Chapter 37

Three weeks later…

Alyna strode purposefully down the bright corridors of the Violet Citadel. Only a few minutes earlier she had received a missive from Sylvanas that had immediately summoned her to Dalaran. With no more than a few words to Mograine and Kyala, she had teleported to the magical city and was now fervently trying to ignore the many thousands of heartbeats that were competing for her attention.

She had not seen the queen since the aftermath of the battle at Jotunheim. They had won the day, as predicted, but Sylvanas had struggled to contain her anger when Alyna had told her it was all for nothing. Burning the dead had become normal in Northrend, but they had both seen at least a handful of vrykul be plucked from the ground by val'kyr to be taken to the very centre of Icecrown for their ascension. A ghost of a smile graced the captain's grey features. Despite it all, both women had clearly enjoyed fighting alongside each other again, and Alyna had been saddened when Sylvanas had left soon after it had simmered down to isolated skirmishes.

In the three weeks since things had moved quickly in Icecrown. Mograine and Fordring had decided to merge their efforts into a new force called the Ashen Verdict. They had proven to be brutally effective, and they were now pressing forward towards the gates of Icecrown Citadel itself. Alyna's dark rangers and Forsaken soldiers were with them even now, fighting to secure a staging ground for the final assault.

She had no idea why Sylvanas was in Dalaran, nor what was so important as to remove her from the front line. As she entered the section of the citadel that had been designated for the queen's use, she was greeted by one of Sylvanas' bodyguards, Vorel. She was slender, even fragile looking, but Alyna knew that it meant nothing. As an undead dark ranger she was highly competent, strong, and deadly.

"Captain," she greeted. "The Dark Lady wants you to enter her quarters as soon as you arrive." She paused for a moment, assessing what she was allowed to say before adding, "She is not alone."

Alyna nodded her understanding. Kyala had warned her some time ago that other dark rangers had noticed the increasing informality between the captain and the queen. While they accepted their queen's desire to treat Alyna differently, it was not to be displayed to outsiders.

The captain knocked on the door before entering to give the occupants a polite warning of her arrival. Her eyes settled quickly on Sylvanas and she gave her queen a small bow as Vorel closed the door.

"My Lady, you requested my pre—" Alyna caught sight of the second person in the room, her surprise cutting her words short.

Lady Jaina Proudmoore gave the captain a small nod of recognition. The blonde leader of Theramore was slightly tense, but she got the distinct feeling it was at Alyna's potential reaction rather than anything to do with the banshee queen. Her staff had been rested in a weapon rack and she was trying to lean casually against the frame of a window with her arms crossed.

Alyna mutely turned back to her queen, not making any effort to hide her confusion. The smile was so small on Sylvanas' face that she was sure no one else would have noticed it, but she knew the queen was enjoying the situation. It was not often she got to truly surprise her lover. It quickly vanished and was replaced with an expression of cold determination that kept Alyna rooted to the spot awaiting whatever orders her queen was about to give her.

"Alyna," Sylvanas started, drawing out her name slowly. "Jaina has some information that I thought you should hear." Alyna noted the use of the human's first name. The queen turned to the archmage and gestured for her to continue. It was a small act of dominance not lost on the captain, but the human obliged eagerly.

"As the Ashen Verdict have gained ground we have been discovering more about the Lich King's operations." Jaina spoke softly but her words carried a weight Alyna could not quite place. "Three connected areas have come to our attention, one of which may provide the key to defeating the Scourge once and for all."

Alyna tilted her head slightly, now knowing what they had located. "The Halls of Reflection."

The archmage blinked in surprise and looked at Sylvanas. The queen gave her a smug grin. Jaina narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Alyna. "You know of them?"

"Of course," the captain matter-of-factly confirmed. "I was a high-ranking Scourge who spent a fair bit of time in Icecrown Citadel."

"So you've been there?" the human asked eagerly.

Alyna arched a bone white eyebrow at the archmage. "No."

"No?" She parroted the word, sounding deflated.

The captain looked at Sylvanas for permission to share her knowledge, receiving a brief nod. She turned her attention back to Jaina. "The Halls are the Lich King's private residence. As far as I know, only the highest ranked Scourge ever enter, and rarely."

"You just said you had such a rank," she pointed out.

