Terrence knew, and tried to respect, the layers of memories that she kept buried. Had he been more certain of what it was he was looking for, he would have bypassed them; as it was, all he had to go on was that it was related to her Mark, and he would know what he was looking for when he found it. A secret worth keeping on threat of pain and death seemed like something he would recognize.
And then he was deep inside one memory, unsure if he'd found his way there or if she'd forced it to the front of her mind, or some combination of the two. It had been a long time since he'd seen her forearm without the Mark, or seen it fresh. He could almost feel it on his own arm as he watched.
Then - there, that had to be it, the secret. A potion, a potion to keep the unMarked population complacent with their new government - a potion that he was under, that was affecting his opinions even now as he watched. He thought he should probably feel horror, anger, but instead he felt confusion and disbelief. Not that the memory was wrong, not that it was a lie, but that he could be under a potion like that and not know it, not even notice a change. Of course, no one would have been around to notice it, to know him well enough to see what the potion might be changing, except for her - and she was bound not to tell him for fear of her life.
He broke the connection by closing his eyes and lowering his wand, his head falling forward to rest against hers simply because his mind was too occupied, his visceral and emotional reaction too confusing to even begin to process the idea of moving away or holding it up any longer. He didn't feel hatred, the way she'd said he would, but fuck, what if that was the potion itself holding it back?
It felt like there was some kind of instinctive, subconscious war inside him all of a sudden: the way he would have reacted to being physically restrained, working every angle to get out of his bindings and prevent anyone from controlling him. Except now, it was inside his head, running through his veins. Was he even managing to fight the potion or was he just fighting himself?
"Fucking hell," was all he could say, barely audible, turning his head so that his forehead rested against her temple.