Lyonel POV
The night was quiet.
Lyonel rested beneath a broad oak tree at the edge of the dirt road, his back against the rough bark while the fire beside him crackled softly in the darkness. The flames danced against his armour and the nearby grass, throwing long shadows into the woods around him.
Thunder rested nearby, lying upon the ground with his head low, occasionally flicking his tail.
Cloud rested in Lyonel's arms.
The great white Thunderbird had tucked its head against Lyonel's chest, its feathers surprisingly soft beneath his fingers. Lyonel slowly petted the bird's head, scratching gently beneath its beak.
Cloud chirped quietly in response.
Lyonel smiled faintly.
"You like that, don't you?"
Cloud puffed its feathers proudly.
Lyonel shook his head softly.
For all the creature's fierceness, for all its screaming and clawing and bloodshed, moments like this made it feel strangely gentle.
Comforting.
And truthfully—
Lyonel needed comfort.
The past weeks had changed him.
The Kingswood.
The witches.
The Black Devil.
The storm.
Even now, part of him still wondered if it had truly happened or if he had died in those woods and this was some strange dream afterward.
His eyes drifted upward toward the moon hanging high above the trees.
Silver.
Bright.
Beautiful.
Its pale glow reminded him of Princess Rhaena Targaryen.
Her hair had looked almost like moonlight itself.
Though…
Lyonel smiled weakly to himself.
Not even her hair was as beautiful as the moon.
Then he frowned.
"By the Seven," he muttered quietly, embarrassed by his own thoughts. "She practically threatened to have me thrown out."
Yet still he thought of her.
Her eyes.
Her voice.
The way she had stared him down without even the slightest fear.
Most women feared angering a knight.
She had looked at him as though he were the fool.
And somehow…
He respected that.
A sudden scream shattered the night.
"HELP!"
Lyonel shot upright instantly.
Cloud jerked awake with a startled screech and burst from his arms into the air.
Thunder rose as well, snorting uneasily.
Another scream echoed faintly through the trees.
Lyonel's expression hardened at once.
He grabbed Adder's Fang and surged to his feet.
"Stay here, boy!" he ordered Thunder quickly.
The horse stamped nervously but obeyed.
Lyonel drew the Valyrian steel blade from its sheath.
The dark metal gleamed in the firelight.
Then he ran.
Branches whipped past him as he sprinted through the woods toward the screams. Dead leaves crunched beneath his boots while his breath came hard in his chest.
Above him, Cloud flew through the night sky, circling overhead.
The forest seemed endless in the dark.
Then Lyonel saw something ahead.
A shape lying motionless among the trees.
His pace quickened.
A body.
The man wore armour, good armour once, though now it was covered in blood. Deep slashes marked the steel, and one side of his chest looked crushed inward.
Lyonel knelt beside him quickly.
The man had no helmet.
His face was pale beneath the blood.
"Can you hear me?" Lyonel asked urgently.
No response.
Lyonel lightly slapped the man's cheek.
"Wake up."
Nothing.
Then suddenly the man's eyes snapped open.
He coughed violently—
Blood sprayed directly across Lyonel's face.
"Fuck!" Lyonel recoiled instinctively, wiping at the warm blood in disgust.
The wounded knight struggled to breathe.
His lips trembled.
"Please…" he whispered weakly.
Lyonel leaned closer.
"Please… save her…"
The words barely escaped him.
Then the light left his eyes.
His head rolled slightly to the side.
Stillness.
Lyonel stared for a moment.
He had seen death before.
Too much of it lately.
But it never truly became easier.
He exhaled slowly.
"You tried," he murmured quietly to the dead man.
A flutter of wings broke the silence.
Cloud landed beside the corpse.
Then immediately began pecking at the body.
Lyonel's eyes widened.
"Cloud!"
The Thunderbird tore a chunk of flesh free from the dead man's face.
Lyonel grimaced in disgust.
"Leave him!"
Cloud ignored him entirely.
The bird swallowed the flesh and moved to peck again.
Lyonel grabbed the Thunderbird firmly around its body and pulled it away.
