The city looked normal again.
Too normal.
After the Watchers vanished, the smoke cleared fast—unnaturally fast—like someone had flipped a switch. By dawn, traffic returned to the cracked streets, horns blaring, shop lights humming, people rushing to work with tired faces.
To everyone else, nothing had happened.
But Aubrey couldn't stop seeing the way the shadows had bent toward Mara. The way her voice—if that's even what it was—had broken the attack.
Varric hadn't said a word since. He walked ahead, shoulders tight, every glance over his shoulder sharper than usual.
Mara finally broke the silence. "Don't look at me like that."
Aubrey blinked. "Like what?"
"Like I planned it. Like I knew." She hugged her arms, eyes flashing between them. "I didn't. I was just… scared."
Varric stopped walking. Turned slowly. "Scared doesn't knock back a Watcher."
The words cut sharp. Mara flinched, but held her ground. "I'm not one of them."
"No," Varric muttered. "That might be worse."
Aubrey stepped between them, heat prickling under his skin. "Enough. She's with us now. End of story."
Varric's gaze hardened, but he said nothing more. He just started walking again, muttering under his breath in a language Aubrey didn't recognize.
For a while, silence reigned.
---
They ducked into an abandoned rail station, one of Varric's "safe spots." Graffiti covered the walls, tracks rusted with rainwater, the whole place smelling of metal and mold. Varric lit a single lantern, its glow throwing long shadows across the concrete.
Aubrey sat against the wall, muscles aching. Every fight left him heavier, like the Bloodfire was eating into him.
Mara sat opposite, hugging her knees. She looked small against the ruin of the station.
Finally, she whispered, "Do you think they'll come after me too?"
The question hit like a blade. Aubrey didn't want to answer. Didn't want to admit that the Watchers already had her marked.
But lying wasn't an option.
"Yes."
Mara looked down, knuckles whitening as she clutched her knees tighter. She didn't cry. Didn't scream. Just sat there, quiet, like she was folding the weight into herself.
Aubrey hated that look. He wanted to tell her it'd be fine, that he'd protect her no matter what. But after what happened tonight, he wasn't sure those words would mean anything.
Instead, he said, "Whatever's inside you… we'll figure it out."
Her eyes lifted. Searching his face, like she wanted to believe him.
For a moment, neither spoke. The world outside felt far away—just shadows, rain on metal, and the quiet thrum of something neither of them understood.
---
But the world wasn't far.
In the deepest corner of the station, unseen by any of them, a thin line of shadow writhed against the wall. It pulsed once, then slipped back into the cracks, vanishing into the dark.
The Watchers were still watching. And Mara's name had already been whispered into their chorus.