Herah threw up her barriers, just in time to stop another blast of Corypheus's magic. He seemed intently focused on her, but she was more than willing to take the brunt of the magister's attacks. If he was busy trying to destroy her, it gave her companions the openings they needed. Sera was off to her left, firing arrows from a safe distance. Vivienne was to her right, striking out with beams of ice. And Cassandra... Cassandra was a whirlwind of fury, hacking and slashing at Corypheus in a bloodrage.

The ferocity with which she had fought the dragon hadn't flagged one bit, and she laid into Corypheus as if she had everything to lose. Wherever the magister flew, she followed, charging at breakneck speed. He was never beyond the reach of her blade for more than a few moments and finally, her onslaught proved to be unstoppable. When a bash from her shield sent him reeling, Herah saw her chance. She summoned all the strength within her and reached into the Fade. A piece of the sky split open above Corypheus's head, and fire rained down from above, trapping him beneath a shower of blazing rock.

"No!" Corypheus howled as her firestorm broke through his defenses. He retreated to the platform, grasping through the air with burning fingers. The elven orb hovered between his hands, spitting and crackling with threads of red lightning. "Not like this! I have walked the halls of the Golden City, crossed the ages..."

Herah started up the steps toward him, clenching her fist. Her mark burned in the center of her hand, but she ignored the pain. The agony Corypheus was about to endure would be far worse.

"Dumat, ancient ones, I beseech you! If you exist, if you ever truly existed, aid me now!"

She raised her hand sharply, and the orb left Corypheus's grasp, soaring toward her palm instead. He staggered as she caught it, and he stumbled to his knees, staring in disbelief as her green light swallowed the source of his power. She could feel it running through her arm, through her entire body, and the throbbing swell of energy was so great that she couldn't contain it. She stretched her arm toward the sky, and a brilliant column of light shot straight up into the Breach, disappearing into the swirling green stormclouds above.

And then all of a sudden, it ended. The sky calmed, pulling in on itself, and the orb lost its glow. Herah dropped it into the dust, turning back to Corypheus with purpose in her stride. "You wanted into the Fade?" she snarled, fist flickering as she activated her mark. The air between them began to split and shimmer, and Corypheus screamed in agony. Lances of green energy ran from his torso to his neck, and his hands flailed about in a futile attempt to find some purchase. But it was too late. The energy of the mark was consuming him from the inside out, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The lightning spread to the tips of his limbs and beyond into the air, forming a rift that sucked him into the Fade even as it tore him apart. His mouth hung open, but whatever final words the ancient magister might have had were lost as he vanished out of the world for good.

Her enemy gone, Herah's hand dropped to her side. The energy of the mark was starting to ebb, but she scarcely noticed that it no longer tingled quite so fiercely. Her eyes remained fixed on the spot where Corypheus had been only moments earlier. It was almost impossible to believe, but it was over. They had won.

There was no gradual awakening for Morrigan. Something crashed mere feet from her head, and her eyes flew open to the sight of shards of rock raining down on her. Her drowsiness vanished, and she looked back and forth as she tried to figure out what had happened. Is Cassandra all right? Where is Corypheus? And the Inquisitor?

And then she saw her. The figure of the Seeker running toward her stood out even in the darkened chaos all around them. She was covered in blood and grime, but that didn't stop her from being the most welcome sight Morrigan had ever seen. A gauntleted hand reached out to hers, and when she took it, Cassandra pulled her to her feet. Morrigan's legs were wobbly, but they held. Her head was another story. She wasn't sure quite what she'd done to it, but it was enough to leave her woozy.

Cassandra seemed to notice her weakness, because she drew out a small vial filled with red liquid. "Here. Drink this."

In spite of Cassandra's brusqueness, Morrigan could hear the concern in her voice, along with relief. It echoed her own, but there would be time for that later. She chugged down the healing potion, and as she felt the strength start returning to her body, she asked, "Corypheus?"

"Dead. Now come. Without his magic, the temple is falling apart."

That much was not hard to see. Chunks of stone were crashing all around them, and the ground beneath was even shakier than Morrigan's legs. The next few minutes were a blur, spent ducking falling rubble and scrambling down crumbling staircases and across disintegrating floors. It would have been easier if Morrigan had assumed her raven shape, but she wasn't sure she had the strength for that after her earlier transformation, and even if she had, it didn't feel right to leave Cassandra behind. She could see the other members of their team fleeing the ruins as well, but there was no time to exchange any words with them. All she could do was run.