Cloud let out a chirp and flapped its wings angrily.
"Stop it, Cloud," Lyonel snapped.
The bird stared at him with wide, pale eyes.
"He was not a bad man."
Cloud tilted its head slightly, almost confused by the statement.
Lyonel sighed.
"You can eat later."
After a moment, he loosened his grip.
Cloud immediately flew upward onto a tree branch nearby, glaring down at him as though deeply insulted.
Lyonel ignored the bird.
Instead, he looked back at the dead knight.
The man had begged him for one thing.
Save her.
That meant someone was still alive.
Somewhere nearby.
Lyonel rose slowly, tightening his grip on Adder's Fang.
The woods suddenly felt darker than before.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
He scanned the trees carefully.
"Alright," he muttered under his breath. "Where are you?"
Cloud gave a low chirp from above.
Lyonel looked deeper into the forest.
Whatever had done this…
Whatever the knight had died trying to stop…
It was still out there.
And Lyonel had no intention of leaving someone behind.
Lyonel stood over the dead man for only a moment before noticing it.
Blood.
A trail of it.
Dark red drops stained the ground, leading deeper between the trees.
He tightened his grip around Adder's Fang.
"His blood," he muttered.
Cloud fluttered down from the branch above and landed briefly on Lyonel's shoulder before leaping back into the air.
The Thunderbird gave a low caw, as if urging him onward.
Lyonel followed the trail.
The forest grew thicker the farther he walked. Branches hung low overhead, and roots twisted beneath the earth like grasping fingers. Moonlight barely pierced through the leaves now.
As he moved, he began noticing signs of a fight.
Arrows.
One was buried deep in a tree trunk.
Another had pierced the dirt at an angle.
A third snapped beneath Lyonel's boot.
He crouched briefly and examined it.
Good arrows.
Not the crude kind peasants made for hunting rabbits.
These had been meant for killing men.
Lyonel's jaw tightened.
The armoured knight had been fleeing.
Shot at while retreating through the woods.
His pace quickened.
The blood trail continued ahead until suddenly—
It stopped.
Lyonel frowned.
Then he saw why.
A wheelhouse sat half-collapsed in a clearing between the trees.
Its wheels were shattered and missing entirely, leaving the carriage tilted awkwardly to one side. The horses that had once pulled it lay dead nearby, their bodies riddled with arrows.
Flies already buzzed around them.
The smell of blood hung thick in the air.
Lyonel slowly approached.
His hand tightened around the hilt of Adder's Fang.
The clearing felt wrong.
Too still.
Too empty.
There should have been bodies.
The dead knight couldn't have been alone.
Yet there were no corpses here.
Only blood.
A great deal of it.
The side of the wheelhouse was stained dark red. Bloody handprints marked the door. One of the horses looked as though its throat had nearly been sawn apart.
Lyonel's stomach turned slightly.
"What happened here…" he whispered.
He searched the wheelhouse carefully.
Inside, he found overturned cushions, torn blankets, and broken wood, but no people.
No belongings either.
Whoever attacked them had taken everything of value.
Then—
CAWWW!
Cloud.
Lyonel spun immediately.
The Thunderbird was attacking someone near the edge of the clearing.
A man burst from the bushes, screaming and swatting wildly as Cloud clawed at his face.
"GET IT OFF!"
Without hesitation, Lyonel rushed forward.
Adder's Fang flashed silver-black in the moonlight.
The blade cut cleanly through both of the man's legs just below the knees.
The cut was so sharp that Lyonel barely felt resistance.
For one heartbeat, the man simply stared downward in confusion.
Then, blood exploded across the ground.
The man collapsed, screaming.
"FUUUUUUCK!"
Lyonel stepped closer immediately.
"Cloud, away. Now."
Cloud flapped upward and landed atop Lyonel's head obediently.
The wounded man writhed in the dirt, clutching uselessly at what remained of his legs.
Lyonel looked down coldly.
"Who are you?"
The man glared up at him through tears and pain.
"Fuck you, cunt."
Lyonel's face hardened.
