I held a letter in my hand. A letter from Thrall, telling me that Dar'Khan had to be killed before he would consider the Sin'dorei into the Horde. I stared at it, feeling a familiar fury coming over me.

What the hell did he think he was playing at, refusing to let the Sin'dorei into the Horde as long as Dar'Khan was alive?

I was about to start screaming when I blinked. A portal was materializing in a corner of the room. Faith's portal.

I got to my feet and walked over to it, telling the guards not to let anybody inside until I gave them permission. They nodded, and I placed myself in front of the portal, catching Faith by surprise just as she came through it.

"Whoa!" she cried, nearly landing right on top of me. I caught her and immediately led her down the corridor towards her chamber, where I pushed her against the wall and just looked at her.

"How do you always know when to come to me when I need you?"

"It's a gift, I guess," she whispered. "Sylvanas…"

The tone of her voice crashed into me. She wasn't excited, or even happy to see me, exactly. She was scared. "What happened?"

She looked to her left, nodding, and I turned my head in that direction. "What in the world are you doing with a shade following you?" I cried.

"It's Taegan."

Taegan? "Your brother?" What? I looked at the creature, able to see it better than most because of my former connection to the Scourge. I did see its features, and indeed, it did look like Taegan. But I'd known shades to be deceptive in the past. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." She sounded heartbroken all over again, and I pulled her to me, closing my eyes. "Did you come back here to tell me about him?"

"No. I came here to tell you that we're going to need your help. And to ask you whether he can stay here."

"In Undercity?" I looked at the shade – Taegan. He wailed at me. "There's no need to wail, I sense your emotions."

"It's really him?"

I focused on him, and he looked at me, his image shimmering in and out of my field of vision. And I knew with absolute certainty that I was looking at what remained of Faith's brother. I nodded to her.

I saw the reality of it crash onto her. For a second, she looked as though she were in the depths of despair. Then, she sank against the wall.

"I don't want this anymore, Sylvanas," she told me. A tear was running down her face. "I can't live like this. It's too hard."

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to quit? Will you go to Northrend and tell Arthas to kill you? Or will you simply step into your black fire so that you won't be resurrected afterwards?" I took her hands in mine and pulled her back to her feet, "I've known you since you were a few hours old, Faith, and in all that time, I've never seen you quit."

"Well I quit now. You're a banshee, my brother's a shade… I was supposed to have killed everyone in the village, but many of them survived and are serving the Scourge now? My entire family?"

"Taegan came to you. He recognized you. He bound himself to you. He's your brother, Faith, whatever he may look like. It's his soul in there, and while it may be warped and not whole, it's him."

"And I can't set him free, can I?"

I had absolutely no idea about that. "If I knew a way to set souls free, do you honestly think we'd be standing here having this discussion?"

She didn't say anything, looking at the ground.

"So. Why did you come here?" I asked her finally

"I thought you said I could come home whenever I wanted?"

"You can, but I know how busy you are. You wouldn't have come here for a good reason."

"What if my good reason is that I don't like being away from you?"

I just looked at her and she shook her head, wiping at her eyes.

"You're right. I do have a good reason for coming to you. We have a problem."

I surmised that she didn't just mean the two of us, "What kind of problem?"

"We took back Windrunner Village two days ago. If the wards we put around there hold, the Scourge hasn't gone back there."

My head spun. Taken back the village? I put my hands on her shoulders, "You took it back, Faith? You managed it?"

She smiled briefly and put her hands over mine, rubbing briefly, "Now, don't get excited. I did say there was a problem. Yes, we took the village away from the Scourge. It wasn't easy, because there were as many Scourge as there were of us, but we were able to kill most of them. The shades remained, except for Taegan." She nodded towards him.

"How many did you kill?"

"One fifty, give or take a dozen."

"Impressive," I said. In fact, I felt proud of my girl right then. But the look on her face told me that there was more to the story. "What else happened?"

"Windrunner Spire got reinforcements, likely from Deatholme," she said. "A lot of them."

"How many do you think are there now?"

"Three-hundred by the time we left, so I'm betting that there are more. Sylvanas –."

"I'm way ahead of you," I told her. "Follow me." I led her to my office and closed the door, grabbing a map of Quel'Thalas and spreading it on my desk. "Between three and five-hundred at the Spire," I pointed to it. "And probably double that number in Deatholme, if not more."

"It's not just an army we'll need, but an experienced one."