Alyna inclined her head slightly. "The Halls had not been in use for long by the time I was freed. The Lich King had only been awake for a few months, and I spent most of that time in the Eastern Plaguelands on Acherus. I was simply not in Icecrown to be invited to the Halls." She shrugged lightly. "I heard he spent a fair bit of time there, ruling from the Shadow Throne. I have no idea if that is still the case."

Sylvanas decided to take control of the conversation. "Alyna told me everything she knew about the Scourge, including the Halls. I told the Horde what was relevant to the invasion plans, which was then passed on to you, the Alliance."

The blue in Jaina's eyes flashed briefly with her power, her brow furrowing in anger. "You kept this to yourself?"

The queen's dislike of having her decisions challenged showed in her tense stance. "I did not disclose information that had the potential to distract from our common goal. Had I informed the Horde and Alliance of the existence of the Halls they may have decided to make it a target, one which would have been futile."

The human was not about to back down, unfolding her arms and stepping forward. "If the reports coming in from SI:7 are to be believed, Arthas leaves Frostmourne unguarded in the Halls. How is retrieving the source of his power not a valid target?"

This bit of information was apparently new to Sylvanas. Her eyes narrowed and she turned to Alyna with her unspoken question.

The captain thought the information through. "It is … possible," she decided. She looked between the two women, weighing her words carefully. "Understand that this is more rumour than fact, but some Scourge believe that Frostmourne talks to the Lich King. Some say it has its own voice, others say it is all the souls that have been consumed. In either case, if distance from the blade quietens the voices it would not surprise me if he left it alone in the Halls."

That appeared to be what the archmage wanted to hear. Her face lit up in her eagerness as she moved closer to Sylvanas. "We have to go to the Halls."

"We?" returned the queen in mild amusement.

"Come on, Sylvanas, why else would I come to you with this?" The archmage refolded her arms stubbornly. "Arthas must be stopped and unlike the others we both have a personal interest in this." Alyna frowned slightly knowing that it was not just them with such an investment, but she remained quiet.

The queen's reply was devoid of emotion, which Alyna knew meant she was angry but trying to contain it. "You are here because you know Fordring and Mograine would consider this foolish, but you believe I am desperate enough in my vengeance to go with you into the lion's den."

The archmage faltered slightly. "I would not have put it quite that way, but yes I had hoped you would go with me. With the two of us, and a select group, I believe we can succeed."

"Succeed at what, exactly?" the queen challenged. When she finally did allow an emotion into her voice, it was contempt. "You want to save someone that no longer exists. Even Fordring has accepted there is nothing to redeem when he destroyed his heart."

Jaina appeared to retreat into herself somewhat, her next words spoken with quiet steel. "If we secure Frostmourne, we take away his power. Perhaps, it can even answer whether he can be saved or not. But the important thing is to get that sword away from Arthas."

The banshee queen stared at the archmage long and hard before eventually saying, "Agreed."

Alyna blinked and turned to Sylvanas. "But, my Lady? Going into the Halls almost guarantees we'll run into the Lich King himself!"

It was Jaina who answered. "Not if he is distracted. The Ashen Verdict are close to launching the main assault on the Citadel. If we wait for it to begin, we could teleport in and out before he knows we're there."

The captain shook her head. "The Halls are guarded against such things. The only way in is using a rune carried by Scourgelord Tyrannus. He guards the entrance at the top of the Pit of Saron, with his frost wyrm. Even with the rune, it only opens a window in the defences. We would have to leave the Halls before we could teleport away."

Sylvanas did not appear phased by the new information, much to the captain's dismay. "We can teleport to this Scourgelord and take the rune. It would delay us, but not by much."

Alyna sighed inwardly. Once Sylvanas had made up her mind on a course of action she could not be dissuaded. Pushing her reluctance aside the captain resigned herself to the inevitability of going to the Halls of Reflection. She spent the next couple of hours answering questions and providing as much information as she could recall, trying to increase their chances of success.

None of it helped her shake the sense of foreboding that had settled inside her.

A few days later…

Alyna stood by her queen as they watched Jaina and a male human introduced as Archmage Koreln cast the final spells for the mass teleportation spell they had been preparing for several days. They were in one of the halls used for lessons and as such it was steeped in magic that could be directed to help focus the spell. Over a dozen champions from the tournament milled around the room, their armour and weapons ready for action. Each one had been personally selected by the leader of Theramore to form part of the guard for the mission. The rest of the contingent consisted of Alyna herself, and the queen's three main bodyguards: Vorel, Loralen and Kalira.

