I sat on my ridiculously enormous Inquisitor chair and cast disparaging looks down at the mages. My legs were crossed and my hands clasped tightly to the armrests of my throne. Solas stood to my side, his hands behind his back and his barely contained fury visible on his face. Light filtered in from the windows behind me, casting a shadow across the prisoners. They were chained and all of them cast somber glances down to the floor.

I wasn't sure I could have them all slaughtered. I tried to imagine if they had murdered a human instead and what my answer would be then. Well, the first thing to do was hear them out.

"Explain yourself properly," I said in my most commanding voice.

The lot of them all turned their gaze to the same bearded mage who had spoken at the ritual site. He didn't look like he was happy about being voted to speak, but he opened his mouth all the same, "I was the foremost demon expert in our Circle."

"Unlikely," Solas commented beside me.

I cast him a severe glance and nodded for the man to continue.

"We were dying! Bandits were picking us off one by one. I knew we needed to do something. So I summoned that…thing."

"Why would you summon a demon as your last resort?" I asked. I held up my hand at Solas's protests and he fell silent.

"Because I read about it…in a book."

"You clearly did something wrong though. What you summoned wasn't a spirit of rage or a demon you could manipulate. You summoned a spirit of wisdom," I said calmly.

"We didn't know!" the mage spat. "And it doesn't matter. What are we on trial for?!"

"Endangering people by trying to summon demons in the first place is where we will start," I admonished. "What did the spirit do when you summoned it?"

"Nothing. It tried to talk to us, but when I asked it to help us with the bandits, it refused!"

"So…you bound it to your will," I prodded.

"Yes," the mage said cautiously.

"Which…resulted in a demon being born," I stated bluntly. "You've admitted to trying to summon something to murder people and that your actions caused an otherwise peaceful spirit to turn into a demon and it killed three among you."

"Not people, bandits!" the mage cried.

I lifted an eyebrow. "How many bandits did your spirit kill?"

"None…"

"So the only people you succeeded in murdering…were your own."

"It wasn't supposed to happen that way! The book said–"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Clearly you are no expert. You took matters into your own hands instead of following proper channels. I admit that you were under stressful circumstances, but performing rituals to summon demons is not something I like. Solas?"

Immediately, the apostate perked up. "The others may not repeat, but this man has no remorse or regret. Given the chance, he will try the ritual again."

I nodded solemnly.

"No, I swear!" the bearded mage cried.

"You can't even see how your actions affected those around you and you certainly haven't taken accountability," I noted. "Because of you four people are dead."

"Three. Three people," the mage hissed.

"I counted three bodies and one distressed spirit that doesn't exist anymore. That's four people," I counted.

The man looked incredulous, but I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I turned to find Solas staring, not at the mages he detested, but at me. I quickly looked away and put my focus back on the mages.

"The rest of you, I offer a chance to work with the Inquisition. You will work under our mages and be instructed in the proper ways of spirit magic. Any slip ups with summoning circles will null my sentence and we will be back here again."

The other mages bowed their heads and a soft clamor rose in the gallery. I held up my hand and the sounds immediately stopped.

"As for you…" I turned to Solas again. "Your friend was the affected party. What would your friend have wanted?"

Solas pursed his lips and straightened his back. He stood for several seconds in silence and you could hear a pin drop in the main hall. Finally, he said, "He will not learn unless taught the proper way. He will fear and abhor spirits his entire life if we imprison him for any amount of time. He should have the sentence of the others and if he offends again, I don't care what my friend would have wanted. I will kill him."

I clapped my hands together. "There you have it! You have been sentenced. I assume everyone knows the terms and conditions of their sentencing?"

The mages nodded furiously and I grinned. "Good. Leliana has ears everywhere. If there's so much as a whiff of demon summoning, I'll know. Please unchain them and show them to their quarters."

My head hit the pillow and I let loose a sigh I was sure shook the rafters. My thoughts were filled with nothing and yet so much at the same time. Footsteps sounded on my stairs and I turned my head.

"May I have a moment?" Solas asked as he approached, not stopping and instead walking straight out onto the balcony off of my chambers.

I clambered to get off of my bed and followed him to the balcony. The sun was setting low over the mountains–only a fragment of its light was shown over the ridges now. Solas looked both worried and perplexed. His brow was furrowed and his lips twitched downward.

"What were you like," he questioned, "before the anchor? Has it affected you in any way? Changed you? Your mind, your morals, your…spirit?"

This was not the direction I thought the conversation would go and I wasn't sure I had an answer. I shrugged and offered him a sympathetic look. "I am pretty much the same, I think. I didn't change all that much. I was still a curious brat who got into a lot of trouble before the mark."