I nodded, "Take all of the First Magi Corps that are left here. It'll bring your number to four-hundred." I wished I could spare more people, but there was no way I could – we were vulnerable as it was. "What kind of army does Lor'themar have?"

"We'll be outnumbered, even with that."

"And we'll need to attack on two fronts so that they don't reinforce each other during battle." I sat down and brought Faith to sit on the chair next to mine, "You're sure that the village is clear?"

"As I said, as long as the wards hold, no undead creature should be able to get in."

I nodded, "Would you mind getting Rotvine for me? We need to plan this."

She nodded back at me and got up to go look for him, coming back with him less than ten minutes later.

We spent the better part of the night planning the attack on Deatholme and my former home. Both Faith and I would have wanted to fight for the Spire, but we were conscious that our efforts would be better used in Deatholme.

"You're coming with us?" she asked me as she finally got up to go back to Silvermoon.

"Of course I am. This is our home we're trying to save. You go back to Silvermoon via portal. I'll bring additional troops by boat." She looked at me, as though about to say something, but she swallowed whatever it was that was on her lips and kissed my hand before leaving my side.

I began to get the troops ready as soon as Faith was gone. Most of them were happy and eager to fight the Scourge in Quel'Thalas, and I picked up and additional thirty volunteers, who just wanted to help.

You don't give your people enough credit, I told myself. Faith had said that to me once when we'd argued, telling me that I only used the Forsaken as fodder against the Scourge. And so I did. But nobody was supposed to know about it. Besides, they died for me willingly. Again, I heard Faith's voice screaming at me that just because they willingly sacrificed themselves for me, it didn't mean that I had to abuse this.

We left Tirisfal Glades the following day, boarding four ships and setting off for Quel'Thalas. For once, the seas weren't as rough as usual, and we had what would have passed for a pleasant trip in better times.

Faith met us on Sunstrider Isle with a group of rangers, who stared at us both in horror and awe.

"So many… you've brought us so many," said one of the rangers, bowing to me. "Thank you, General."

I looked at him, recognizing him with a start, "Perovir Sungazer. I'm happy to see you're still serving Quel'Thalas with bow and sword."

"Always," he replied. "It will be a pleasure serving under you again."

I nearly smirked. He had always had a crush on me, and had been completely jealous of Faith. Something that, I noticed, was still the case, judging by the way he glared at her as I gave her a completely unnecessary boost so that she could climb onto Prince. I ran my hand over his neck and he stiffened, turning is head to look at me, but he didn't pull away.

"You got him to like me again," I commented.

"I think he's just in tune with me," she replied. "And he'll always remember you as his first love."

"Just like his mistress."

Faith's cheeks colored, and she cleared her throat. I rubbed her leg, then climbed onto Venom. She and I set up together, and everyone else followed on foot. I felt her looking at me every few seconds, and knew what she was thinking. I remembered too when we'd gone riding together, acting formal because the only other choice would have been for us to make love. I saw her hand twitching a couple of times. She wanted to reach out and hold my hand. Her body screamed for contact with mine.

"Would you stop fidgeting?" I asked her at last. "You're driving me crazier than I already am."

"You're not –."

"Yes I am. You've said it yourself on a few occasions." I glanced at her and she looked right back at me, our eyes locking.

"I said your actions were sometimes insane."

"No, you said me." I smiled at her, which unsettled her so much that she caused Prince to trip. She nearly fell off him and I chuckled softly.

"You and I, in battle? You'll be far from me or you'll distract me enough to get me killed."

I laughed this time. That was as likely to happen as her forgiving Arthas for what he had done to me. "You'll stick as close to me as you can to make sure I don't accidentally get dismembered."

"I'll dismember you if you keep it up," she muttered. But she was smiling.

We began to focus more as we neared the Dead Scar. Faith and I rode ahead and planted ourselves in the middle to make sure that nothing would arrive to ambush us. There were some undead there, but they weren't close. We remained there until everyone had gone through, after which we cantered back to the head of the column.

"I hate letting them live," she said to me.

"It was only three of them, and I doubt they had any sort of intelligence," I replied. "Don't worry about it."

"Still. I could just go back and –."

I grabbed Prince's reins, and the horse very nearly reared at my sudden closeness. "You will do no such thing, Faith. You'll start a battle and we're not here for that. Not now. We'll take care of the rest of the Scar once we've taken care of the bigger problem."

Prince's ears were flat on his head, so I let go of the reins for Faith's safety.