The captain felt more than saw Sylvanas' body shift to lean in towards her to keep their conversation private. "You're still upset."

"I'm not upset," she murmured. She wasn't actually sure how she felt.

"Apprehensive, then."

Once they had finally been alone, she had made her opposition to the plan very clear to Sylvanas but had been swiftly dismissed. Her lover had been single-minded in her refusal to entertain Alyna's concerns and it was finally getting to the captain. She was worried Sylvanas would do something unexpected in her fervour while in the Halls.

Alyna glanced at her queen, keeping her voice low. "This feels wrong."

"So you've said," Sylvanas replied impatiently. "Several times."

"And that means nothing to you," the captain spat with more venom than she intended.

The queen leant back slightly as if she had been struck. Her eyes flashed angrily and she opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Jaina announcing they were ready. "We'll talk of this later," she hissed before turning to stride towards the archmage.

Alyna silently cursed and followed.

Intricate lines had been drawn expertly onto the floor in blue arcane energy, the lines meeting and condensing into orbs at three points to form a triangle. Magic pulsed through the spellwork and Alyna could feel it tugging at her subconscious, wanting to be unleashed. Encompassing the work was a large white chalk circle that had been deliberately left unpowered.

The captain had been quietly impressed at what Jaina had created. The Pit of Saron was outside of the Halls of Reflection, but it still had magical wards to stop anyone from teleporting in. They were not as strong as those in the residence though, and the archmage had devised a way to circumvent them with enough power. It would require the combined effort of three mages, each with control of a particular aspect of the spell. Koreln was in charge of opening and maintaining the arcane conduit that begins the spell, and Alyna would then guide it to where they wanted to go in the Pit using her knowledge of the area. Jaina was responsible for overriding any attempts to block or sabotage the teleport, and then for completing the spell.

Each mage stood by an orb as those they were transporting gathered around them, making sure they were inside the circle. In a move Alyna found reassuring, Sylvanas moved to stand just behind her captain's shoulder. As the other mages raised their staves to begin working their orbs, Alyna drew her runeblade and did the same, reaching her hand out towards the blue energy calling to her. She cast the spell Jaina had taught her and felt herself become connected to something greater, immediately becoming aware of the presence of the other mages through the spell as their magic combined.

It was then she comprehended just how powerful Jaina truly was. Though she could feel Koreln's contribution through their connection, the arcane energies flowing through the ruler of Theramore were so strong Alyna found she had to push back, or risk being overwhelmed by it. As she glanced at Jaina to make sure she was not pushing too strongly, she caught the archmage giving her a curious look. The outer circle flashed brightly with power as the conduit then opened and both women got to work.

A short time later, they all materialised on a flat black metal platform that jutted out over a sheer drop. All three mages doubled over for a moment to recover their senses as they were suddenly disconnected from each other. Alyna found the sensation more than a little disorientating, but she quickly recovered to look around. A tunnel entrance was visible to her right, and, to her relief, the gates to the Halls of Reflection were straight ahead of her, barring the way through a much smaller tunnel.

"Intruders have entered the master's domain. Signal the alarms!"

The voice boomed over the area, carried through unnatural means. She had never met the death knight Tyrannus, but she was familiar with his reputation of being a brutal and ruthless fighter. He flew into view on his frost wyrm and glared down at them.

"Well, what do we have here? Come to re-join the Scourge, Banshee Queen?"

Alyna realised she had not been noticed as Sylvanas snarled, nocked an arrow and fired it in reply at the death knight. He made no attempt to dodge the projectile and it thumped into his armoured chest, clanging harmlessly off the saronite it was made from.

He chuckled at the attempt. "Do you hear the clatter of bone and steel coming up the tunnel behind you? That is the sound of your impending demise."

Those with more acute hearing knew a large force was on its way, but it was news to the others. Jaina turned to the commander of her forces as he spoke to her. "We will hold off the undead as long as we can, even to our dying breath. Deal with the Scourgelord!"

She nodded grimly as Tyrannus scoffed in amusement. "Ha, such an amusing gesture from the rabble. When I have finished with you, my master's blade will feast upon your souls. Die!"

