"Selise, wake up!" Anders hissed. She had been dead asleep for almost four hours when Anders realized she had stopped shivering. The thick, murky clouds that blanketed the valley brought darkness down about an hour earlier than usual and when he spotted a sharp outcropping of rock hanging over a nook in the gravelly bank of the ice, he urged the horse to a quick stop. The light was almost gone, and he was getting worried about Selise. No doubt she was exhausted, he knew exactly what that was like, but she hadn't so much as twitched since she'd fallen asleep, even while riding fast and hard over the rough terrain that should have rattled her awake.

The little overhang looked like a good option for shelter. They'd need to stay as close to the fire as possible tonight to warm their blood and dry everything out, which ruled out the tent. He also thought that if he could position the fire sightly under the lip of the overhang, the rock above them might absorb and reflect some radiant heat, as well as provide a warm place to hang their clothes out to dry.

Anders slid her limp body off the horse and even after she crashed into his arms he still he felt nothing stir within her. Panic began to rise in his chest. Had he waited too long to stop? Her back against him had begun to feel warm after the first hour of riding, but maybe the leather coat he wore was only reflecting his own body heat back to him. He pulled her back into the corner beneath the outcropping and sat shaking her, trying to elicit some reaction. She had a pulse. She was breathing. Her skin was frigid and clammy, and the ends of her hair were frozen into crunchy cords of ice. But the skin of her face was bone pale, and Anders began to fear the possibility that she might have gone into shock.

After saturating her in the warmest healing energy he could summon, he finally left her lying under the shelter and set about frantically collecting wood to start the fire. The branches he found were all wet from the rain, but under a persistent blast of fire they eventually held onto some flames. He quickly unpacked their clothing and draped everything wet on the sides of the outcropping. There were two blankets stuffed into the bottom of one of the packs that were still dry, but he couldn't wrap her in them when everything she wore was still completely wet.

Working quickly, he stripped himself and Selise of their clothing. He was grateful to discover his tea kettle inside a sack, and he filled it full of snow and set it near the fire to melt. The dry socks that it had contained went right on to his and Selise's feet in multiple layers.

Undressing a limp, wet body turned out to be a much more difficult endeavor than Anders expected. The wet clothes refused to slide off easily, coming only in jerky increments that required considerable muscle to maneuver. He had to completely pick her up a few times in his attempt to wrench off sopping pieces that didn't want to budge. But while tugging on her wet clothes, he heard her groan quietly and he began to breathe easier. Finally, some response. Once done, he settled down beside the fire in a nest made of the blankets and their leather coats. He pulled her in beside him and pressed his naked body fully against hers, trying to directly transfer all of his body heat.

The world went eerily quiet once he was done making camp, with only the crackling of the fire and gentle remains of the Calling whispering into his ear. But even that was fading, and he was starting to wonder if it was still there at all or if it was just the memory of it ringing through his mind. The little elf Inquisitor had informed him that what he was hearing wasn't really what it seemed, that in fact it was Corypheus and a demon working in concert to create a false Calling that all Grey Wardens in southern Thedas were hearing. The panicking Wardens disappeared, retreating to an old Tevinter outpost where they were leashing demons with blood magic, preparing for another blight. They'd been duped, manipulated, and were right on the brink of becoming a full demon army under Corypheus's control. As Inquisitor Lavellan had told him the story, he came to understand her decision to banish them, at least until the war was over. But even still he tried to think up a reasonable argument for him not to be banished himself. He wasn't a Grey Warden any more, he didn't consort with any Wardens at all, and in fact they had ousted him. But over the weeks at Skyhold he'd already detailed for them how badly he had been affected just by being in the same building as Corypheus, and could think of nothing convincing to say in his own defense about why he should be allowed to remain. Leliana had surprised him by speaking up with a plea that the Inquisitor reconsider, while Cullen had plenty to say in support of his transfer. But Anders had seen in the Inquisitor's set jaw and cold expression that the decision was already a foregone conclusion, and had been before she had even arrived back home.

