28 and maybe 30?
I did both again!!
If he had known there were going to be red templars that spit red lyrium he wouldn't have brought his little sister. It's not that he thinks she's incapable, Ashara was supposed to be Clan Lavellan's next Keeper until it was destroyed. It's that he still has nightmares of her dying from red lyrium poisoning.
Dorian knows, he's the only one who knows. He knows about the nightmares, about sometimes looking at his sister and seeing her dying moments. Cyrrith tries to bring the red Templar down with a burst of arrows, maybe even draw its attention if he's lucky. But he's set on Ashara and her magic. Cyrrith is pulling back another arrow when he spits red lyrium.
Cyrrith shouts just as Dorian rams into Ashara. She collides with the ground with a grunt. There's a horrible sound as the red lyrium pierces Dorian's skin. He wobbles, gives Cyrrith a weak smile, and falls.
The spectre of Dorian appears a second later. Cyrrith takes a deep breath, nocking another arrow. He has to stay calm. Can't lose his nerve now. He counts the seconds that Dorian's ghost stays up. Cyrrith can't give into the urge to run to Dorian until this thing is dead. He barks an order at Cassandra, not even sure what he's saying. It makes sense to her though. She slays the thing not five seconds later.
Ashara is next to Dorian before Cyrrith. Her bare hands reach for the red shards sticking out of Dorian. "Don't touch him!" Cyrrith's voice booms across the cavern. Ashara flinches back. His knees slam into the ground beside her. "You can't just touch red lyrium bare handed Ashara!"
"Don't shout at me I'm just trying to help!" She sits back and watches Cyrrith wrap his gloved hands around the shards. "He took that hit for me. It was supposed to be me… please, no, Cyrrith, please… why did he do that?" Cyrrith doesn't answer her. "Cyrrith why did he do that?!"
He pulls out a shard and discards it. It feels like Dorian's whole side is littered with red lyrium. "Check his pulse but be careful." Cyrrith keeps his voice blank. Ashara scowls and does as he says.
"Pull the bigger shards out last."
"I know."
"He'll bleed out if you don't."
"I know!" Dorian's body shudders and his eyes just barely open. "Hey, easy, don't try to move. You've still got a lot of red lyrium in you."
"That's unfortunate," Dorian rasps, laying his head back. "Really puts a damper on my plans to seduce you tonight." Cyrrith lets out a wet laugh and pulls out another shard. Dorian shouts.
"Sorry, they have to come out."
"Am I going to scar?"
Cyrrith shakes his head. "No, Ashara's going to get you all healed up. You'll be fine." Cyrrith expects a witty remark from Dorian. But none comes. Dorian's head lolls back against the ground. "Dorian! Hey! Wake up! Please. Please wake up…" Cyrrith begs.
"He passed out from the pain. Inquisitor," Cassandra is next to him, a hand on his shoulder, "let me do it." Cyrrith nods, moving so he's beside Dorian's head. He yanks his gloves off and drops them into the dirt. Cyrrith cradles Dorian's head in his lap, stroking his fingers across his cheek. Cassandra is perfunctory in her work, listening to Ashara's directions.
Ashara jumps into action as soon as the last piece is removed. Magic encases Dorian's side, her focus unwavering. Dorian shudders back into consciousness. "There you are vhenan," Cyrrith stares into Dorian's eyes, looking for a hint of a red glow.
"Did I go somewhere?" Dorian reaches for Cyrrith's right hand and entangles their fingers. "You have that furrow in your brow again."
"You got impaled several times by red lyrium Dorian." Cyrrith leans down and kisses his forehead.
Dorian smiles and struggles to sit up. He leans against Cyrrith, turning his head to whisper in his ear. "You saw her dying again amatus. I know you did. I didn't want you to relive that." Cyrrith holds onto Dorian tight. "You're going to have to carry me out of here. I hope you know that."