#sweetestsins on ao3

[sugarysins]

chapter 10: trials & tribulations

“I’ve never liked him.” The admission flew from her lips before she realized what she was saying. Not that she hadn’t made it quite obvious before, of course.

“I’m starting to think you don’t like anyone, Hyacinth.”

Somehow that one sentence drew a smile out of her. “Fisher said the same thing. And just as I told him, I like you. Occasionally.”

A crooked grin split his face. “Occasionally? I suppose that’s better than never .”

So much warmth radiated from that one smile, her cheeks flushed bright red as if he’d burned her. Something akin to a long-dead flower bloomed within her. Already Cullen had tainted her — the thought nearly made her sick.

[sugarysins]

sorrows, prayers - cullen x dalish oc

ch. 10 - the trial (sneak peek)

Jessamine silenced the mass with a raised hand. “Go on,” she uttered calmly, nodding in Hyacinth’s direction.

“After I left, the Venatori spellcaster, Kevain, followed me. He gave me a choice: I could die by his hand then and there, or he would send me back in exchange for internal information on Inquisition matters. As you might have already surmised, I agreed to his terms.”

An outraged gasp rippled through the crowd. On the podium, the others shifted uncomfortably. If Leliana was upset before, now she was positively murderous. Hyacinth suspected if no one was around, she’d have a knife in her back.

“Are you admitting to treason?” Jessamine asked incredulously. Behind her, Cullen had gone stark white, staring at Hyacinth like he didn’t recognize her.

Great, it only took a bout of miscommunication to capture his full attention, she thought as the volume in the room raised once again. Only this time, he seemed to be staring right through her rather than at her. Her throat constricted as if preparing for tears but she powered through. Absolutely not; get a grip.

“No, I’ve come to make a deal with you instead.”

[sugarysins]

There was always a catch with him. It didn’t matter what he promised, she knew there was more to it than that.

“And you want something in return, is that right?”

Tracing the rim of his cup with a long finger, he was silent as he contemplated the question. She could practically see the gears turning in his head.

“An exchange, if you will,” he said far too casually for her liking. She narrowed her eyes at him. “With the last of the Snake Eyes gone, thanks to you, I no longer have eyes and ears for my Venatori. You, however, are one of the Inquisition’s finest agents – at least, you were.” He sat up straighter and leaned over, dropping his voice. “Information for freedom. Do we have a deal?”

She sucked in sharply. He couldn’t be serious! He was intentionally withholding the core part of her very being, her magic, for the incredibly large price of betraying the strongest military organization in Thedas. What was worse, she was genuinely taking it into consideration.

[sugarysins]

“at least my rage is red”

From those damned tormenting dreams to his every waking thought, he had become utterly consumed by her. It crept up on him maddeningly and devoured him whole.

She had once told him, or rather shouted at him, that he was always blindly following powerful women, always nipping at their heels like a dog. As much as he hated hearing it at the time, he could now appreciate the truth in her words. Perhaps she had even been including herself in that and he had yet to come to terms with it.

Now she was gone, and he felt more alone than ever. Against her permission he had attached her vitality to his very essence with a thread and needle, and then she had been ripped away, once again.

“it’s the closest to love that you’ll ever get”