He stirred his frost wyrm into motion and leapt down from it almost on top of Sylvanas, swinging a large runic mace. He brought it down hard, only barely missing the rapidly moving queen. Thinking quickly, Jaina froze the Scourgelord's feet to the platform so he could not pursue. Arrows bounced off his black armour as the dark rangers looked for any weakness to penetrate.

Tyrannus flexed his arms and he grew larger with unholy magic, snapping his boots free of the frost. He roared at the retreating queen. "I shall not fail The Lich King! Come and meet your end!"

Alyna cast a glacial spike that slammed into his head with enough force it knocked him off balance and gained her his attention. He sneered at her. "Black eyes? Good, both of you are here." He started to run towards her, his mace raised, but she slowed him with rapid frost lances, easily managing to keep him out of reach.

The force Tyrannus had summoned clashed noisily into the champions waiting for them at the tunnel entrance, distracting Jaina from the Scourgelord as she went to aid her severely outnumbered chosen. With their arrows not doing much, Sylvanas gestured for her dark rangers to join them.

Irritated at being kept at bay, Tyrannus bellowed, "Rimefang, destroy these fools!"

The two women glanced at each other and then up into the sky as the frost wyrm banked around to strafe their position. They ran together to avoid the icy blast that fell from the wyrm's maw, narrowly avoiding the strike and now separated from Tyrannus by a long patch of hoarfrost.

"My arrows cannot penetrate that armour," Sylvanas groused.

Alyna glanced at the melee at the tunnel entrance. The undead were numberless and she could see they had already lost a few champions. "I can keep slowing him but killing him will take more time than we have." She threw more frost spells at the death knight to keep him at bay.

"Then you have no choice, Alyna," came the almost quiet words.

The captain turned to throw an incredulous look at Sylvanas. "After everything I've been through in the last few months, you want me to do that?"

Sylvanas' voice hardened as she grasped her ranger's arm. "We cannot tarry here. We need that rune and I'm ordering you to get it, now."

Alyna shook her head sadly but turned back to the Scourgelord to obey her queen. He stood still before her, as if he expected what was about to happen. She realised he probably did. She gasped as the power of his soul hit her long moments before his body hit the platform with the heavy clang of metal colliding. Not wanting to hold onto the energy for any length of time, Alyna ran towards the tunnel entrance and unleashed what she had absorbed on the Scourge, freezing the front ranks of their number solid. The few remaining champions backed away from the sight before collapsing where they stood to rest.

Jaina moved to the captain's side, assessing their casualties with clear sadness. Their number included Koreln and the loss was obviously a deep one for the archmage. The sounds of cracking ice could be heard from deeper inside the tunnel.

"We don't have long before they break through," Alyna observed.

"No," the archmage agreed. "We should get mov—" Both women turned at the sound of giant wings beating the air to see a huge skeletal frost wrym rise from the abyss below.

Alyna knew it could only be one creature, the queen of the Frostbrood. "Sindragosa!"

The archmage called out, "Take cover! To me!"

The captain looked out into the centre of the platform where Tyrannus had fallen to see her queen still at his side, now holding what she assumed was the rune they needed. Terror filled her as she realised she would not make it to shelter in time. "Sylvanas!"

The frostbrood queen spat a large frost bomb down at the platform. Alyna took a step forward to blink to Sylvanas to try and retrieve her only to have a strong hand grasp her shoulder and yank her back into the tunnel. The bomb detonated violently, instantly killing a pair of champions who had not made it in time. Fury blazed through the captain and she whirled on the person who had stopped her, to suddenly be facing the banshee queen herself.

"What? How?" Just as suddenly as her rage arrived, it bled away to be replaced by deep relief.

Sylvanas raised an amused eyebrow at the complete lack of formality as Vorel noticeably bristled before she turned calmly to the archmage at her side. "You have my gratitude."

"You're welcome," Jaina returned. "The Frost Queen is gone. We must keep moving – our objective is near." She looked down at the object in the queen's hand. After a pause, Sylvanas gave the archmage the rune and they all followed the human as she led the way across the devastated platform.

The saronite gates to the Halls of Reflection had no visible lock, leading Alyna to surmise there was none. Now she was close enough to reach out and touch them, she sensed the true obstacle to the Halls, an invisible magical barrier that was in place just before the metal gates.

