiful, or that you want me?"

His mouth went dry. He stared her down. It was a challenge for her to understand as much as a plea for her to remain in blissful ignorance. A tiny line formed between her dark, heavy eyebrows. Her tongue darted out quickly to wet her lips. She shifted in her armor as though it suddenly weighed on her. Justice found himself completely incapable of reaction when she dug her fingers into the depths of his feathered pauldrons. He could feel the sharp tips of her gauntleted fingers as she pushed him roughly back against the wall. She captured his mouth with hers and there was a literal charge when their lips met.

It was like nothing Justice had ever experienced. It was dizzying, intoxicating, pure sensation. Her lips were silken and moist, their progress urgent. He claimed every bit of her that he could and still it wasn't enough. He clutched at her desperately. Though the hard edges of her armor pressed in uncomfortably, he pulled her closer still. She left a blistering trail up his jaw and to his ear. All thought burned from his mind.

"You aren't taking anything. I am yours," she breathed. She nipped at the lobe of his ear. "And you are mine."