"Besides," I continued, "The rangers there are more than capable of taking care of them if they come anywhere near the city."

We arrived in Silvermoon to find that a tent village had been erected for us in a large area to the east of the Shepherd's Gate, just outside the city. I smiled, no matter what kind of allies we were about to be, the Sin'dorei weren't about to let nearly four-hundred undead settle so close to their beds.

"I tried to get them to set up the tents within the city walls," said Faith apologetically. "But they claim there will be too many of them for the inns."

"It's fine," I told her. "We'll be able to get to the Ghostlands much faster if we don't have to parade through the city. Besides, we also settle visitors in the Ruins of Lordaeron rather than in Undercity itself."

"That's because they can't stand the smell."

I smiled, "There is that, yes. You got used to it, didn't you?"

"I get used to it after I've been there for a few hours. It's always a shock at first, especially if I forget to use a spell on myself."

"Even me?"

She blushed again, "You're better preserved than the other Forsaken. You're not too bad unless you've been too long in the heat and nobody keeps you cool through magic."

I read a lot in her blush, and the fact that she thought about the way I smelled disturbed me, "What do I smell like to you?"

"Like death," she said immediately.

"And?"

"Old spices that have gone stale. Dead flowers. Basically, the way you smelled like before you died, just… dead."

I didn't want to know what I tasted like to her when we kissed and made love, because it would have probably appalled me enough to ban her from Undercity on principle.

"I suppose that the spells you put on the Royal Quarter and my chambers help with that?"

She snapped her neck towards me as she dismounted, "You know about that?"

"I wouldn't know you at all if I wasn't able to recognize your spellwork around me."

"Are you angry?"

"Angry? No, Faith. You'd know it if I were angry." "Are you staying in the tent with me?"

She nodded, "Is that okay?"

"Sure."

Lor'themar came out of the city, giving a small speech about how thankful he was to have us there "in defense of Quel'Thalas".

"What will you do if the warchief refuses to let us into the Horde?"

I looked at her, "Secede."

"Sylvanas."

"They either take all of us, or none of us."

"How will we fight the Scourge if the Horde can't help us?"

"We'll find a way." I didn't need to ask her what she would do if our work here didn't enable the Sin'dorei to join the Horde. She would stay with me no matter what, even if I had to raise my own army.

We talked to Lor'themar for a while. Halduron was supplying three-hundred additional troops in addition to the ones that were already stationed in Tranquillien. That would help us, but we would still be outnumbered, and surprise wasn't on our side.

"Has there been any word about Windrunner Village?" asked Faith.

"Ah…" he looked down.

Faith swore and I raised my eyebrow at her.

"The wards didn't hold," I said.

"I'm afraid not. The Scourge breached them this morning. We saw the light show from here."

"This is going to be a slaughter," said Faith. "We can't go against the Scourge like this."

"As if you're going to back down," I told her. "This ends now, one way or another."

"I need to find a way to make my fire stronger. They've got incantations to either lessen it, or stop me from casting altogether."

"You'll be fine," I said. "Don't panic yet." I put my hand on her knee, squeezing gently.

But it was easier said than done. As we left Silvermoon the next day, I felt as though we were heading a funerary procession. Faith rode with me, having left Prince in the city so that he wouldn't get hurt. She shivered and rest her head against my back, whispering to me that she loved me.

"Stop trying to say goodbye to me, Faith. Neither of us are going to die." She had written a long letter to her Tauren family to bid them farewell in case she didn't make it. I hated that she had done this, but I hadn't been able to talk her out of it.

"No matter what," she said, "I will always love you."

What she said hit me like a brick wall. They were the same words I had told her before dying. Stopping Venom, I forcibly pulled Faith from behind me and sat her in front of me, facing me, "You listen to me this instant. We are not going to die."

"You didn't think you were going to die last time you went into battle like this."

"Ah, Faith, of course I knew. And so did you, or you wouldn't have struggled so hard to stay by my side. Besides, we have a big advantage this time around."

"What's that?"

"For one thing, we know what we're up against. For another, we have you."

"Me? You had me last time."

"I had you in pain and shock last time. Now, I have you healthy and strong. The Scourge gave you the nickname Blackfire, you know. It wasn't for nothing. You scare them." I turned her around and wrapped an arm around her.

"You won't die this time?" she asked me, her voice very small.

I squeezed her against me, "No, Faith. I won't die again."

