Chapter 32

It was sundown that the duel would take place, across the river from the throne of the elements, under a clear night sky. Here blood would be spilled and business would be settled.

Here my hunt would end.

I was yelled at, many times, as I refused to take a single blade, bow, or even an arrow. Only Teir was quiet, holding my ward in my arms, reserved worry haunting her blue eyes.

"Take care of her." Was all I said.

"Take care of him," our meanings were antonymous.

I saw him waiting, unarmed completely-he even shed his mantle. He would fight with every extension of his body.

I would fight with every extension of mine.

I stepped into the ring, the entirety of the Warsong clan and many of the Frostwolves standing outside it, watching. Teir refused to watch me fight with my ward in her arms, but Kenlora was there, along with Khadgar and Anduin, who looked murderous.

"Prepare your death vows Hellscream-I will guide you to Oshu'gun," the holy resting place of the Orcs, I couldn't resist walking a spirit south to the holy place, my vows refused to let me shirk my duties even in this instance.

He spat on the ground, smirking, "We shall see, whelp."

With that, he charged.

I moved forward, walking calmly as he raced forward, then stepped aside and clenched a hand.

A wall of stone rose from where I had been standing, and he ran straight into it.

He stumbled backward, holding his head as he gathered himself, "You have broken the rituals!"

"Have I?" I dismissed the wall, sick amusement lightening the movements, "I'm fighting with every extension of my body. As is tradition. I seemed to remember you bringing a poisoned blade to a ritual just like this."

Low blow, but I wanted to watch him suffer.

"You-you don't have magic!"

"Don't I?" I asked, and I watched as realization dawned.

He entered a suicide fight.

He came at me again, and I simply held out my hand. As he neared, the whole of it was engulfed in flame, and he roared as his skin blistered almost immediately.

He fell backwards, and I prowled forward, allowing myself the pleasure of beating his face in with my fist multiple times, until my hand was sticky with blood, and I got a nice grip on his tusk.

"You stand accused, Hellscream."

I ripped it from his mouth with a horrid, wrenching squelch of a noise, and I heard verbal winces through the ring as he roared. I turned the bloodied tusk over in my hand and brought it down, striking him hard in the chest.

He tried to throw me off of him, but I allowed the earth to swallow my Legs-I straddled him and held him down.

His roars turned to screams as I began to carve, "You evaded your sentence to death as a prisoner of war once. I was to be your executor." I got the outer circle done, and blood was pouring as I worked out the details of the rune, "Here, on this plain in the rites of Mak'gora, I will serve you your sentence."

The blood was getting in the way, and I wiped at it, digging my fingers into the wounds as I moved to feast on the screams.

"The gnomes developed what they called the electric chair," I continued, binding his hands to the earth to keep him from messing up my work, "It's said to flood you with so much electricity that all that's left is a blackened husk." I finished the rune. I leaned down close, holding his face still so that I could whisper in his ear.

"I intend to deliver such a husk to your father, before I chop off his head."

He screamed, his eyes alight with terror as the magic crackled around me, the storm moving in.

I raised my hand to the sky, the other laying flat upon the blood rune I had carved.

"Fulgur, Ferit!"

Lightning came down, roared through my veins and out of my other hand, into Garrosh's bleeding rune. The rune augmented it, and he writhed in agony, his blood glowing and his skin peeling, burning and blackening.

The smell of death and burnt flesh poisoned the air, and I took savage delight in watching the light leave his eyes, before those two faded away.

I lowered my hand, ending the spell, and stood, the earth bindings falling away as the burnt, blackened corpse smoked.

Silence reigned, and I looked up to see the Warsong kneeling before me, I bowed in return.

"Choose your allegiance, Warsong!" I called, and their eyes lifted to me as one.

"Do you choose us, or do you choose Gul'Dan? We will not follow if you leave now. You have until sunrise tomorrow to be with the rest of your Horde in Tanaan, or to have pledged to Durotan and request entrance to his clan."

With that, I turned around and fainted.

Where the hell am I?

I looked around the burnt, blackened landscape, and my stomach clenched as I recognized the foul smell of sulfur that hung in the air.