He squeezed his arms around Selise and pressed his face into the back of her shoulder, relishing the fact that he was not currently in the back of a wagon being hauled off to Maker knows where. Banished from Orlais and Ferelden, the closest option for refuge was Nevarra and the Free Marches, both of which were full of people who still sought vengeance for the chantry, some as vigilantly as if it had happened yesterday. But thanks to Selise, he was free. And he trusted completely that she would help him hold onto that freedom, by whatever means necessary.

He'd seen the very moment that the she decided to act in the dungeon. Standing perfectly still next to Leliana, like a statue carved from marble, her silvery grey eyes suddenly turned to steel. Even from his position on the other side of the room he felt her power gathering and winding itself up, readying to be flung outward. There'd been less than two seconds between the time he felt it begin and when the whole room had been knocked off their feet. And once it was over, even he felt like he was in shock. She seemed to have just seen the opportunity and gone for it without hesitation, despite the fact that their other plans had included deliberately sidestepping any members of the Inquisition. And there she stood, having taken out over half of the founders, including the Inquisitor herself. Arguably the most powerful person in southern Thedas. It was still almost more than he could believe.

During the walk from the War Room to the dungeon, he'd been planning his own escape, but hadn't gotten much further than to bring the wagon to a stop somewhere out of view of the gate, kill the guards and run back to Skyhold for Selise. He would have made something work, found a way. Somehow. He'd learned quite well that if you really wanted something, you found a way to make it happen. But he was sure that would have been far messier than what Selise had been able to accomplish. How could he ever show her how immensely grateful he was for everything she'd done for him? Everything in her own life that she had sacrificed?

He breathed her in, savoring the weighty feel of her in his arms, of all the soft curves that molded around his body. His eyelids begin to droop closed, pulled toward the earth as though tied to weights, sleep tempting him away from her. Nearby was the chuffing and shifting of the horse and he hoped that the carrots he'd dug out of a sack would be enough to hold him over until the morning. Below them the ground was almost aggressively hard, but he was finally warm, and the fatigue that was seeping through his bones was washing out awareness of any other discomfort.

He'd been right on the brink of unconsciousness when Selise jerked awake. She was still for a moment, looking around, and then squeezed affectionately at his arm with frosty hands. He breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Welcome back to the world my love," he whispered into her ear, grateful to know she was okay. She leaned into the sound of his voice, and he kissed the back of her neck, letting his lips rest against her cool skin.

She groaned in pain when she tried to turn around, adjusting her body in small increments until she was facing him.

"Thank the Maker," she said as she slid her arms around his waist, pulling at him until they were tight against each other, her cold cheek laying against his neck.

"How far did we get?" she asked.

"About 4 hours out. I spotted this little ledge just as we began to lose the last of the light."

"Only 4 hours? Do you think that's far enough?" she asked.

"It'll have to do for now. It's a miracle we lasted as long as we did, wet and cold like that. You wouldn't wake for anything. I started to get worried," he answered. "Really worried, actually."

"Did the book get wet?"

"The cover got a little damp, but that's all I know. I was more concerned with getting you warm and dry," Anders said. "How do you feel?"

"Weird," she sighed. "Tired. Sore. Relieved."

"I can't believe you did all that for me," he whispered. "I've escaped a great many places in my time, but I wouldn't have gotten out of that one without you. Not for a while, and not without killing a bunch of people anyway. You were amazing."

"I'm just glad that part of the whole ordeal is over," she said as she smiled weakly, letting her eyes droop closed for a moment. "We're not out of the woods yet, but hopefully we can stay ahead of them until we get some place safe. I wish we hadn't had to stop so soon, but… to the void with that rain."

"It helped us though," said Anders. "Probably delayed them a bit, covered our tracks and scent. Though I really hope all our gear is dry by tomorrow. I'll have to keep the fire stoked all through the night if there's any chance of that."

She nodded and nuzzled back into him, the disarray of her hair tickling against his bare skin, the delicate scent of her still damp flesh filling him up.