"I will make you suffer even more if you do not answer me."
The man spat blood toward him.
Lyonel narrowly avoided it.
That was enough.
He lowered Adder's Fang slowly until the edge rested between the man's legs.
The dying outlaw's eyes widened instantly.
Lyonel spoke quietly.
"Do you still want these?"
The man panicked immediately.
"FUCK!" he screamed. "Alright! Alright!"
Lyonel stared down at him.
"Well?"
"I—I was left here!" the man gasped. "Ser Rian told me to report back if anyone came!"
Lyonel narrowed his eyes.
Ser Rian.
A robber knight, possibly?
He had never heard the name before.
Lyonel pressed the blade slightly harder.
"Where is he?"
The man laughed weakly despite the agony.
"I'm already dead," he hissed. "Fuck you."
Lyonel's patience vanished.
The blade moved.
The scream that followed echoed through the trees.
Cloud gave an excited chirp from above.
The man writhed violently, shrieking and sobbing in the dirt.
Lyonel ended it quickly.
Adder's Fang swept once.
The man's head rolled free from his shoulders.
Silence returned.
Blood pooled beneath the corpse.
Lyonel exhaled slowly.
Then he noticed something strange.
Cloud had not rushed to the body.
Instead, the Thunderbird remained perched above, watching.
Lyonel blinked.
"You learned."
He almost smiled.
"Good boy."
Cloud cawed proudly and finally glided down.
But instead of feeding, the bird began sniffing around the corpse and the nearby ground.
Lyonel frowned.
"What are you doing?"
Cloud suddenly jerked upright.
Then the bird took off eastward through the trees.
After a moment, it stopped and looked back at Lyonel, cawing loudly.
Lyonel understood.
"You found something."
He followed.
The forest seemed endless again as they moved through the darkness.
After some time, Lyonel noticed disturbed earth ahead.
He slowed.
Then stopped completely.
A grave.
A massive one.
Fresh dirt stretched across the forest floor in an ugly mound.
Lyonel stared silently.
Those missing corpses…
The guards.
Buried together like animals.
His jaw clenched.
"They slaughtered them all."
Only anger answered him.
Cloud cawed again from ahead.
Lyonel tore his eyes away from the grave and continued onward.
Eventually, the trees began thinning.
Orange light flickered ahead.
Firelight.
Cloud landed silently atop a branch overlooking the clearing.
Lyonel crouched low beside the bushes and looked carefully through the leaves.
A camp.
Large.
At least two dozen men moved between tents and wagons. Some drank around fires while others sharpened weapons or laughed loudly amongst themselves.
Bandits.
No.
Worse.
Many wore pieces of knightly armour mixed with stolen gear.
Men who had once called themselves knights.
Lyonel's grip tightened around Adder's Fang.
Then his eyes found the cage.
It sat near the center of camp beside a roaring fire.
Inside was a woman.
Lyonel's eyes widened immediately.
White robes.
A seven-colored woven belt.
A crystal pendant hangs from her neck.
And a hood.
The unmistakable appearance of a septa.
A servant of the Seven.
For a moment, Lyonel simply stared in disbelief.
"These bastards…" he whispered.
Bandits attacking merchants was common enough.
Even murder.
But this?
Taking a septa prisoner?
No true knight, no man would dare such a thing.
Not unless they feared neither gods nor men.
The septa sat curled within the cage, dirty and pale but still alive.
One of the bandits walked past and laughed at something said to her.
Lyonel felt anger rise hot in his chest.
He looked around the camp again carefully.
Too many men to fight head-on.
Especially alone.
Cloud looked down at him from the branch above.
The Thunderbird's pale eyes almost seemed to ask a question.
Lyonel slowly exhaled.
He would need to think carefully.
Because if he failed…
That septa would die.
Lyonel remained hidden within the trees overlooking the bandit camp, watching carefully.
The firelight flickered across rough faces, stolen armour, and sharpened steel. Men laughed around the flames as though they had not butchered innocent people only hours before.
Lyonel counted them silently.
Too many.
Far too many.
If he charged in like some fool from a song, he would die before reaching the cage.
