The roar gets louder, coming closer to where Lyanna and Dalton are standing. Plumes of fire rush past the window, heating the inside of the room.
Lyanna can hear another dragon as well. She can hear the difference in their roaring. She knows help has come for her. Even if it is too late for her babies. They only needed a few more minutes. Then they would've been safe, they would've still been alive. She should've fought harder for them, should have done more.
Dalton backs away from Lyanna as he sees a strange glint in her eyes.
The walls of Pyke shake, indicating to Lyanna that a dragon has landed.
Her body still aches, and still feels weak and sore all over, but she just lost her whole world, she might even lose her husband after this. But today she will make this man pay. He will feel the hurt and suffering that she is currently feeling.
Strange, isn't it? She sends the message into his mind, watching how his face distorts with confusion and fear. She power inside her has never felt this strong. The ultimate sacrifice, they said. She would rather spend her days without her greensight than without her children. But she can not turn back time. What she can do now is avenge them. She will make them all pay.
"What are you doing?" he asks as he reaches for his sword.
Lyanna lifts her hand, squeezing her fingers slightly to make him scream in pain. He falls to his knees, his hands gripping his head.
"Did you forget who I am, Dalton Greyjoy?" she bends down next to him, tracing her finger across his cheek.
He groans and looks up at her, "The Northern bitch queen!" he spits out.
She presses down hard on his mind, making drops of blood drip from his nose. But no matter how desperately she wants him to suffer, her tired and beaten-up body won't allow her and she lets go of his mind, watching him pant on the cold stone floor.
The door behind her bursts open and she glances in that direction. An angry-looking Aegon struts into the room, his sword dripping blood. His eyes fall on Lyanna who is so relieved to see a familiar face that her legs give way underneath her.
"Lyanna," he says worried and rushes towards her, taking off his cloak to drape it over her half-exposed body.
"I am so glad to see you," Lyanna say and sobs, "I only wish you came sooner."
Aegon pulls Lyanna into his arms and allows her to cry against his chest, his eyes never leaving Dalton.
Dalton starts laughing, "How sweet,"
Aegon releases Lyanna and rushes towards Dalton with his sword ready to pierce through his chest.
"No!" Lyanna yells out to stop Aegon from killing him, "He is mine to torture and kill."
Aegon glances at Lyanna before he spins his sword around and knocks Dalton unconscious with the hilt of the weapon.
"Then we will take him with us to Winterfell," he rips pieces of Dalton's clothes and ties his hands and feet. Lyanna hears Aegon's dragon roar and feels the heat of more fire warming up the castle.
"Where is Aemond?" she asks as she stands up with her shaky legs.
Aegon grabs hold of Dalton's feet and starts pulling him towards the door, "We can talk as soon as we are out of here. Do you need help to walk?"
He finds it difficult to look Lyanna in the eyes without seeing the bruises. The purple bruise underneath her jaw looks worse than the rest.
She shakes her head and gives a few steps towards him, but feels her legs wobble before falling.
"Maybe I need some help," she says and put her arm around Aegon as he helps her to stay upright. They move slowly through the halls, listening to how Sunfyre is destroying most of the castle, men yelling in pain as he burns them all to ash.
"I heard two dragons," Lyanna start and move her legs with difficulty. Aegon groans softly under the weight of both Lyanna and Dalton, pulling the heavily built man behind him.
"Because we were two when we got here," he answers, "The other dragon you heard was Vermax."
"Jace was here?" she asks and feels a spark of hope rising in her chest, he must have brought news about the war. Something that might help them win.
They go around a corner, seeing how a big chunk of the castle has been destroyed with Sunfyre standing on top of the building. His golden scales shimmer in the light of the fire as he keeps on spewing out flames around him. His eyes land on his rider and he turns his body to face them.
Aegon yells out a few commands and the dragon bends down low to help get Lyanna on his back. Aegon drops Dalton at Sunfyre's feet before ascending his dragon alongside Lyanna, supporting her all the way.
He takes his seat behind her, wrapping his arms around her to ensure she doesn't fall off.
"Thank you, Aegon," she says over her shoulder, squeezing his hand that is on the saddle in front of her.
"Anytime," he replies, "I can't let them kill my sister. Aemond will have my head," he jokes.
Lyanna smiles and Aegon instructs Sunfyre to fly. She watches how the dragon picks up Dalton with its big claws before shooting up into the air. She closes her eyes and tries to push the tears away as she thinks about the bodies of her children floating somewhere in the ocean below her. All she wants to do is jump from the dragon's back to join her babies in the afterlife, to protect them wherever they are now.
"I'm so sorry," she whisper as they reach the clouds and fly away from Pyke. How will her heart ever heal from what happened here? Aemond doesn't even know yet. He will be so mad that she didn't protect them.
"Where is Aemond?" she asks, wondering why Aegon and Jace were the ones to come and rescue her.
"He is busy fighting a war," Aegon replies.
"What?" she asks surprised," It already started?"
"It did," he shifts around in the saddle, "And the North is losing,"
Lyanna can't believe what she is hearing. They have more men than the South and a bigger and stronger dragon, how is it possible that they are losing?
"Are they still at Moat Cailin?"
"Yes, they are. They didn't get the chance to move before Daemon surprised them with an attack in the middle of the night. I only heard about what happened, I have not been there."
Lyanna sighs, "Is Jace going there? He has my sword and I can't go into battle without a weapon,"
"We are not going there, Lyanna. We are going to Winterfell."
She almost turns herself around in the saddle, "We are not! I need to go and help my men! I already lost everything, I will not let them lose their home as well."
"Have you seen yourself?" he asks, "You hardly have clothes on and you are so exhausted you won't be able to help them even if you tried. We first go to Winterfell and get you patched up before I take you to Moat Cailin. They will be fine without you for a bit longer. It was you who said that even if we only have a few hundred men, Moat Cailin is so well fortified with the marshes around it that those few hundred men can easily keep away a host more than double their size."
"I am aware of that, but I do not want more lives to be lost than is necessary,"
"Stop arguing, we are going to Winterfell."
For a while, they travel to Winterfell in silence. Lyanna is enjoying the cool air around her, the stars making her forget about everything for a while.
"How did they get the babies?" she asks Aegon.
He sighs, "One of your own betrayed you. They were taken from their nursery in the middle of the night. Before we could do anything they were gone. Then I received a note that you are also missing and thought to be dead. We didn't have the best of times here at Winterfell while you were gone."
"Who betrayed me?"
"I will show you when we are home." he pauses for a moment, "I am sorry that we didn't protect them as we should have."
It is not her family's fault, they were all asleep, thinking the children are safe in their room. She can't be mad at them...she won't.
Faces and names rush through her head, unsure of who will betray her like this. But whoever it is will pay dearly for it.