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Neve couldn’t stand the tension in the Lighthouse between her and Rook.
In the last three weeks, since their kiss at the Hilt, there had been a palpable tension between them. Whenever Rook walked into a room, Neve felt the urge to leave; the other woman often went silent if they were forced to share the same space, and she didn’t pass by her office as often as Neve was used to.
The worst thing, though, was that Rook had stopped singing. Usually, the other woman intoned sea chanties she’d learned during her pirate years, and Neve opened the windows of her office just enough to hear her better.
But since that night, everything seemed to have changed.
It wasn’t supposed to work like that. Neve had been the one telling Rook to forget about it, because she needed to forget it, too.
But she constantly thought about the feeling of the other woman’s lips on her own, the passion that had lit her core the moment their lips had met—
No, she pushed it away.
The result was that now they barely talked to each other, and Neve missed Rook and all the attention the other woman used to give her.
But she’d never admit it, because it would mean she’d messed up their relationship, firstly by not resisting the urge to kiss Rook and, secondly, by rejecting her immediately after.
Taash had mentioned casually that Rook had spent the rest of the night drinking so much that they had to take her back to the Eluvian, the Crossroads and then to her room, or Rook would have fallen into the Fade.
Neve had felt a sense of guilt she didn’t even think it was possible.
Bellara had noticed that something was off, too, being the closest person to her—except for Rook, Neve always tried not to add mentally.
“I noticed you haven’t been talking to Rook much,” Bel said once. “Did something happen? I mean, if you want to talk about it, I’d never make you do it if you don’t want to.”
Neve sighed. Maybe talking with someone else would make her feel better, even though she wasn’t used to it.
She tried to gather the right words.
“That night when Rook invited me to Rivain, we kissed,” she explained, and Bellara squealed.
“Ooh that’s so romantic! How was it? Did she lift you? Rook has some big biceps, I bet she lifted you.”
Neve had felt her own face on fire. Bel was right, but she didn’t want to tell her all the details about her kiss with Rook.
“Wait, the story isn’t over. I turned her down after the kiss.”
That killed Bel’s enthusiasm—and her stream of questions. She looked disappointed, and asked, “Why? I thought you liked her, you always smile more when you’re with Rook.”
Neve ignored the sensations that Rook always made her feel, and how cold and empty she felt since the other woman had stopped engaging with her.
“It’s—I have my case, and Minrathous is a mess—”
She couldn’t put into words what her deepest thoughts were. That the more she got attached to Rook, the more she had to lose when something would happen because bad things always happened.
That Rook gave her hope for a better world, and maybe there was something to wait for after this mess with the gods was solved.
That she felt free to show herself vulnerable with Rook, but that exposed her to more pain and disappointment.
That she was overwhelmed by the intensity of her feelings and passion, and that freaked Neve out because she’d kissed and had sex with other people before, but no one had ever made her feel like Rook did.
That her own insecurities were chaining her into the role of the cynical detective, and it was easy to go on with it because she’d settled into it for most of her life.
Bellara put a hand on her shoulder, making her come back to reality. “I think you should talk to her. When you’re ready, I mean. Not right now.”
But Neve pushed back the moment she would need to talk to Rook until she couldn’t delay it anymore. She received a letter from the Viper where he said the Shadows had found on a dead Venatori a note that mentioned slaves to be shipped, and he asked her to investigate it.
Neve walked outside to look for Rook, and she found her training with Taash by using wooden swords. They hit like they were actually fighting, and when the wooden weapons crossed, splinters were scattered around. But she didn’t care: she was stuck admiring Rook’s tanned arms, her tattoo of a sun pierced by a sword.
She realized she was staring and shook herself out of it.
“Rook?”
For all the tension that had been between them, Neve wasn’t sure the other woman would listen to her. Instead, Rook asked for a break and turned to her.
It was the first time she’d looked at her since the Hilt, and for a second Neve forgot how to even speak—but professionalism always slipped into her.
“The Viper needs my help to find some slaves and free them before Venatori ship them somewhere else to be sold. Do you want to help me?”
Rook set her jaw. “Give me five minutes to gear up and call Bellara. We’ll be in Minrathous as soon as possible.”