He settled his body down, relaxing his muscles and wrapping himself around her, laying gentle kisses in her temple and hair, working his way over her jaw and to her mouth. She snaked her leg through his and he felt himself grow hard against her hip. He tried to calm himself, not wanting to encourage her to use any more of her energy. She still needed to rest. They both needed to rest. But she had already noticed, and was responding to him all on her own, her hands roving over his shoulders and back, grabbing his buttocks and pulling him in closer. More than anything he wanted to consummate their new life together. From then forward everyone would know that she was his, and he belonged to her. There would be no more hiding, no secrets kept, no question about their feelings for each other. Her supple skin was so tantalizing and inviting, he felt his own kisses growing more passionate almost against his own will. It took everything that he had to pull back.

"Mmmmmm… I'm sorry," he breathed after breaking away from her lips, taking a deep breath, "You need more rest. We both should probably conserve our energy. We have a short night and a long day ahead."

She groaned in protest, bringing a hand around to capture his stiffening length, squeezing. "I know we're tired, but we can rest after." she pleaded into his ear as she nibbled on his earlobe, sending shivers down his spine. "Please?"

"Selise my love, you can barely move without wincing," he said.

"I don't care. I want you," she continued. "I need you,"

She sucked on his ear, running her teeth gently along the sensitive lobe, while arching her hips into his as she directed one of his hands to a breast. She whispered his name with a raspy voice infused with such desire that he lost any thought of resistance.

He gave in with a growl, plunging into her mouth, sucking at her lips and sliding himself on top of her. She parted her legs and guided him in immediately, her thighs slick and eager. Her mouth broke away from his and she let out an impassioned wail the moment he was buried to the hilt. Jagged breaths escaped her parted lips as he began to move in long, slow strokes.

His heart practically pulled out of his chest as he watched her face, her brows drawing in a deep rapturous focus, her eyes looking like dark, radiant jewels.

"I love you so much," he gasped.

She pulled him into another searing kiss, and somewhere in the back of his mind he was wondering how she had the energy for this after having just been completely drained and practically comatose. But all she'd done since the moment he met her was surprise him. She was strength and humility, kindness and courage, fire and ice, all contained in a soft, quiet package. Those fleeting moments in the War Room when he thought they'd be separated he almost sank to his knees and wept. And then he almost consumed the whole room in an electrical storm that wouldn't have left anyone standing. Leaving her behind was simply not an option.

"I love you," she breathed in return.

"Say that again," he asked.

"I love you. I love you Anders."

"Again," he ordered, and she obeyed, again and again.

"Please stay with me," he entreated as he dragged himself torturously in and out of her, stopping each time they were fully joined, resting there for a heartbeat and reveling in the sweetness of her body, with how perfectly they fit together. "Please…"

"I will. Forever. I am yours," she sighed as her back arched and she contracted against him, sending ripples of intensity throughout the length of his body. Her eyes opened and locked onto his, staring into him as they moved slowly together, "I am yours."

He claimed her lips again, feeling the raging river of sensation building closer and closer to a shattering crescendo. She was digging so hard at his back that little bolts of pain broke through the wall of ecstasy, but it only seemed to enhance it, making him thrust harder, grip her tighter until he was afraid he might break her somehow. The sounds coming from her throat could have been cries of pain he realized, and he tried to loosen his grip and pull away a little, but she only clutched him harder, pulling him back against her with an impassioned urging. He felt a hand thread into his hair and grab at the roots, holding tightly as she entwined her tongue with his, writhing against him and pushing them both into an incinerating finish.

The last thing he heard after he collapsed on top of her, and before he slid off into unconsciousness, was her voice saying his name.

Selise woke with a jerk. She hadn't even remembered falling asleep. She only remembered being gripped by an all-consuming need to hold Anders as closely as possible. To give herself over to the man she had just walked into a new, frightening future with. She'd felt the almost feral desire for his body, but she'd also felt the residual fear of the entire day. Of those desperate moments searching the rooms of the lower floor, her terror growing each time the next place she looked turned up empty. And then there was the icy fear that had struck her he when she listened into the other side of the War Room door. They'd barely completed anything close to a real, workable plan, and to have the whole prospect practically pulled out from her her had sent her into a mental and emotional tailspin. But now here they were, free and on the run.