As Jaina worked with the rune, Sylvanas called her dark rangers to her side. "Alyna, I want you to open a portal to the airship." The captain nodded. Still holding her runeblade, she began to open the portal as her queen turned to Kalira. "Go through it and find reinforcements. We lost too many and we need all the help they can send."

The dark ranger saluted and disappeared through the portal as soon as it was open. Alyna closed it just as Jaina managed to activate the rune. The barrier before the gates visibly retreated. They all stared at the gates for a moment before Sylvanas strode forward and pushed through easily, leading the way into the tunnel.

The only light was that provided by the two mages as they weaved through the winding tunnel. At first, Alyna had thought they were going deeper into the mountain, but the tunnel had twisted so many times she was now completely disorientated. Eventually, the space began to widen, and they found themselves blocked by a tall saronite door embossed with a skull. Again, there appeared to be no visible lock though this time she could not sense any magic around it. She looked at Jaina and received a headshake to confirm her senses.

"There's no magic."

Sylvanas pushed at it slightly, and the heavy door moved a little. With more effort, it swung open and admitted them into a more familiar looking corridor. Entirely made of saronite, the high ceiling, decorative skull motifs and spiked braziers with cold blue flames were the unmistakeable architecture of the Scourge.

Jaina wrapped her arms around herself as she stepped through. "The chill of this place ..." She shuddered. "I can feel my blood freezing." The handful of living champions left all responded similarly to the cold. The Forsaken group had felt the drop in temperature but were unaffected by it.

As the short corridor came to an end it opened up into a large, domed room, almost cathedral-like in its basic design. In the middle, hovering over an altar of skulls, was an unmistakeable sight.

Jaina abruptly stopped in her tracks. "What is that! Up ahead! Could it be?"

Sylvanas was equally stunned. "I ... I don't believe it! Frostmourne? Unguarded?"

Both women surged closer, the others close behind. Alyna grimaced with what was initially just discomfort, but it became worse as they moved forward. Where the cold did not affect them, proximity to the suspended sword was causing deep agony in the Forsaken. It was unexpected, and Alyna wondered if the Lich King supressed this particular feature of the blade when he held it.

The queen grunted and waved away Jaina's concern. "Standing this close to the blade that ended our lives ... the pain ... it is renewed." She forced herself upright. "We will persevere." Her red eyes took in the entirety of Frostmourne. "I dare not touch it." She looked at Jaina. "Can you remove it?"

Jaina raised her staff and put herself at the forefront of the party. "I don't know. I can attempt to commune with the spirits locked away within Frostmourne. Perhaps they can tell us how to move it safely."

Sylvanas nodded her agreement and moved back, giving the archmage space to work. As she tried to magically connect to the sword, blue orbs began to swirl above their heads, growing in number as the minutes passed. Slowly, it dawned on Alyna that these were the souls locked away within the blade and she quietly wondered if one of the blue orbs belonged to her.

Suddenly, one of the souls streaked down to hover before Jaina before taking the form of a human male in golden armour with a dark blue cloak.

"Jaina! Could it truly be you?" Alyna arched an eyebrow as the spirit appeared to recognise the archmage.

The woman gasped. "Uther! Dear Uther! I ... I'm so sorry."

Sylvanas stepped forward, confusion etched on her fine features. "Uther the Lightbringer? How …?"

The spirit shook his head. "You haven't much time. The Lich King sees what the sword sees. He will be here shortly."

Alyna sighed and began to prepare her defensive spells, swallowing the urge to say she told them this would happen.

Jaina's face lit up with hope. "Arthas is here? Maybe I …"

"No, girl." Uther interpreted. "Arthas is not here. Arthas is merely a presence within the Lich King's mind. A dwindling presence."

"But Uther, if there's any hope of reaching Arthas. I ... I must try."

Sylvanas rounded on the archmage angrily. "Listen to him, Proudmoore! Open your ears and accept the inevitable. The man you love is dead!"

Despite the cold, Jaina's face flushed with resentment, her eyes glowing brightly with power as she stepped closer to the queen. "How dare you speak to me that way!" Both women missed the spirit's form rippling briefly, his body language turning more urgent as Jaina continued angrily, "But I shouldn't expect you of all people to understand. Your heart is as dead as the rest of you!"