Then I saw the trees, and all made sense. I'm in Tanaan.

But Why?

"They fight against us, master."

I turned to See-I bit down my growl at the sickening sight of Gul'Dan, but when I realised who he was talking to, I blanched.

Archimonde.

I shot to my feet, chest heaving as I struggled to figure out my surroundings, but the cry of a baby grounded me.

I turned to see a crib, and within that crib was Shad. My darling girl.

I drew her from the crib and into my chest, cradling her to comfort the both of us.

"Thank the light you're awake,"

I looked over to see Anduin, and realised we were in a wooden hut that had slats in the ceiling, with thatch and leathers lining the walls.

"Where are we?" I croaked, running my fingers absently stroking down Shad's back as my heart rate settled.

"We didn't want to move you too far, so we brought you to Grommashar," his face darkened minimally, "None of the Warsong came to us."

"Damn their loyalty," I growled, shifting Shad's barely there weight in my arms to keep her comfortable.

"Durotan wants Draka to return to Wolf Home, while we assault the citadel."

The vision flashed in my eyes again-Sulfur, Gul'Dan, Archi-

I almost fell, and Shad cried out at the imbalance, while Anduin watched warily, his hands on my waist to keep me upright, "What did you see?" He knew that visions were common at this point.

"Who is supplying Gul'Dan with his power," I said, feeling slightly ill.

Demonic presence was something of a strain on the Thalassian people to begin with, given our propensity for fel, but a Demon like that-

My vision tilted again as my fear churned through me, and Anduin gently took Shad into one arm, curling her into his chest as he steadied me with his free arm.

"Anduin I-." my throat closed, and he nodded.

"Go, I'll watch the ward," he said, looking vaguely panicked at the idea, but I lurched out of the hut into the village, following the magical signature of the Archmage.

"Jadearra, glad to see you're-." He stopped, his face paling as Teir ran forward, catching me as I tilted dangerous to the side.

"Open up, kid. What's going on?" I let her in, and her face went slack with terror, eyes widening as little tremors shook her.

I withdrew, but the horror didn't fade from her demeanor, and now Kenlora and Thrall were with us.

"What has happened?" Thrall asked, and Kenlora came to Teir, pressing two fingers to her lover's forehead.

She stiffened, her face tightening as she quivered like a taut bow string.

Then she roared.

It was an explosion of light energy, the typically warm, calming energy nearly burning the flesh from my body as it raced out, harsh and jagged, and it carried weight.

Her strength gave me pause-she was much more powerful than I thought.

"Ken-." Teir tried to go to her, but she stepped away, seething.

"My parents, my people, sacrificed everything! To defeat him, and he's-he's-." Energy was quivering about her, and she met my eyes like a wolf wanting dominance.

My magic unfurled in the air like wings, and the rival forces clashed-fuck her magic tasted like sweet air and-

I recoiled, baring my Teeth-I cannot eat her magic.

Teir was tensed, her muscles shaking, and I realised that a dominance fight between her other half and her lover would be hell.

"This is the past, Kenlora." It took a lot of effort to keep my tone calm, even with magic flared out behind me like a violent plume of weaponized feathers.

Her feathers were ruffled, the magic turning green-she has druidic power from her father then, too.

"He should not live. He is wrong. He is Man'ari."

One Draenic word I knew. The Man'ari, the Draenic name for the eredar who had been made into Dae'mons.

"Then let's take him down. Together," my power flexed unthreateningly, flaring out away from her instead of towards-a gesture of comradery as opposed to dominance.

That said, I didn't drop my gaze until she bowed her head, and I held my chin up appraisingly, reigning in my strength as Shad was walked up, greedily clutching at my babe.

"Can someone clue the non Elvin members of this party in?" Khadgar said, and I found the words deep in my heart of rage.

"Archimonde walks this earth, Archmage."

There was dead silence among us, and I felt the rage within myself, Teir, and quite palpably, Kenlora.

"There are at Hellfire citadel," Khadgar was quiet, "The Frostwolves and the rest of the Draenei have moved to counter their assaults."