The sky had lightened into a deep cerulean blue and she sat up, recoiling from the wet, frigid air that drenched her exposed skin. The fire had died down to coals as Anders finally slept. She felt him rise periodically through the night to rekindle the flames, and knew he couldn't have gotten much sleep. But there had been a reason she'd been jerked so abruptly from her sleep. A vision, a mental warning that a camp of Inquisition soldiers had already risen and mounted their horses, making their way toward them.

"We need to go," she said sharply to Anders who was still dozing quietly. She rubbed her hands briskly up his arm, and then leaned down to kiss his temple, inhaling the scent of smoke that clung to his hair. "Anders, my love. It's time to leave here. Quickly." He stirred slowly but seemed to register the seriousness in her voice, opening his eyes and forcing himself awake.

She climbed out of their nest of leather coats and blankets, grabbing a robe to wrap around herself. Even through the layers of socks, the cold of the rock below them bit into her feet and she yelped as she hopped toward her boots. Their packs were resting against a rock wall and the one Selise tried to pull to her didn't budge. The canvas was still slightly damp and the backside of it must have frozen to the rock. Selise's muscles shook as she pulled it, her body still feeling thoroughly queasy and unsettled from the exertions of the day before. The pack peeled away from the wall with a crunch and she searched through it for clothing, but it contained little. Finally she saw that most of it was draped around the rock that roofed them.

She pulled the pieces closest to her down, and began to dress. She was unsure if the fabric was still damp, or if it only felt that way because it was so cold, but as she slid it over her skin she began to shiver violently, gasping with each new icy layer. Over the top she secured a thick leather coat and then pulled her hair free from its tie, shaking out the frozen tendrils and quickly twisting it back up into a neater pile on the back of her head. The cold that clung to her damp clothing seeped into her bones, and she saw the only solution as getting up and moving around, but she was still buzzing with the remnants of too much lyrium. The faster she tried to move to gather their belongings and fill their packs, the more she began to feel dizzy.

It was worse on the horse. She had taken the position behind Anders so that he could see the path before them better, but all the shaking and jolting only made her head pound and her stomach roil. She held on tight to Anders as he raced the horse through the icy valley, burying her face into his back and trying to breathe deeply to ward off the desire to retch, but each time they went over a particularly rough patch of terrain she felt the sour sting of bile on the back of her tongue. The sky was still draped in heavy grey clouds, and she knew that this far from Skyhold they wouldn't be rained on. If it was to storm, it would be snow they saw. And while snow wouldn't soak them to the bones like the day before, it would mark an easy trail for the soldiers to follow, leading straight to them.

After a couple hours of strenuous riding, Selise felt a curious tug on her consciousness, and she opened her eyes. On a distant hill below a white mountain peak, she saw a wispy green orb hovering above the ground. She reached in front of Anders and pointed to it, and he brought the horse to a stop.

"That must be one of the rips in the Veil," he said.

"Can you feel it?" she asked him. She was feeling strangely drawn to it, even as tiny particles of movement revealed themselves on the ground just below. A tall, lanky limbed figure lumbered about slowly, and something else was darting around that disappeared every time she tried to look at it directly. They were out pretty far, but the hair on the back of her neck began to stand when they all mysteriously went still.

"They see us," Anders said.

As the lanky limbed figure changed its trajectory to come toward them, Selise spotted a second figure just like it slightly further up the hill. She and Anders would be long gone by the time they reached the ice bed, but she still couldn't shake the sickening unease that their attentions roused.

"Did they tell you anything about the rifts in any of those meetings?" Selise asked.

"Only that they spill demons into this world. And only the strange mark on the Inquisitor's hand can close them."

"Demons. How do you think Justice would react to that?"

"I don't know. And I don't want either of us to find out," Anders answered gravely. He kicked the horse forward, who protested with a grumble but began to trot ahead.

"This poor beast needs a rest, and a good meal," Selise said as she reached down to pat his rear. "The one thing I didn't think to grab though was horse feed. I am sure those carrots aren't going to fuel him for long."

"Well we can't rest here. Not with that thing, and those creatures, right there," he said.

"Agreed," said Selise.

"Any idea how far behind us the soldiers are?"

"I haven't seen anything since this morning. I'd rather play it safe and guess they are only a few hours behind. We should probably be thinking of ways to throw them off our trail somehow."

