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"You don't need to destroy this world. I'll prove it to you."
"I would treasure the chance to be wrong once again, my friend. Take my hand."
And so she did. Adaar could feel the Anchor escaping her skin, leaving a burning sensation as her hand hissed and sputtered. "I'm sorry." Solas looked into her eyes, earnest and genuine, "Live well, while time remains."
And like that, he was gone, leaving Adaar to writhe and thrash in the dirt while her hand began to burn and scream, emanating blinding green light. The pain consumed her and she cried out in agony as she felt her flesh burn away, white hot in her eyes. The last thing she saw before succumbing to the fire was Bull's lumbering form rushing over to help her, with Dorian and Sera not far behind.
Bull knelt beside her, quickly studying the situation then springing into action. He carefully picked her up, cradling her in his arms. Though he stood tall over his companions, his hold was gentle and his care was meticulous. "Oh Andraste's knicks, what's gone on with her?" Sera ran to inspect for herself, but Bull kept Adaar's body out of her reach. His breath shook as he looked around the space, piecing together a plan, "We've got to get her back to the palace. Think this eluvian will get us there quicker?" He pointed his head towards the mirror Solas had presumably left through. It was by this point that her forearm was gone entirely, burned away to the elbow.
Together, Bull, Sera, and Dorian returned Adaar safely back to the palace, swearing profusely and cursing the Maker as they went.
Upon their return, they were swarmed by Inquisition and palace guards, healers, nobles, and other onlookers. "Give her some space, damn you!" Dorian attempted to shoo the crowd away to no avail. Leliana - now better known as Divine Victoria - emerged in seconds, quickly dispersing the congregation with ease, allowing Bull to bring her to her quarters, lying her down on her bed. Leliana allowed the healers to enter and stationed two guards outside. "Tell me everything." She beckoned, taking the three outside, leaving Adaar with the healers.
Bull gave Leliana the full run-down: Seizing the Darvaarad, freeing the dragon, chasing the qunari forces through the elven ruins, defeating Saarath, and finally Adaar's solo confrontation with Solas. "You're gonna have to ask Herah what happened with him, we were too far out to hear anything." He explained. Leliana nodded, wearing a perfectly neutral expression on her face. Before she had the chance to speak, Josephine stormed into the space, with Cassandra and Cullen at her tail.
"Where's the Inquisitor? Where's Adaar?" Josephine pleaded. She appeared fatigued, obvious she had just rushed over from the Exalted Council.
"Unconscious, with the healers in her room." Leliana answered. Cassandra and Cullen each put a hand on Josephine's shoulders as her breathing grew rapid and her heartbeat soared. Leliana quickly noticed the panic in her eyes, "But she's alive. You should go see her."
She did so without another word, barging into the room and kneeling at her bedside. A healer started talking to her, explaining the state of her arm, but she processed none of their words, too focused on watching her love's chest slowly rise and fall.
Throughout the day and into the next, Josephine stayed by her side, not peeling her eyes away for even a second. Others came and went. Sera came to shout profanities at Adaar for leaving them, though her outrage only masked her anguish. Dorian and Cullen came to share meals with Josephine, keeping her head above water. Bull and Leliana came to quietly study Adaar's condition, ever watchful and on guard. Blackwall, Cassandra, and Vivienne came to speak quiet words of encouragement to Josephine, calling on Adaar's impressive history of triumph in battle. Varric came to raise her spirits, weaving stories of war heroes that sounded suspiciously like one Herah Adaar. Despite the love and warmth surrounding Adaar, Josephine felt no lighter, consumed by the fear of losing her beloved.
"She's dreaming of you." Cole appeared beside her one evening. Josephine looked up from the book she was reading - an advance edition of Varric's latest, but she struggled maintaining focus, eyes always shifting from the pages to the motionless body in the bed - turning to face him. He continued, not making eye contact, but staring at Adaar's still form, "She chases the wolf, shouting war cries and damning the Maker, but she always returns home, soft and still."
"Is she okay?"
"She will be. She always will be."
The two sat in a comfortable silence until Josephine eventually fell asleep in her chair, Adaar's hand in hers. Cole carefully placed her novel to the side and covered her with a blanket, then vanished into the night.
Two nights after Adaar's return from the Darvaarad, Josephine found herself alone with her still form once again. She had run out of tears to cry, though her face was still red and sore from her grieving. She cursed herself for it, chastised her lack of faith in her ever-overcoming lover. She thought it cruel of the Maker to celebrate Adaar as the saviour of Thedas - the Herald of Andraste - only to let her be swallowed by the very thing that gave her her power, leaving Josephine shattered to pieces in her wake.
"If anyone can recover from something like this, it's you." Josephine whispered, holding Adaar's remaining hand in both of her own. She slowly lifted it and planted a soft kiss to her split knuckles, then to the point where her wrist met her palm, then to her pulse point. "Please."
Timidly, cold, calloused fingers wrapped around hers. Josephine jolted upright, her breath hitching. "Herah?" She called. Ever so slowly, her eyes peeled open, steadily observing the room before settling on Josephine. "Josephine?" She croaked in response, cutting herself off with coughing then a stifled laugh, "Sorry, my throat is just so dry." Josephine couldn't help but laugh as she moved to rub her back. "I wonder why that might be." She chuckled.
Adaar smiled and attempted to scoot to the side to allow Josephine space to sit beside her, only to collapse over her stump of an arm, "Maker's tits!" Josephine helped her up, sitting to her right and wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. "Aw... Fuck happened to this thing?" Adaar gawked at the arrangement of bandages encasing her upper arm and elbow joint. Before Josephine could give an answer, she exclaimed, "Oh shit, Solas. Fuck... Fuck! We have to find him."
"What happened?"
"He... He's the fucking Dread Wolf! Y'know like, the elven god, what's it, Fen'Harel or something like that? He's... He's trying to- Actually I don't really know what he said he was doing. Destroying the Veil or something? Fuck..." She trailed off and Josephine swooped in to wipe the sweat from her brow with a cloth, "And I'm so tired like you wouldn't even believe. And so sore too, like, everywhere."
"You've been unconscious for almost three days now."
"Three days!? Fuck me!" She stared into nothing as she took deep breaths, trying to settle her nerves, "Can I get some water? And maybe something to eat?"
Josephine got to work immediately, pouring her a glass which she chugged in seconds, then sneaking to the kitchen to snatch a bread roll and some fruit without alerting the staff that Adaar had woken. When she returned, they fell into a peaceful silence as Adaar sat cross-legged on the bed, devouring her snack and she stood on her knees behind her, brushing her unkempt hair and massaging her aching shoulders. "I love you. Thank you." Adaar whispered after finishing. Josephine couldn't fight the smile that grew on her face and the warmth that filled her chest. She thanked the Maker she wasn't forced into a goodbye with the beautiful soul in front of her. She leaned forward to press a lingering kiss to the side of her neck.
Adaar peered over her shoulder at her lover, tired smile on her face. Josephine returned the smile, coming closer to kiss her cheek.
"I really need some sleep." Adaar eventually admitted through a yawn, "We can tell everyone about Solas later, surely."
"Surely." Josephine nodded as Adaar flopped over. They lay side by side in the bed, with Adaar's arm lazily looped around Josephine's waist.
An hour later, Leliana and Cassandra entered the room. They observed Adaar's change in position, assured each other that she had woken, but chose to quietly exit without a word. They would not tell the council anything until Adaar was ready.