"Jaina!" That caught the woman's attention and she turned to the paladin, unaware of the seething red glower aimed in her direction. "You must destroy the Lich King. You cannot reason with him, and you cannot defeat him here. You would be a fool to try. He will kill you and your allies and raise you all as powerful soldiers of the Scourge." He turned to the banshee queen. "But for you, Sylvanas, his reward for you would be worse than the last." Finally, he turned to Alyna. "As for you, you are already—."

He was interrupted by the distraught reaction of the archmage, leaving Alyna blinking in confusion at the unfinished sentence. "How do I destroy my prince? My ..."

The Lightbringer growled harshly at her. "Snap out of it, girl. You must destroy the Lich King at the place where he merged with Ner'zhul – atop the spire, at the Frozen Throne. It is the only way."

The words finally seemed to have an effect on the human, which was probably the only thing that stopped Sylvanas from saying more. "You're right, Uther. Forgive me. I ... I don't know what got a hold of me."

Alyna closed her eyes lest she be caught rolling them, but they were forced open by Uther's next words.

"There is ... something else that you should know: there must always be a Lich King." Alyna frowned deeply, her reaction mirrored by her queen. "Even if you were to strike down the Lich King, another would have to take his place. For without the control of its master, the Scourge would run rampant across the world – destroying all living things."

With growing horror, Alyna knew his words were true.

Sylvanas shook her head in her own expression of dismay. "Who could bear such a burden?"

Uther shook his own head. "I do not know, Banshee Queen. I suspect that the piece of Arthas that might be left inside the Lich King is all that holds the Scourge from annihilating Azeroth."

The archmage murmured, "Then maybe there is still hope ..." It earned her a few looks of disgust.

Suddenly, a door on the far side of the room was flung open and the Lich King ran through.

The spirit of Uther doubled over in pain. "ARRRRRRGHHHH ... He ... He is coming. You ... You must ..."

The Lich King continued to run towards them as they quickly regrouped into a defensive formation. "Silence, Paladin!" The spirit vanished along with all of the souls above their heads, sinking back into Frostmourne. A gloved hand reached out and the sword obediently flew to its master. "So, you wish to commune with the dead? You shall have your wish." He gestured and two death knights appeared in alcoves to each side of their position. "Falric. Marwyn. Bring their corpses to my chamber when you are through."

They both bowed before drawing their runic weapons. "As you wish, my Lord," they both chimed.

Alyna recognised the two death knights. Once captains under his command in service of Lordaeron, they were the amongst the first to be transformed by Arthas after he found Frostmourne. They were also utterly loyal.

Uninterested in the fight itself, the Lich King began to retreat back through the door he had come through.

Sylvanas looked between the two death knights and then after Arthas, and Alyna had the sensation of her stomach sinking as she realised what was about to happen. The banshee queen bolted after the disappearing form of the Lich King.

"You will not escape me that easily, Arthas!"

"Shit!" Alyna cursed as both she and the remaining two dark rangers followed their queen through the large door. Jaina was not about to let them all go on without her and followed mutely.

The leader of the champions yelled after them, "We'll handle these two!"

Together, they all ran down the corridor. The Lich King led them away from the sound of battle, around several corners and up a steep ramp into a strangely familiar chamber. A dark throne occupied one end, flanked by dark blue drapes that hung from the vaulted ceiling. An archway to their right led outside, the ice and snow of the mountain visible. As she looked at the tiled floor, she realised the whole chamber was dark mockery of the throne room of Lordaeron, the very room where Arthas had killed his father.

He was waiting for them before the Shadow Throne, Frostmourne raised. "I will not make the same mistake again, Sylvanas. This time there will be no escape. You will all serve me in death!" Shadows swirled around his hand as he raised it and pulled Loralen towards him with a deathgrip, impaling her on Frostmourne. Her scream was cut off as her soul was ripped from her body to be consumed by the blade. Her body slipped silently off the runeblade when he lowered it.

"You monster!" Jaina cried before she began casting a series of frost spells at her once-lover. Alyna added her own magic to the chaos as Sylvanas began firing black arrows along with Vorel.

