Fen'Tarasyl

Chapter Seventeen

They were almost ready for the Breach. The moment everyone got back to Haven, the mages started to prepare for the tiring ordeal they were about to go through. The others on the council were more relieved that the Breach issue was about to be resolved, rather than the fact that Talyn had led them all into Redcliffe without so much as letting everyone know they were alright.

When they had received Alexius' invitation, they had grown worried. Apparently, Cullen was going to lead the Inquisition's full forces through the Hinterlands in search of them. That's why they had sent Leiliana.

The tavern smelled of smoke and blood. Somewhere there was a fiddle being played, but it's melodic music was drowned out by the roaring laughter of drunk soldiers. All around Talyn they were laughing, slapping each other on the back, telling war stories. She was sitting with Iron Bull and his Chargers in a corner of the room, where they were teaching her how to play Wicked Grace. It was not going well.

She furrowed her eyebrows as once again she lost. Krem was chuckling as he swept up the cards and shuffled them again.

"This game is stupid." Talyn huffed.

"You only think that because you suck at it." Skinner told her rather bluntly.

Everyone started laughing when Talyn threw an empty mug at the city elf. She neatly dodged it.

Grim stood next to Talyn and grunted. The man never smiled. It unnerved Talyn.

She stood up. "All yours Grim."

She decided she needed some fresh air. So, she weaved through the crowd towards the less used exit out of the tavern. Soldiers whooped and cheered as Talyn passed. Someone shoved a mug in her hand. She grinned at them and chugged the contents of the mug. She passed on the empty cup to someone else and finally managed to sneak out through the backdoor of the tavern.

Ever since Redcliffe, Talyn had given up on stopping everyone from revering her as a hero. As their Herald. Not because she actually believed she was the Herald of a god that was not her own, but because it was a hopeless cause. So she let them cheer and praise her.

Even though she didn't deserve it.

Talyn started walking through the dark, mostly empty streets of Haven. It was late, so everyone was either in bed or at the tavern. It was snowing again; the little snowflakes were melting in her hair. And even though she wasn't wearing a cloak, she didn't feel the cold. Not as a normal person should.

There was something dark and evil inside of Talyn. She felt it when she almost choked the life from Alexius. She heard that small voice, telling her to end him, to show to everyone else what happened when they crossed her. That darkness terrified Talyn. She didn't so much as use her bow to hunt for the entire duration of their trip back to Haven because of it.

She needed to know who she was, before the Conclave. Now it wasn't just curiosity that drove her. It was desperation. Because she felt like she was good. That she was on the side of warm sunshine and summer breezes. But when she had Alexius by his throat, when her rage was so strong she was literally on fire, the icy touch of darkness, death, and decay had been opened up to her. The side of Talyn that was buried with her memories had emerged.

And only Solas was able to bring her back from that. Only Solas had been able to draw her away from the source of her bloodlust, to bring her back from that darkness.

That also scared her. Because in that moment, she knew that Solas had a part of her heart that no one else was able to touch.

She ran into someone.

Solas steadied her before she could fall on her ass.

"Distracted, are we?" Solas smiled at her.