Anri glanced upward to see his elder brother's head looking down at him; the man's dagger remained against his neck.

  "Um, either you're happy to see me, brother, or you're happy to see me." Anri gulped down a nervous knot.

  "Always with the clever tongue. Your reflexes are slow. If I'd been a serious threat, you'd be dead." Dennerisan scoffed as he removed the dagger and eased into the adjacent armchair to observe his younger brother's form. His green eyes narrowed with concern when they glanced upon Anri's half-arm.

  "Good to see you again, Brother, but did you really need to douse me in water?" Anri's brows lifted with a wry expression.

  Unlike Anri, who many saw as an easygoing and free-loving elf with charming looks and a wicked sharp wit, Dennerisan was viewed with caution and typically kept at arm's length. This was mainly due to his overprotectiveness for his baby brother, which made him come across as brooding and unpredictable. He held the same charming attractiveness as Anri, with darker and straighter long black hair kept in a loose ponytail. Being five years older, he showed a more manly maturity in his Dalish hunter armor. He was also an adept rogue, having taught his younger brother some tricks of the trade, so his body was toned and well honed to the rogue arts.

  "It was to clean the Tevinter filth off you." Dennerisan aloofly said as he examined his dagger.

  "Tevinter?! I hope you're not referring to Dorian."

  Dennerisan retained an austere expression upon hearing the name of Anri's lover. His baby brother's curiosity always got the better of him, which encouraged his tendency to romance male humans he shouldn't be courting. Anri's last affair was with a city guard captain, which stirred an unjust attack upon the clan due to the captain's fiancé causing a scene and dying by rebel mages. Anri was betrayed by the captain to save face and stop a retaliation against his town. It was for that reason Anri was sent to the Conclave to learn of the mage-rebellion war as well as escape death, and why the clan ended up roaming the Free Marches's northern border to end up at Wycome.

  "Of all people to court, you date a Tevinter Magister. That weird magic must've damaged your head!"

  "Weird magic? It's fucking Elven shit that damaged my arm, Brother!" Anri shook his head and frowned. "I haven't seen you for years, and the first thing we do is argue about Dorian."

  Dennerisan heaved a weary sigh and decided to drop his issues toward the matter. He only wanted to be sure Anri was happy and safe, but so far everything he had heard from secondary news or Inquisition agents left him constantly worried.

  Seeing his baby brother's arm half missing had him on edge.

  Previously, before the Conclave, he had always been around to help Anri out of a mess. So when he wasn't able to be there for Anri when he was leading the Inquisition, he found it frustrating and worrisome. Despite his wife's reassurances that he was well protected as Andraste's Herald.

  He glanced at Anri, who was definitely more grown up than when he had first left for Ferelden. And changed as he no longer wore Dalish garb but resembled a stylish noble. He sighed again and nodded, accepting a truth that Anri was no longer his baby brother to protect. But Anri's relationship with this Dorian still warranted some monitoring.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Tell me everything. I'll listen uninterrupted."

  Anri relaxed and eased back into his chair with a warm smile as he told his tale from the very beginning.

  "The Elven gods were nothing more than mages?" Dennerisan soberly questioned at the tale's end, not wanting to believe it was true but also not wanting to doubt his brother's words.

  "Keeper said this would bother you the most, but you're my brother; I trust you. And if you have to hear this, I'd rather it come from me."

  Dennerisan nodded. "Keeper has reasons, after all. Am I not the one that called the Chantry liars for what they said about the Dales?"

  "Ah, yeah, about that." Anri fretted, not sure if he should mention what he had discovered on that matter.

  "Let me guess, you discovered the truth during your Inquisition adventures."

  "Brother, I don't know what truth is anymore." Anri sighed, not hiding his doubts. "I've experienced some things no normal man should've and came face-to-face with a reality that completely contradicts everything I was raised on. How does one deal with all that?"

  If a year ago, Anri had told him that their elven gods were nothing more than mages and that the Exalted March on the Dales was a misunderstanding between cultures, he would've argued black and blue. Seeing his baby brother looking troubled and knowing what he did of the Inquisition through his wife's correspondence with Anri's advisors, he was willing to be more open-minded. Especially when Anri was opening up to him. He doubted he did so for anyone else who wasn't family.

  Once again he could be the big brother Anri needed.

  "Look, whatever is in the past stays in the past. We can be aware only so much that it makes our present and future better. That's what matters. We need to look forward, not back." Dennerisan smiled warmly when he added. "I'm very proud of what you've achieved and the man that you've become. Although your romance partner needs some looking into, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on this matter. After all, you're no longer the child I need to protect."

  "Brother." Tears welled in Anri's eyes.

  "So don't look back." He rose to take his leave. "I won't spread this to anyone; you can trust me."

  Anri's expression lapsed into a frown. "Actually, Brother, I could use your help."

  Those words sent Dennerisan's heart racing with warmth, knowing that his baby brother still needed him. Yet, he wanted to be sure it was for the right reasons. Anri was facing a crisis of faith as he saw it, so to aid him in the wrong way could be beyond damaging to his brother's psyche.

  "Oh? In what way?"

  "Similar stuff I used to do for the Inquisition, but can't be known to anyone who isn't part of my organization."

  "Your organization?"

  "Yes, if you agree, not even my former lieutenant, Rozellene Chambreterre, must know. Especially when I hear she's gone back to running a bakery while you hunt and play. You need to live two lives." Anri eyed his brother carefully with his knowing look.

  Dennerisan laughed. "I heard you became a lot sneakier when you became the fearsome leader, but since you have sourced out who your sister-in-law is before I can tell you, I see the talks are correct."

  Anri chuckled. "To be honest, it wasn't that hard. I happened by chance on a conversation between guards who dropped this fact in passing. It seems a lot of our clan founded relationships with my former Inquisition soldiers, which has tempered distrust toward humans."

  "Okay, what do you need me to do?" Dennerisan eased back into the chair and listened to Anri's offer and plans. Toward the end, he wholeheartedly agreed. He wasn't going to miss the chance to directly help his brother fight the good fight this time.

  If this ancient elven rebel was about to destroy their world to bring back a relic, damned if he was going to let that happen. He'd help his brother win their present and future Thedas. After all, Anri had a nephew or niece to get to know at the end of it all.