If the Lich King was phased by any of the attacks, he did not show it. Instead, he laughed and launched his own attacks at the four using Frostmourne. A remorseless swirl of frost suddenly encompassed him, slowing anything that entered its area of effect and pummelling it with icy shards, from magic to projectiles, to people. Alyna felt herself being drawn in and was only able to pull away when she reinforced her frost barrier. All four tried to keep their distance, but it was difficult in what was now feeling like a very small chamber. In turn, they each had to deal with the literal winter that surrounded the Lich King, all narrowly managing to evade being impaled by the blade they were all wary of. It left them battered, and increasingly weaker each time they had to deal with the onslaught.

"How long can you fight it?" he taunted them, chuckling at their struggles. "Succumb to the chill of the grave."

He chose that moment to swing around and reach out with his hand, closing it into a fist. Sylvanas made a choking sound and was then raised into the air, her feet searching for ground that was out of reach. She was in no danger of being strangled to death, but she was slowly being pulled towards the Lich King and his waiting runeblade, unable to break free from his grasp.

"Sylvanas!" Alyna called to her lover, frantically trying to force the Lich King to drop her with a flurry of spells.

Jaina blinked over to the captain, grabbing her arm to get her attention. "Work with me to freeze him," she ordered. Alyna nodded and the archmage raised her staff, drawing deeply from its reserves. The captain did the same with her runeblade, and when Jaina began to weave her spell she added her magic to that of the archmage.

Abruptly, the Lich King was encased in a block of ice. Sylvanas dropped to the floor, managing to land on her feet though clearly shaken by her ordeal.

With her hand around her throat, the queen looked back at the mages. "He's ... too powerful."

Jaina gestured at the archway leading outside. "We must leave at once. Our magic can hold him in place for only a short time."

Sylvanas grunted, "Agreed."

The four moved through the exit and out into the cold. The path was barely wide enough for them to move abreast of each other. The mountain flanked their right side, wooden structures built against it to try and prevent collapse. The path dropped away to their left. Glancing down, Alyna could see the Pit of Saron far below. Wooden cranes and lifts still existed along the path they were on, presumably used to raise the saronite required to build the Halls.

A loud shattering sound boomed through the air. None of them looked back, knowing what it meant.

"Keep moving," snapped the banshee queen.

As if in reply, a tall barrier of ice materialised into place before them, blocking their path. Laughter echoed behind them, his voice carrying to their ears easily. "There is no escape! Death's cold embrace awaits."

Jaina looked at Alyna. "Help me destroy this barrier." Not needing to be told twice, Alyna once again added her power to Jaina's spellwork, the other woman channelling a spell into the wall that would eventually shatter it. Through her focus, she heard the sounds of arrows being released and risked a glance back. Sylvanas was immediately behind her, using her body to protect her lover from attack as ghouls launched themselves at the group.

The wall collapsed and the group broke into a run. The Lich King was in no hurry though, and he slowly walked down the path with his magic swirling around him, stopping only to raise more minions to send after them. His confidence disturbed Alyna, as it was intended to.

Another wall rose before them. Alyna cursed. She was feeling the strain of using so much magic, unable to replenish her reserves. The ghouls and abominations being sent at them were soulless creatures, which she suspected was intentional. Still, she leant what strength she had left to the archmage as Sylvanas and Vorel protected them from the increasing number of undead.

"We're almost there," Jaina grunted with her effort. "Don't give up!"

Sylvanas growled under her breath as she felled another ghoul, "I grow tired of these games."

As the wall shattered, Alyna felt a flash of pain coarse through her body. Her fangs elongated and all she could hear for a few moments was Jaina's heartbeat. Someone grasped her arm and yanked her hard, pulling her out of her distraction. Her legs started to move, and she looked up to see Sylvanas peering at her closely with concern in her eyes, still holding on to her arm.

She shrugged her lover off so they could run. Straight into another wall of ice. Alyna looked at Jaina, allowing her despair to show. "I can't. I have nothing left."

The human's eyebrows rose but she steeled herself quickly and nodded, setting about her task alone. The captain drew her bow and stood next to Sylvanas as the next wave of undead arrived. Behind them, the Lich King advanced at the same infuriatingly slow pace.

Sylvanas glanced back at the archmage nervously. "We need that wall down, now!"

"I need more time!" came the desperate reply.

"We have none," the queen stated with a sense of finality.