By the time they reached the safety of the earth below, that had become difficult. The healing potion had gotten her as far as it had to, but while Sera leapt into Herah's arms for a celebratory kiss, all Morrigan could do was collapse into Cassandra's. Her limbs felt like water and her chest burned, but it didn't matter. She'd made it out alive, and Cassandra was with her. Everything else could be fixed later.

Cassandra eased her down to the ground, and as she knelt above her, Morrigan could see the joy in her eyes. "Maker, Morrigan. When you fell… I'm so relieved."

"It was nothing. I only fear I let you down. The dragon…"

"You weakened it enough for us to finish that job. And you saved my life. It was quite impressive."

Before Morrigan could reply, Cassandra's head dipped down, and as the kiss began, she decided she didn't actually need to say more. The warmth of her lover's mouth and the snug, secure feel of her embrace made everything else seem irrelevant. It was a delight she was only too happy to lose herself in.

Or at least she would have been if it weren't for the irritating sound of Varric's voice interrupting the moment. "Well, isn't that something," he declared. "The brave heroines save the day and get the girls. I'd put it in my next book, but it might be too sappy."

Morrigan turned her head to see much of the rest of the Inquisition gathered at the base of the ruins to greet their returning party. Bull and Dorian, Harding and Cole, Blackwall and Varric; all of them were staring at the victors with expressions ranging from joyful to bemused. Cassandra blushed at their attentions, but Morrigan only looked up at her and smiled. "Just kiss me again," she ordered. "We can kill the dwarf later."

"Then she springs on its back and shoves her whole damn sword straight through it's great flipping neck!" Sera crowed, stabbing through the empty air above the table with her fork to demonstrate.

Cassandra made a face, shifting in her chair to avoid the spattering of food that followed. While she had to admit that Sera's retelling of events was enthusiastic, the elf was on the verge of ruining one of her very few sets of formal clothes.

"There's blood everywhere! A blood fountain, yeah? All black and spurty. And then she kind of slides down its arm on a blood-waterfall and lands on the ground again and says, 'Maker, I hope I killed the right one'."

Cassandra made a choked noise of disgust and rolled her eyes at the impression, but Herah and Leliana laughed, and Varric seemed almost proud. "Not a bad retelling, Buttercup, but I think you can do better with that last line. What she should have said was, 'This isn't how I expected Morrigan to ruin my clothes.' Or maybe—"

"Please, stop," Cassandra groaned, pinching her forehead and covering her eyes. But Sera must have caught the smile she was trying to hide, because she gave one more dig.

"Come off it, Cassandra. What's the point if you don't puff the story up a bit? You chopped off a dragon's whole fucking head."

A sly smirk crossed Leliana's face. "What about, 'This is not the kind of head Morrigan promised'?"

"Andraste protect me. Not you too," Cassandra said, adopting an expression of wounded betrayal. "I thought you were above this sort of childishness, Leliana."

"You forget that I was a bard, Cassandra," Leliana pointed out, not at all repentant. "At least a third of my time was spent entertaining nobles with such jokes."

"Only a third?" Herah asked. "What did you do the rest of the time?"

"Seduction and murder," Leliana replied with a sly grin. "Blackmail, occasionally. Some dancing."

"The exact behavior we want from our Divine-to-be," Cassandra sighed, smiling to make sure Leliana knew she was joking. Although she would be happy to see Leliana ascend to the Sunburst Throne, and she knew that her friend would serve the Chantry well, she couldn't help being a little morose over the fact that Herah hadn't picked her instead. It was true that she had other responsibilities: to the Seekers, the Inquisition, and perhaps now to Morrigan, but the rejection was still a mild sting.

Sera grinned. "Right? Best Divine ever!" She groped Herah's thigh under the table, a gesture Cassandra couldn't help but notice. "Good choice, Inky. She'll give those stuffed habits in Val Royeaux something to shrill about, yeah?"

Herah shuddered in response to Sera's touch, but still managed to offer an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I didn't put your name forward, Cassandra. For the record, I think you would have made a great Divine. It's just... I thought you deserved some time to sort out your feelings in regards to Morrigan. I wanted you to decide for yourself if you wanted to be with her, without an election hanging over your head."

Cassandra's eyes widened in surprise. That was not at all the answer she had expected, but it was one that pleased her greatly. She adopted a much more genuine smile and squeezed Herah's shoulder. "Then I suppose I should thank you, my friend. I had no idea you were taking my personal happiness into consideration..." A thought occurred to her, and her brow furrowed. "But what of Leliana? Surely her Warden will not be pleased to hear about the Divine's vow of celibacy?"