It had been a surprise, but Neve was glad she’d accepted.
To find those slaves, she followed traces invisible to the eyes of who wasn’t a detective. The footprint of a boot half-erased in a dark alley. A shaky whisper between two beggars who claimed they saw where Venatori went. Traces of Blood Magic that led her the right way. A remnant of magic that pointed her to the right building.
Neve led her small team to a warehouse close enough to the docks. Of course. Venatori wanted to sell them overseas, after all.
“Are the slaves here?” Rook asked.
“Yes, I think we should—”
She was interrupted by the sound of wood breaking as the other woman slammed the door open with a kick and barged in, shield high and sword pointed forward.
Sometimes, Neve wondered how she’d fallen so badly for her. But the way she was so eager to free slaves was admirable, to be honest.
“Should we follow or… ?”
Neve nodded at Bellara. “Let’s go.”
They both followed Rook, who was already fighting three Venatori by herself, her shield breaking noses and her sword slicing skin and flesh.
Neve froze the man behind Rook and she took the advantage to pierce the man through the chest. The other woman gave her a look and a slight nod before jumping to fight another cultist.
All the three of them were a functional team: Bel’s Fade Bolts and Neve’s ice spells hit Venatori from the distance, while Rook took care of the ones who got too close to them fighting even more ferociously than her usual. They needed just a few minutes to kill all the cultists in the warehouse and, finally, Neve turned to the slaves.
They were cowering in the far corner of the room, all tied to each other with chains. They dared to look at Neve, Rook and Bellara with some kind of hope, now that they’d killed their captors.
“Can you freeze the chains?” Rook asked her.
Neve nodded. She walked over the slaves with her staff, and, understanding what the other woman wanted her to do, she froze the central links between the manacles the slaves were wearing, so that Rook could break them with her sword.
It was a long work, since neither of them wanted to hurt the slaves and the chains weren’t long, but eventually the slaves were free from each other.
“What will you do about these?” a slave asked, raising his arms to show the manacles around his wrists.
“We’re taking you to the Shadow Dragons, they will open them,” Neve said.
She guided the slaves to the pawn shop, as behind her she heard Bel speaking in elven to two young slaves to comfort them, and Rook—she was too far from Neve to hear what she was saying, but her expression was softer than she’d ever seen her. She was talking to a woman and Neve wanted to hear what she was saying, but her priority was to lead the slaves to a safe place as soon as possible.
Neve only allowed herself to relax when they all walked into the pawn shop. She walked to another Shadow, asking them if they could open the manacles on the slaves’ wrists, and they immediately walked to the group Neve had just led in.
She observed as Rook kept talking to some slaves. Rook cared about people, Neve knew, but her manners were straightforward and, sometimes, she could be considered rude. She’d never seen her comfort anyone, but she was taking care of the slaves in a way that made her heart flutter in her chest.
“Why are you smiling—oh, it’s Rook isn’t it? You’re staring at her.”
Neve took her attention to Bel and said, “No, I’m not.”
Bellara was too good to contradict her, and let it slide. She said, instead, “Two of the slaves we just freed are asking if they can join the Shadow Dragons, what do I tell them?”
Neve smiled. It wasn’t uncommon for former slaves to choose to become a part of the resistance, and it was always a great news.
“Well, they should talk to the Viper and if he deems them reliable, they will join. Do you want to see it?”
Bel’s eyes lit with interest. “Yes! I’d love to see how new recruits join the Shadow Dragons, I am looking forward to it—can I insert it in a scene for a story? I mean, of course I would change the lines and it wouldn’t be called Shadow Dragons, I would never want to put you all in danger—”
“Don’t worry, Bel,” she interrupted her with a laugh. “It’s nothing as dramatic as the Grey Warden joining.”
Her friend walked back to the former slaves and talked to them before leading them to the Viper. Neve then turned to look at Rook, who was talking to a young woman.
She walked closer to her and heard the other woman say, “Take this and sell it. It will be enough to start a new life.”
Neve saw that Rook give a ruby to the former slave. The other woman yelled, “Thank you!” and left.
