Breaking the Divide (remastered) - Cullen Rutherford

Chapter 16: Judgment

Kaitlyn unrolled the paper Cullen had given her to read it over again. Marcus. Anthony. Her brothers. She couldn't stop her grin. They wanted to meet her. She pressed the scroll to her chest, a giggle escaping her as she all but skipped across the battlements—it was really more of an exuberant shuffle; she'd had enough healing magic poured into her to resurrect an army, but her body remained stiff and stubborn in its disobedience.

"Inquisitor," Solas called to her the instant she stepped inside the rotunda. "A moment of your time?"

She tucked the note away in the pockets—wonderful things, pockets; now that she had some, she marveled that more clothes didn't have them—before turning to him.

"Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Yes," he said, gesturing to the ocularum on his desk. "But I think the matter bears further discussion."

"I've already decided that it's best to destroy them."

"But that would be a terrible waste," he said. "We have no idea what those shards recovered from the Venatori unlock. The magic within them is of elven design; whatever they reveal could greatly help in the fight against Corypheus."

"Or it might do nothing. Or it could unleash another threat that we'd have to deal with. Either way, I've given the order and I'm not going to change my mind."

"Is it not better to thoroughly check every possibility?"

"Not when that 'possibility' comes at the cost of the Tranquil." A touch of queasiness made her stomach curl—even now, after reading the letters they'd found, she could barely believe what the Venatori had done.

Solas' face softened, his voice gentle like he was trying to console a child. "Their lives are already lost, Inquisitor. Using the oculara would make their deaths mean something."

"No," she said. "The Tranquil have already suffered too much. I will not make a mockery of this... butchery. I'd rather show others that I will not allow them to get away with such methods. If the Inquisition is to be a stabilizing force in Thedas, if we are to claim that our actions are for the good of all, then we must prove it. That starts now."

Kaitlyn marched passed him, collecting the ocularum on her way. She held it with care, her thumb absently tracing the spot on the forehead where the scar from the sunburst brand would've been.

Alexius was quite clear in his orders, the letter had read. Find the shards at any cost. Force a demon to possess a Tranquil then kill them within that same second. No wonder the man had wanted any living Tranquil kept out of his sight.

A dozen or so people were gathered in the great hall. Throughout the day, workers and soldiers alike had cleared the room of debris. With the fireplace full of crackling logs, rich velvets draped over the damaged sections of the walls, and tables spread throughout the room, the place only looked vaguely shabby instead of the horrendous disaster it'd been before.

Josephine stood beside the throne—a plush chair with an Inquisition banner draped over it—along with Clemence and Helisma. The others in the room avoided the eyes of the two Tranquil, but Kaitlyn greeted them with a smile.

"Are the two of you certain about this?" she asked. "What I'm asking is a request, not an order."

"We understand, Inquisitor," Helisma said in an even tone. "And we will help."

She thanked them and took her seat, her heart beginning to race. Several noble couples were in attendance, their eyes scrutinizing everything behind their golden and porcelain masks. Fiona and Barris were there as well, the pair of them standing side by side as Kaitlyn had requested. Cassandra stood by the fire, Dorian and Felix in the shadows beyond, and a handful of soldiers and servants spread throughout.