I thought he would laugh at my comment, but Solas looked entirely too serious right now. I swallowed my next joke and frowned at him. "What's this about?"

"You show a spirit I have not seen since…since my deepest journeys into the Fade. You are just…different."

"I'm not all that different from anyone else really," I tried.

"You're wrong," Solas challenged. "You are curious by nature and strong of spirit. You are willing to learn and yet willing to stand on your principles. You do not chastise those around you unwarranted and everyone here leans toward you like a flower to the sun. No one else would have stepped between me and my actions–even knowing it could break what we had. You have a wisdom that goes against everything I had expected. If the Dalish could raise someone like you…perhaps I have misjudged them."

"I was an odd ball even in my clan," I countered.

"Still, they must have shaped you in some way, no matter how small. Most people act with such a fraction of understanding in this world, but not you."

The praise was getting to me. I covered my ears as a blush crept across my face. "What are you trying to say to me? Speak plainly."

"Alright, it means–try as I might–I have not forgotten what kissing you feels like."

I lowered my hands from my ears and crept closer. As I did, he backed away, his head shaking slightly. He turned away from me and I grabbed his arm. He didn't turn back around, but he paused.

"Don't go," I whispered.

"It would be kinder in the long run," Solas explained, as if to himself. "But losing you would…"

He seized my waist in one graceful motion and pinned my body to his chest. His lips were on mine in moments and I hummed in response. His hands were on my hips, his thumb pressing into the spot just above my hip bone. It was sending tingles radiating throughout my body. His tongue lapped slowly at my lips, begging entrance and I conceded. I tasted him–he tasted like mint tea, despite his distaste for it–and relished in the feel of him against all of my senses.

Abruptly, Solas untangled himself and whispered with conviction–"Ar lath ma, vhenan"–before turning away from me and exiting my chambers, leaving me breathless on my balcony.

I guess that was the answer to my long-awaited question.

I had taken to a routine on the days where there weren't fires to put out. Josephine demanded that we try to hold on to some semblance of normalcy where we could. And so I spread out my time around Skyhold as I would within my clan. I spent my early mornings doing stretches and exercises with Cassandra. Then I would climb the battlements and talk with the soldiers and Cullen or go down into the garden and speak with the healers. My afternoons were reserved for hobbies. I was even reading a book Varric had recommended. It wasn't good, but I was enjoying it!

Oftentimes I spent my time reading with Solas while he painted. We both sat in comfortable silence, the only sounds filling the room were the soft rustle of pages turning and brushstrokes.

It wasn't until the seventh day of quiet respite that Solas came up beside me and placed his hand gently on my shoulder. I uncurled myself from the chair and set my book on the table silently. He tilted his head toward the mural he had been working on and my eyes followed.

The mural reached high above our heads and loomed over us. It was designed to make the onlooker feel small and it worked. A sword with a fiery eye was painted starkly against the yellow background. On either side of the swords sat four howling wolves of various shapes and colors.

"Solas," I breathed. "This is beautiful."

"Thank you," he replied simply. I could tell, however, that he was preening under the praise, so I decided to keep going.

"Such delicate brush strokes for something so large! How did you manage this?"

"I've had a long time to practice."

"It's like you're built for art. Such long fingers and limbs!"

"You are teasing me," he announced flatly.

"I mean every word. But yes, I am teasing you."

"Teasing a savage apostate," Solas chided with a low rumble in his chest. "That's a dangerous game."

"Mhm," I hummed as I purposefully slid closer to him.

Solas noticed the movement, but didn't shift away. "I get the sense that you like to play dangerous games."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps you're not as dangerous as you think."

Solas stepped toward me until my back was against the wall and placed his hand on the space near my head. His leg pushed between my thighs and I bit my lip in anticipation. "Perhaps you don't know how dangerous I can be."

The tension felt like it was going to break me. I tilted my face up to his, hoping and waiting for something–anything–to happen.

"Oh, just fuck already!" Dorian shouted from the library.

"Dorian!" I hissed.

"Sorry." Came the reply–which didn't sound like he was the least bit sorry.

Mood broken, Solas pulled away from me, giving me space to deflate with a long sigh. I stumbled away and nearly tripped over a pot of paint. I steadied myself and took in a ragged inhale.

"It is beautiful," I said, motioning to the mural.

Before he could cover it with his hand, I caught the wide grin on Solas's face, as if proud of his effect on me. Nothing could undo me more than seeing that smirk of his.

"I think I need to go outside," I announced abruptly.

I slipped from the room quickly and didn't stop to say hello to anyone on my way out of the main hallway. I slid to a halt the moment I stepped outside and cool air hit my burning skin. I placed a hand to my face and thought, I'm in trouble.