He was close enough now he was no longer summoning undead, clearly wishing to finish them off himself. Alyna lowered her bow, knowing it was useless against him. She looked at Sylvanas. Her queen was glaring at their foe, but Alyna could see the fear in her tense body language. She reached out to her lover and took hold of her arm, all of a sudden knowing what she had to do. She pulled the queen behind Vorel to a point where Jaina also had her back to the pair. Confused red eyes scanned her face with concern. Alyna slung her bow across her back and took the queen's face between her hands and kissed her tenderly, surprising the woman, but she did not back away. When they parted, she raised Sylvanas' hand to her lips and kissed the finger that bore her ring before she looked up at the woman she owed everything to.

"I'm sorry, Sylvanas."

The queen shook her head, perplexed. "For what, Alyna?"

She gave her queen a small smile but did not reply. Instead, she stepped away, and walked towards the Lich King.

"A-Alyna?" stammered the queen as she watched her lover walk away. Her heart refused to grasp what she was seeing even as her mind processed it into what was rapidly becoming an all-consuming pain. "ALYNA!" she cried desperately, her feet automatically moving her forward.

Hands grasped her arm to stop her from following. "My Lady!"

Sylvanas pushed back against Vorel, keeping her eyes on Alyna. "Get off me!"

The dark ranger reached out again. "Lady Sylvanas!"

She ignored her bodyguard, but her feet no longer moved as she watched Alyna come into range of the Lich King. He stopped his advance and the spell surrounding him dissipated to let her get closer. As the woman she loved dropped to her knees before him, so did Sylvanas' legs give way and she collapsed onto the icy ground.

"Alyna …" she whispered; all her strength suddenly gone.

The wall cracked and crumbled behind her, but she no longer cared. Nor did she have the will to object when two pairs of hands hooked themselves under her arms and dragged her back to her feet.

Then a hand slapped her hard across the face. It did not hurt, but it was such a shocking act to Sylvanas that she turned to glare at the perpetrator.

Jaina pointed down the path towards an opening. "Do not waste the time she has bought us. Move! NOW!"

A complete numbness took over the banshee queen and she mutely followed the archmage, much to the relief of her bodyguard. With the human's exhaustion, they barely managed a light jog, but it moved them away from the Lich King. And Alyna.

They passed under a rocky arch that led them out onto a plateau, where the path ended. Jaina looked around, her shoulders slumping. "It … it's a dead end. We have no choice but to fight."

Sylvanas looked back through the arch, but Alyna was out of sight. Her mind was consumed with questions she had no answers to, but the singular word overriding most of them was … why?

For you, came the stark reply.

A great roar rose behind them, not from a creature but from an engine. The three women turned to see the Orgrim's Hammer rise up from somewhere below the plateau, her guns trained on the archway.

"Fire! Fire!" came the command, and the guns obeyed, collapsing the only route back to Alyna. She knew she should feel relieved at her imminent rescue, but right now the banshee queen felt nothing but the great void that had settled inside her.

Time ceased to exist for Sylvanas. She had no idea how long they waited for the airship to lower the gangway, or even how long it had been since she boarded the vessel. Jaina was now in her quarters, so she presumed it had not been long. Not that it mattered. Not anymore.

"Sylvanas?" The archmage edged forward, unsure. She tried again. "Sylvanas?"

The queen turned her gaze to the human. "What?"

"I … I'm sorry." Jaina shifted her weight awkwardly before adding, "For your loss."

"My loss?" she asked emptily.

Jaina brushed her fingers back through her blonde hair, trying to find the right words. "I've seen you lose people before. You've never reacted like … this." She gestured at the queen.

The queen rose from her desk, which she only now belatedly realised she'd been sitting at, and walked to the porthole. The dark rock of Icecrown flashed by below, but the details of where they were eluded her. "Loss would imply that I understand the concepts that engender such a feeling," she spat, bitterly. "As you pointed out to me, I am incapable of such."

She heard a deep sigh from the woman behind her. "Forgive me, Sylvanas. I should have listened to you, and Uther. I … I just had to see for myself. To look into his eyes one last time." She paused to presumably collect her thoughts. "I said things I didn't mean because what you were both saying was too painful. I am sorry. And. I really am sorry for your loss." Another pause. "Alyna was special."

Rage flashed through the queen. "Is special. She is special." She turned to face the archmage, a sense of renewed purpose starting to fill the void. "This isn't over. We are taking the fight to Arthas and I will free her again." She clenched her fist, the leather cracking audibly in the small room. "Whatever it takes."