"You volunteered to take me and Cia in."

Anders kisses Ilska's cheek. "I would do that any day, any year, any situation. You, Cia and Karl are the lights of my life."

She rolls her eyes. "Sap." The word has no heat.

"I really do mean it," Anders says, for once without show. His fingers dig in slightly to Ilska's shoulder.

She wraps her arm around him in turn, squeezes.

Anders beams, tucking his head close to hers. "You know, I'm so proud of you. The way you adapted to-"

Anders stops short.

"The Fade. It's been ruptured here."

Defiance ripples to the surface. "That feels to violent a description."

"Someone has CROSSED THE VEIL, Def!"

"But it feels surgical. Clean. Not an open wound."

"What do you mean surgical-"

Then it hits him. 

"Karl!" He screams, charging into their home.

Ilska follows close on his heels, Raeli and Defiance behind her.

Karl and Blaise sit opposite each other, inside of a drawn circle. Lyrium glitters around the edge, as well as the few things Blaise had claimed as his own. 

"NO! No, no, please, Karl, please-"

Ilska holds onto him. "They'll...they're strong. They know what they're doing. If you disturb it-"

"He doesn't know- he doesn't know what's there, what can take him-" 

Anders collapses to his knees, hands fisted in his hair. 

Ilska wraps around his shoulders. "Blaise won't let anything take him. You know that."

Anders hates himself for taking comfort from his daughter, for turning into her like she could protect him.

She tries. She's always tried to be a solid presence. For him, for Cia.

Speaking of Cia: ey appears in the doorway.

Anders looks up when ey walk into the room. "How long?"

"Ah- mmm. You'd been gone a good while. And I'd heard Rae shouting for Talia?"

“Cia-“

He doesn’t know what he’s asking. What he wants me to say.