“You can be caring,” Neve said.
She almost laughed when she saw Rook startle. She turned around, and Neve hated her heart’s reaction when she met her eyes.
“I am caring,” Rook replied.
“To the point of giving rubies to a stranger? That’s a bit much, even for Lords of Fortune.”
It made the other woman smile, but her expression soon turned grim.
“You’re right.”
Her tone alarmed Neve. She reached out to touch her arm, and immediately doubted if she was doing the right thing, after all the tension from the night at the Hilt—
Rook accepted her contact. For a crazy moment, Neve thought about reaching out and kissing her, but she repressed that instinct.
“Rook, are you alright?”
The other woman nodded, but she didn’t look at her. “Yes—no. Sorry, Neve, I’m not feeling like myself right now.”
Neve wondered if she should hug her. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Rook sighed and nodded. She took a few steps away from the other slaves, and Neve understood she needed some privacy.
She led her to a far table, where no one else was around. When the Shadows were in the hideout, usually they preferred taking a seat in the more central part of the room, not far away in a corner.
“We have some privacy here,” Neve said. “If you still feel like talking about it, of course.”
Rook didn’t look at her. “I used to be a galley slave.”
Neve needed a few moments to process those words.
“What?”
Rook kept her gaze fixed on the table, her words steady despite the situation. “I was a teen. Venatori captured me and put me to work on their ship for a few years. One day, the Lords boarded their ship and freed all of us, but I decided to join them.”
Neve couldn’t stop herself from taking Rook’s hand. It was calloused, and she always assumed it was from the use of swords and axes. For the first time, she wondered if instead the other woman’s hands were rough for the work she’d been put to when she couldn’t choose to refuse.
It explained Rook’s attitude towards the slaves. She was so nice with them because she’d been one of them, once.
“I didn’t know,” Neve said. “I wouldn’t have asked you to come—”
“No, don’t worry,” Rook interrupted her. “I want to break other slaves’ chains, that’s why I like the Shadow Dragons.”
The other woman got close to her, and Neve felt her cheeks blush.
“I always liked you because you fight for everyone’s freedom. You chase slave owners and free them, and I think there’s nothing more wonderful.”
Neve’s heart fluttered and she desperately wanted to reach out and kiss Rook. She wanted to sit on her lap, and feel Rook’s strong arms around her, but—
She couldn’t. She would never take advantage of Rook’s vulnerability.
Neve just held the other woman’s hand tighter. It was for love, or reassurance, or a promise—she wasn’t sure.
“I’m happy you’re with us in freeing slaves. We—as Shadow Dragons—will never stop until no one in Tevinter is chained ever again.”
Rook grinned in that way that sent her heart to a rampage.
“I will help you however I can.”
Neve couldn’t resist getting a bit closer to her. “Shall we call you Chainbreaker, then?”
Rook laughed—a genuine laugh that she hadn’t heard in a few weeks and that she’d missed terribly. If possible, it seemed to amplify the warm feeling in Neve’s chest.
“It wouldn’t be bad,” Rook said with a smile.
Neve leaned in even further, slow enough for Rook to push her away if she didn’t want it.
Rook not only let her get closer, but she leaned in, too—
“Gallus!”
Neve startled away from the other woman as fast as she could. She turned to see the Viper; his expression was hidden under the mask, but his eyes shone in amusement.
Oh, he’d be unbearable the moment Rook left Minrathous.
“Yes, Ashur?”
“I need to discuss the enrollment of our new recruits,” he said. “I need you to verify a couple of things before we make them Shadow Dragons.”
Neve sighed and got up. She looked at Rook, who was grinning.
“I’ll wait for you at the Lighthouse,” Rook said.
It made her heart pound hard in her ribcage. “I will be back as soon as possible.”
She followed Ashur, and only then Neve realized that the tension that had strained her relationship with Rook was now gone.
The Viper would tease her to no end, and soon Tarquin would too, if not all her friends in the Veilguard; but Neve didn’t care about any of that.
She only cared about Rook, and the relationship that they could have if she freed herself from the chains of her insecurities.
No, Neve told herself. Not if.
When.