We didn't stop to rest, marching all the way to Tranquillien and reaching the village under the cover of night, which didn't change much, seeing as all of the Ghostlands existed under thick cloud cover. I would have kept going, but Faith had fallen asleep twice already, and I knew that the rangers needed rest as well. So we stopped for several hours so that everyone who needed it could sleep and eat something.

Faith didn't leave my side. She slept wrapped in a blanket, curled up against my leg. If I moved, she reached for me, reminding me of the way she'd acted almost immediately after she had lost her family.

"How much sleep did you get?" I asked her when she woke up. I suspected she hadn't fully slept, and I wasn't wrong.

"I didn't, really. I'll sleep later."

"You're scared."

"And you're not?"

I thought about it. I was apprehensive, but not really for myself, because it would have taken a lot to kill me. But I was worried about Faith and what might happen to her. As a matter of fact, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to send her back to Undercity and lock her inside my chambers so that she'd be safe. "We're going to be fine."

Did I really believe that? Part of me did, but as we split up, with less than half of our force heading towards my former home with Mavren and Rotvine at the helm, and the rest of us continuing onto Deatholme, I had to wonder how many of us would be leaving this place alive.

The Scar was strangely empty as we approached the scourged city. Everyone had pulled back inside, so we would have to contend with them as well. I saw that several members of the Farstriders were nearby, around fifty of them, to bolster our ranks. They would obey me without question.

"I love you," said Faith to me as we both got off Venom. She took my hand and looked at me directly.

I didn't smile, but I put my other hand on her face, running my thumb over her cheek, "Do not leave my sight."

She nodded, her eyes scared. I hugged her tightly, allowing her a second to compose herself. When I released her, she looked a lot more composed, her face pale, but her eyes clear.

The sound of evil laughter rent the air.

"Well, look at who we have here. Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen, and… her little girlfriend, Faith Everstone. Ah, Faith, when I get through with you, you'll be mine forever, and you'll never think about Sylvanas again, I promise you that."

Threatening her. He was actually threatening her. "I will rip him to pieces," I snarled.

"Sylvanas, keep your focus," Faith told me, placing her hand over where my unbeating heart lay in my chest. "We can't go charging in there."

I turned and looked at the entrance to Deatholme. Nothing moved there. It looked empty from where we were, but that was a spell. For all we knew, thousands of Scourge fiends could be waiting for us in there.

And they were.

Faith and I led the first wave of mages and warriors through, Felicity behind us with the wave that included priests and paladins.

Neither of us paused when we saw the sheer number of nerubians and other undead creatures that were ready to meet us. Faith cast immediately, and I let arrows fly, hitting first a gargoyle, then a human from the Cult of the Damned. Faith set a Nerubian on fire, the flames so intense I even felt them on my face from where I was. The creature screamed, and I heard a cry from my right.

"Kill her!" hissed a voice. "Kill that fire creature!"

It was as though I'd been dipped in a lightning storm. My senses were sharp and clear as I killed fiend after fiend. Around me, the battle raged, our side taking as good as it got. I saw a priest dead on the ground, engulfed in magical flames so that he wouldn't be risen.

I nearly screamed.

Faith was battling a lich by herself. I should have bounded to her, but I couldn't: if I distracted her, she could end up dead, or worse. But I directed a paladin and a priest to cast protective spells around her to give her some form of help, trying to keep them safe as they did so.

But she was losing the battle. The lich was far too strong for her. It struck, and I saw her get hit. I shrieked her name, reaching her just as she hit the ground. Her eyes were wide open, and she was still casting her spell. The mail she'd worn to protect her chest was split open, but I saw no blood. Whatever the lich had done, it hadn't mortally wounded her.

Suddenly, I saw Felicity casting a spell at the lich from behind. It turned briefly, screaming a deadly incantation, and, grabbing Faith's spellblade, I struck at it with all my might as Faith called out a spell. Her hand glowed a blinding white as shards of energy left her, engulfing the undead creature. The shards hit the lich from every direction, obliterating it. An amulet fell from the folds of its robes, and I used the spellblade in my hand to crush it.

When I looked up, a heartbreaking scene greeted me. Faith was staring down at the body of a Forsaken who had finally attained true death. Whatever it was, Felicity had found it while protecting her best friend. As I watched, Faith retrieved something from Felicity's pocket and closed her eyes. A second later, she had set fire to the body, one tear coursing down her dirt-streaked cheek.