Anders nodded, and Selise tightened her arms around his chest. The figures in the distance continued their slow advance, and something about their unhurried pace only heightened her uneasiness. They seemed like they thought they had all the time in the world to reach her. What did they know that she didn't?

The horse held out for another two hours of travel. The terrain leveled out, and the river of ice widened, cutting a large swath though the mountains. As long as they stayed right down the middle, they could avoid all the rocks and boulders and were traveling at the fastest clip yet. Selise's nose, hands and feet were numb, but if her clothes were still damp she no longer felt it. But she had to use Anders' back to shield her burning eyes from the biting cold wind that blasted at them.

There was no point in talking while the horse was in full gallop. Their bodies were jerking around and the wind in her ears combined with the clomping of hooves seemed to drown out all other sound. It was difficult to tell where exactly in the sky the sun was behind the clouds, but since they'd had no plans to leave the icy valley bed they hadn't needed to use to sun to gage direction just yet. But if the clouds became a permanent feature that might become a problem.

She was suspended in a hazy, half awake state when Anders brought the horse to a stop again.

"I have an idea," he said as he climbed off the horse.

"You'll probably want to tie the horse up for a moment. He's probably not going to like this."

She looked around and saw that in the time she had drifted into a half sleep, the ice bed had gone from a wide river to a narrow stream, with sharp cliffs rising over them on either side. She did as Anders asked and tied the horse to a tree a good distance away from where he stood looking up at the cliffs. She was walking back to his side when he turned and waved for her to get back. She stopped in place, watching him curiously, and then felt vibrations rising from the ground below her. Anders was holding his staff purposefully at his side, and she thought she heard his voice murmuring something low and melodic, but couldn't make out if that was him, or if it was the buzzing of the energy that she was feeling around her. Slowly a swirling sphere of light enveloped him, and the air filled with an crackling electric charge.

Suddenly Anders twirled his staff and slammed the butt of it hard against the ground. At the moment of impact a powerful shockwave was released, rattling her teeth and making her ears pop. Massive, blinding bolts of lightning shot from the staff to both of the cliffs on either side of the ice. The world around her erupted in the song of chaos. The horse began to shriek, and she turned to see it raised on hind legs, straining frantically against the rope that tethered him to the tree. At the same time came an ear-splitting crack, followed by the sharp crash of splintering rocks as they cascaded down the face of the cliffs. The magical energy swelled again and again as Anders unleashed his staff repeatedly, sending out a frightening web of infernal light. The brightness of the thick bolts was painful to look at, and Selise closed her eyes, turning away from the storm that was now completely surrounding Anders in a tornado of power. She turned her back to it, seeing silvery blue stars clouding her vision, while the air was filled with the deafening cacophony of destruction.

The horse continued to panic, whinnying desperately, and Selise felt the sour tang of fear creep up her throat. This poor beast obviously wasn't used to magic, and had already had a hard day and a half with little food and freezing temperatures. It would be depleting what little energy it had left in its terror, and would be difficult to calm once this was over. Most likely, she would need to attempt to soothe it with a spell, and then their progress would be slowed considerably.

The crashing sounds behind her built to a chilling climax that made her crouch with her hands over her ears. And then slowly as the uproarious commotion faded into smaller ripples of scattering noise, she stood and turned to face Anders' work. Before her towered a solid wall of collapsed rock. The cliffs had been brought down into a rocky barrier that rose several meters over her head at its lowest point. Any soldiers behind them would need at least a full day to circumvent the wall of rock, if not more than that. Selise couldn't help but let out an ecstatic holler at the sight. Anders turned and walked weakly toward her, his lips curled in a satisfied little smile.

Her feet moved swiftly over the gritty ice, carrying her to him as though she were floating. He draped an arm around her and allowed himself to be assisted back toward the still panicking horse. Selise couldn't wipe the proud grin off her face, which only made his smile widen.

"What you haven't heard the tales of all my amazing and powerful feats of magic?" Anders joked. "Figures."

Selise laughed and squeezed him close. "I have actually," she said.

"Well good," he said. "Might be a little different from yours. Maybe a tad flashier."

"As it should be. We're magical complements, remember?"