Chapter Text
"Lucanis, I've got you!", was the first thing he heard after Rook had managed to loosen the tendrils holding Lucanis in place before he had to watch helplessly as Rook was grabbed by one of Ghilan'nain's blighted vines. He instinctively surged forward but his legs gave out briefly and he fell to his knees on the cold stone. He felt Spite wrap his presence around him like ethereal armor, as the demon roared in anger and protectiveness over Rook. He glanced over to where Rook was dangling upside down in front of Ghilan'nain and an icy fist clenched around his heart.
He took a few moments to assess the situation he now found himself in after being unconscious for who knew how long. Emmrich and the others were still fighting off darkspawn, although it took him a while to spot Harding who was climbing a pillar just behind Ghilan'nain.
As he looked for an angle on the goddess, he quickly followed Harding's lead with Spite extending his wings to easily ascend onto a few loose rocks to get closer. He glanced over at Harding who didn't seem to even acknowledge his presence. Her eyes were solely trained on Ghilan'nain with the kind of sharp focus he recognized of himself when he was trying to kill a target.
Over all those months that Lucanis had come to know Harding, he had quickly attuned to some of her tells. First it had been out of self-preservation when she hadn't trusted him to even cook her breakfast, then it was out of a necessity to work seamlessly as a team. This time, he could see resolve and something else in her eyes that made him almost cry out to her. His brow furrowed in anger and fear constricted his chest. She was determined to give \textit{him} an opening, whatever it took.
Lucanis frantically searched for any angle he could take, gripping Solas' dagger in his hand as Spite growled in his ear. The rocks tumbling to the ground beneath him echoed in his ears like the sharp crack of a cane on marble.
There is no place for emotion in killing. It's sloppy.
He knew as soon as he leapt off the pillar that he was going to fail. Caterina would have been disappointed.
Tendrils engulfed him again and slammed him back into the rocks he had just jumped from. Immediately, he felt two of his ribs break under the crushing pressure and one tendril pierced his skin, causing white-hot agony to spread through his abdomen. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe through the pain as he ground his teeth so hard he felt his jaw strain against it. Spite's presence engulfed his mind even more, not taking over but dimming the pain and Lucanis briefly wondered when the demon had learned how to do that.
He opened his eyes just in time to see Harding look over to him and his heart ached as the steely determination in her eyes burned into him.
"Whatever it takes." He didn't need to hear her to know what she said.
With a numb mind, he watched Harding ready her bow and fire, hitting the goddess with deadly precision. The moment Ghilan'nain killed her, he heard Rook's scream pierce the air.
File it down. Make it useful.
His vision narrowed into a thin tunnel as he zeroed in on his target. He let just enough hatred and anger enter his mind to block out everything else and free himself of the tendrils that held him. Just as Ghilan'nain was distracted enough, Spite's wings carried him forward in a swift motion and Lucanis buried the dagger deep inside her chest. He twisted it for good measure before he was thrown off her.
Lucanis grunted as he landed less than gracefully, the adrenaline slowly wearing off just when he saw the goddess fall to his strike. He stumbled a few feet away before his back hit a pillar and his legs threatened to give out on him once more. Spite's wings tried to steady him while he felt the demons presence holding onto his consciousness and he was sure that without Spite he would have blacked out already.
Rooks panicked face appeared at the edge of his vision as they tried to steady him against the powerful magical ripples originating from where Solas' dagger was still buried inside Ghilan'nain's chest. He thought he heard Emmrich yelling, before Rook disappeared from his side again.
He realized his consciousness was becoming hazy when another set of hands encircled his waist in an attempt to keep him upright. He was acutely aware of the many rings that adorned the fingers grasping at the clasps of his armor, digging into his abdomen.
"I've got you", Emmrich said before he draped one of Lucanis' arms across his shoulders, still clinging onto him. Glancing at the necromancer, Lucanis felt his heart stutter at the blood that streaked along the side of Emmrich's face. He weakly lifted his hand to gently turn the other's face and assess the wound. A cut at his temple was heavily bleeding, as head wounds tended to do. It wasn't serious but Lucanis hand tightened slightly on Emmrich's cheek.
Suddenly, Spite appeared in front of them, screaming louder than Lucanis had ever heard him, and if Lucanis hadn't felt like all the breath had been knocked out of him, he would have done the same. There, next to Ghilan'nain's corpse, was Rook, lying on their back with a large wound on their chest that was bleeding profusely, and Solas of all people standing above them with the lyrium dagger hanging loosely in his hand. Lucanis thought he saw regret flickering in Solas' face somewhere but as he struggled out of Emmrich's grip, he felt nothing but rage towards Solas.
His vision blurred just as Emmrich's arms caught him once more, watching the Dread Wolf disappear in a flash of white.