Leliana laughed. "Pleased? She will be thrilled. Everyone knows that sex is better when you are not supposed to be having it. Besides, that is the beauty of becoming the Divine. Perhaps I can convince others that Andraste celebrated love in all its forms, and her followers would be well advised to do the same."

Sera's guffaws were even louder than Leliana's had been. "Way to go, Red. Screw those stuffy old rules. It's time for all of us to get laid."

"Soon enough, dear." Herah wrapped her arm around Sera's waist and gave her stomach a playful squeeze, making the elf grin. Cassandra couldn't help but notice how much more relaxed the Inquisitor seemed now that her war was won. It was no surprise. The burden that had been thrust on her would've been heavy for anyone to bear, but for someone who hadn't been prepared for it, it must have been especially difficult.

And yet the Maker could not have been kinder to us in His choice of instruments. Herah has been all I could've hoped for and more.

The lovers kissed and while the rest of the crowd laughed and clapped, Cassandra felt a tap on her shoulder. Her head turned, and she saw Morrigan standing behind her, wearing a small smile. Some of the bruises she had sustained while in her draconic form were still visible beneath her loose clothing, but she looked far better than she had the night they slew Corypheus.

"Cassandra, I wonder if I might have a word."

"Of course." She rose from her chair with a nod to her friends, ignoring the suggestive whistle from Sera and the smug smile from Varric. "What is it?" she asked Morrigan once they were safely out of earshot and the rest of the group had resumed their bantering.

"We have not had much time to speak since we returned to Skyhold," Morrigan began. "I thought that I should thank you."

"For what?"

Morrigan gave her one of those knowing smiles that Cassandra had, somewhere along the way, learned to enjoy. "For pulling me out of the temple before it crumbled, of course. And for slaying the dragon. Though I understand that last is something of a habit for you."

Cassandra hoped that everyone else was too distracted to see her blushing at the praise. "There is really no need. It was the least I could do, after you flung yourself in front of the creature for me. It was… quite dashing."

She was gratified that Morrigan seemed similarly affected. Her lover's confession of her feelings before the battle had made it easier for Cassandra to admit to her own. "Well, it seems we have been of service to each other." Her blush deepened when she realized what she'd said. "In more ways than one, I suppose."

"Indeed." Cassandra took Morrigan's face in her hands and kissed her. It took some getting used to, show affection that where people could see them, but though her years in the Seekers had taught her little that was relevant to romance, she had learned that anything worth doing was worth practicing.

Morrigan responded enthusiastically, bracing a hand against Cassandra's back to pull her closer. The heat of her mouth was warm and welcoming, and a shiver ran through Cassandra as she wondered just how much better her lover was feeling. Morrigan seemed to be thinking something similar, because when their lips slid apart at last, she stayed close enough to whisper, "When you are done with your celebrating, come and find me, if you wish. Perhaps I might find a better way to express my gratitude."

A flush heated Cassandra's face, but she cared little for who might be watching. Morrigan's offer took up far too much of her attention. "The celebration will last several hours more. I could re-join the others later..."

"Just go shag already!" Sera hollered from the nearby table. "Don't do it here, though. I wouldn't mind, but Vivvy might pucker up until her face looks even more like an arse."

Instead of her usual eye-roll, Morrigan laughed. "'Tis as I feared. Spending time around you and your horrible companions has addled my brain, because Sera actually seems to be speaking some sense. Shall we?"

Cassandra grinned and offered her arm. "We shall."

Morrigan slid hers through, leaning close into her side as they left the room. "I am counting kissing you in front of the entire Inquisition as a grand romantic gesture, I shall have you know. That brings my total up to four."

"Oh? And what four were those?"

"Convincing Varric to pen you that dreadful chapter of your serial, confessing my feelings, turning into a dragon to defend you, and... this."

She leaned in for another kiss, and thanks to the heat of her mouth, Cassandra found herself staggering out of the hall and toward the stairs in a much less dignified manner than she had expected. She didn't even mind Sera's laughter, Varric's chuckling, or Leliana's wry smile. Even though the love she had found was beyond her comprehension, she was profoundly grateful for it—and it was far better than any book she had ever read.