"The Horde have been fel poisoned. A missive came in not long ago," Thrall spoke even quieter, and I looked down at my babe in pain.

"Is Draka still here?" I asked, holding my ward's gaze, hating myself for having to leave her again.

"I will take her back to Wolf home-it is far from the coming battle," Draka spoke softly, startling me, and I pressed a hard kiss to Shad's forehead, holding her close to me.

"Remember me," I whispered, my voice cracking, and I nearly let loose a sob when her fingers wrapped around my ear as she cooed confusedly.

I gave her off to Draka, eyes filled to the brim with unshed water as Draka walked away, my ward's little eyes peeking over her shoulder.

"I'll get you back to her," Anduin was close, pressed against my back, his arms going around me in a show of comfort-something that does not happen in front of others often.

I basked in it, letting his warmth keep me sane as his breath tickled my ear. I took a deep breath, smelling the honey and mint, and I let the tears come.

People trailed away, mumbling things about planning, and left us to stand in the middle of the village, swimming in my grief.

I became vaguely aware of him speaking, and my stomach coiled as the soft language rolled over me, realizing belatedly that he was speaking Thalassian.

I had stopped crying, and was simply relishing his presence, my cheek pressed against his chest as I listened to his firm, steady heartbeat.

"Are you back from your thoughts, Princessling?" Anduin asked, his voice a cool spring of clarity.

"I am sick of war," I lamented, feeling a strange kind of tired.

"It's almost over, I promise. Soon we can be in peace, with Shad and our families. We will return to Azeroth." Anduin declared, turning me to face him, and I smiled tiredly into the intent face he wore.

"I trust you, Princeling. You know that." I said softly, and he brushed his lips gently against my forehead.

"As soon as I have a ring."

He didn't have to say more, because that one phrase curled through me and soothed the ragged edges of my longing, like water smoothing away the sharp points of rocks.

"We should probably be included in the planni-."

"I have an idea," I said, running over him, and he looked at me, eyebrows drawn together, and I took a deep breath, "It's probably really stupid, but I've been thinking and ooking at the lines of magic all over this damned continent and I can only come up with one way to return us to Azeroth."

His apprehension was clear, but he nodded for me to continue, so I kept going, "When I defeated Teron Gor in the Auchindoun, I didn't just kill him, I…I consumed his magic. All of it."

There was silence, and when I chanced a look at Anduin's face, I saw shock in his wide eyes as his mouth tried to form words, before he simply nodded for me to continue.

"I think if I…do the same to Gul'Dan and to…to Archimonde. That kind of boost to my powers would allow me to wrench a portal open to Azeroth, if I get to the ley line connection that the original portal used fast enough. I have a magical line to Azeroth, and I think I could call on the dead to help me do it."

"You do realise you're talking about absorbing enough fel magic to enslave a legion, right?" Anduin's mouth finally started producing sound, "Your blood is so susceptible to fel and the last time you controlled a large amount of magic without any kind of lead up, you-."

I shook my head, covering his mouth with my hand, "I know, Anduin. But there is no other way to get us home. Khadgar is too old to channel that kind of energy, and I will not introduce Kenlora or you to that much fel."

"What about Teir? Or Thrall? Or this World's Velen? What about anyone else?" Anduin's voice was climbing, and he sounded a little hysterical.

I ran my hands along his shoulders, desperately trying to calm him and myself down, "Anduin, there is no one else. I am the best conduit of magic we have. If there's even the slightest chance I can get that portal open, and get all of you home-."

"What do you mean, all of us? What about you?" Anduin accused, and I flinched involuntarily.

I couldn't think of a way for me to get across the barrier, and Anduin saw it in my face. His fell, horror and comprehension dawning in his eyes, and he shook his head fiercely.

"No."

"Anduin-."

"No! I will not leave you! You're insane to even think that would happen!" Anduin was pacing, raking his hands through his hair, leaving it sticking in multiple directions.

"Maybe-Maybe if we keep thinking, we can-."

"Jade."

I stopped, my tears brimming free again, and I looked into his eyes.

"I don't care if I have to die on this wretched planet and never see home again. I am not leaving you."