"Can the Cold God still control you now?" Viserys asked.
The female Other raised her head, her ice-blue eyes reflecting the faint flicker of the distant torches. "Only occasionally. Most of the time, he cannot. He is far away Beyond the Wall, while I am south of it. The Wall itself is a complete barrier of winter magic, and my descendant Brandon the Builder reinforced it with the magic of the other Old Gods."
"As long as the Wall stands, his control over me will gradually weaken. Even so, I can only briefly regain my will completely when his attention slips. With the Lord of Light suppressing him as well, you have arrived at just the right time, during this brief window when I can act."
"He probably never expected this either. He left me this sliver of consciousness, however small. It was not enough for me to resist, not enough for me to leave, but it was enough for me to remember who I was, and to endure these thousands of long years, second by second."
"What will happen to you if he regains control?" Viserys's voice dropped a little, a hint of calculation in his tone.
The female Other did not answer immediately. She turned her head toward the stone coffins that now stood empty.
After a while, she spoke calmly. "If the Wall falls, the Cold God's control will engulf me completely. I will have no chance to resist. When that happens, I will stand at his side and continue helping him transform the remains of House Stark above us, so they can rise from the earth and slaughter every living creature on this land."
She stopped there, looking as though she were struggling against something. Even her fingertips trembled slightly.
Only after that faint trembling subsided