Much to her surprise, Cassandra awoke alone. Morrigan's body was not pressed against hers, and the space where it should have been was cold and abandoned. She sat up, eyes scouring her small room, but in truth, there was nowhere Morrigan could have been hiding. If her lover wasn't in bed next to her, then she wasn't there at all.

Cassandra rose from the bed, and as she dressed, her mind drifted back over the previous night, trying to find some reason Morrigan might have left so soon. The memories were no help, although they did make her smile in spite of her concern. There had been a delicious amount of passion, and far more affection than Cassandra once would've believed possible, but no inclination that anything was wrong.

Could she simply be done with me? Corypheus is dead, after all. Perhaps she is moving on.

The idea had the ring of plausibility, and yet as Cassandra made her way out into the cool air of Skyhold, she wasn't convinced. Once, certainly. But after the things they had said and done these last few weeks, she had to believe that what they had shared was more than just a brief affair. Morrigan loved her, and had said as much more than once. This was no simple abandonment. Wherever Morrigan had gone, she wasn't running away. She couldn't be.

The courtyard was almost deserted so early in the morning. Only a handful of sentries were on duty, along with a few revelers still shambling back to their rooms after the previous night's festivities. The latter group were unlikely to be of much help, and so she stopped a fresh-faced soldier on patrol nearby.

"Excuse me. Have you seen Lady Morrigan recently?"

If her voice shook slightly when she asked, the boy didn't comment on it. "Yes, ma'am. Just a few minutes ago, headed toward the stables."

Cassandra nodded her thanks, hurrying across the grounds at a brisk pace. Maybe this was not what it appeared to be, but regardless, she couldn't let Morrigan leave like this. Words were not her talent, but she still had to say something before she let the woman she had come to love walk out of her life. I cannot believe she would do this, after everything... There must be another explanation.

But she did not have time to ponder on it. She arrived at the stables, and a long sigh of relief escaped her when she saw a cloaked figure standing beside one of the paddocks. Thank the Maker. Whatever she's doing, she hasn't left yet. "Morrigan!" she called out, hurrying to join her lover.

When Cassandra shouted her name, Morrigan turned. "Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you would find me."

"Yes, but why did I find you here at the stables?" Cassandra asked, doubt gripping her heart. "Are you... do you intend to go somewhere?"

"I fear I must," Morrigan said. "In the early hours of the morning, I awoke to feel my mother's... presence... within me fade. Her hold over me has slackened, and I can no longer sense her."

Cassandra's eyes widened. "Has it vanished completely? Do you think you are free of her influence?"

Morrigan shrugged. "That I do not know, but I intend to find out. I cannot allow such a shift in power to go uninvestigated." She paused, and a soft smile spread across her face. "I am sorry to have left our bed so suddenly, but I was… disconcerted. T'was my intention to wake you before I left if you did not come searching for me first. You needn't have feared I'd flee from you for good."

Gratitude filled Cassandra's chest, nearly enough to make her melt. "So, you do not intend to leave immediately?" she asked, not bothering to conceal the hope in her voice.

"Not quite yet," Morrigan said. She hesitated, then reached out, linking their hands together. Her fingers were cold from the morning air, but Cassandra didn't mind. She was more than happy to share her heat. "In fact, I had thought to ask you to join me. I am aware that your position here is important, and—"

"Yes," Cassandra blurted out, not even thinking about her answer. "I do want to come with you. The Inquisitor can manage without me for a short time now that Corypheus has been defeated. But... are you certain you wish for me to do so?"

Morrigan stepped nearer to her, their bodies as well as their hands now pressing together. "I am. I have been accustomed to seeing to these matters by myself, but in this instance… there is no one else I would want by my side, Cassandra."

"And there is no other cause I would rather lend my sword to than yours."

"It is just as well you have agreed," Morrigan smiled. "I had already saddled two horses."

They were so close already that Cassandra barely had to lean in for a kiss. It was a burst of warmth amidst the chill, not just to her lips but to her heart as well. Some might have seen it as presumptuous that Morrigan had assumed she would want to come, but such thoughts were far from her mind. Cassandra had spent so many years focused on nothing but her duty, but now, she had something more, something she could only be grateful for. It might have been a mystery how she got there, but there was nowhere she would rather be than by Morrigan's side.

And that's the end. We hope you all liked this story. It was certainly enjoyable to write, and in particular, the Cassandra/Morrigan romance was much more fun than we expected it to be. (If anyone else wants to write those two together, we'd be very interested in reading it) Thanks for reading, and for your reviews, faves, and all that.