The entire situation was nothing but terrible, something Hawke wishes she could say rose just out of one of Varric's stories. Out of his mind alone and not reality. Or the will of the Maker, as the chantry would say. But she can't. Evelyn Trevelyan's choice came from Hawke's actions. If Hawke hadn't failed to kill Corypheus for good, if the mage-templar war hadn't started with the fall of the Gallows Circle and Knight-Commander Meredith's turn to red lyrium, none of this would have happened.

If they hadn't found the damned idol, none of this would have happened.

Fenris' reaction is completely expected and mostly justified. If only Hawke could think selfishly about it, maybe then she would not have asked for the outcome she did. Maybe she would be able to be angry about it, about the outcome that clearly took her life. Instead, she closes her eyes briefly and bows her head for a second, letting Fenris know without words that she regrets how she has hurt him and their friends.

"I asked for it," Hawke admits after a moment or two of silence, her head lifting once more as one of her hands worked while she spoke. "Corypheus was my fault and the Wardens needed someone to lead them. Stroud was the best choice to go, which meant I had to stay. I made my choice in the Fade before she even said a word."

It's flattering, in its own way, that Fenris cares so much about her. To see him this upset over her, when he knows her stance on mages and that her sister is a mage, warms a part of her that she didn't think ever would. Were this Bethany she was having a conversation with, she would offer a hug. This is Fenris, though, so she holds back and simply tries to let him know that she does regret what happened and that the choice they faced was so terrible.

"I'm sorry, Fenris. I had to end the nightmare."

Whether she means the nightmare demon itself or the nightmare of her own life she leaves unspoken.