His eyes drifted toward the imprisoned septa again.
She sat unmoving within the iron cage beside the fire, her head lowered beneath her hood. Lyonel could not even see her face clearly.
But she was alive.
That mattered.
Lyonel slowly exhaled.
"I need a distraction…"
Then his eyes lifted toward the branch above him.
Cloud sat there quietly, pale feathers glowing faintly beneath the moonlight.
The Thunderbird tilted its head.
Lyonel motioned him closer with two fingers.
"Come here, you little demon."
Cloud chirped and fluttered down onto his shoulder.
Lyonel looked the bird directly in the eyes.
"Cloud," he whispered, "you're a smart boy."
Cloud puffed up proudly at once and chirped as if agreeing.
Lyonel almost laughed despite the situation.
"Good," he muttered. "Then distract them. Lead them away from the camp."
Cloud blinked once.
Then, suddenly spread his wings and launched himself into the night sky.
Lyonel watched carefully.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then chaos erupted.
CAWWWWWW!
Cloud slammed into a bandit's face near the fire.
The man screamed as claws tore across his cheek.
"What the fuck?!"
Another man barely had time to stand before Cloud smashed a pot into the fire with his wings, sending sparks everywhere.
Men shouted in confusion.
Cloud darted through the camp like a white storm.
He tore food from tables.
Clawed at eyes.
Snatched helmets clean off heads.
One man swung wildly with an axe only to strike his own companion instead.
Another screamed that the bird was cursed.
Lyonel bit back a grin.
"Good boy…"
Cloud let out one final triumphant screech before flying off into the woods.
And just as Lyonel hoped—
Many of the bandits chased after him.
"GET THAT FUCKING THING!"
"It took my eye!"
"I'm gonna kill that demon bird!"
Boots thundered into the forest after Cloud.
The camp was still dangerous.
Still filled with armed men.
But now—
Now Lyonel had a chance.
He lowered himself carefully and began moving.
Every step mattered.
Every sound felt deafening.
He slipped between tents slowly, keeping low behind wagons and crates whenever men passed nearby. The smell of roasting meat and ale filled the air.
A drunken bandit stumbled only feet away from him at one point.
Lyonel froze completely.
The man scratched himself lazily, muttered something incomprehensible, then wandered toward the fire without noticing him.
Lyonel slowly breathed again.
His heart hammered in his chest so hard he feared the entire camp could hear it.
Closer.
Just a little closer.
A pair of guards stood near the cage speaking quietly.
"…told you we should've killed the Septa too."
"And waste a ransom? Ser Rian ain't stupid."
Lyonel waited.
One of them wandered off toward the trees.
The other left and entered a tent.
Lyonel moved instantly.
He slipped behind the tents and reached the cage.
Up close, the septa looked even worse.
Blood stained her robes.
Bruises marked her hands and face.
She looked exhausted.
Weak.
But alive.
Lyonel grabbed the cage door quietly.
Locked.
"Shit."
He looked around quickly for a key.
Nothing.
No time.
He made a decision.
A dangerous one.
Lyonel slowly drew Adder's Fang.
The Valyrian steel whispered softly as it left the sheath.
"Please work…"
Then he struck.
CLANG!
The blade sliced through the iron lock and part of the cage itself with unnatural ease.
The sound rang through the camp.
Heads immediately turned.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Fuck.
Lyonel crouched beside the septa immediately.
"Can you move?"
The septa lifted her head weakly beneath the hood.
"N…N…no…"
Her voice trembled badly.
Lyonel nodded once.
"I'll carry you then."
He carefully lifted her over his shoulder despite her weak protests.
She felt frighteningly light.
Then Lyonel turned—
And froze.
Men surrounded him.
Bandits emerged from between the tents with swords and spears drawn.
One of them laughed.
"Well now…"
Another spat near Lyonel's feet.
"Looks like we caught ourselves a hero."
Lyonel's grip tightened around Adder's Fang.
There were too many.
He could fight—
But the septa would die.
So Lyonel did the smarter thing.
He ran.
"GET HIM!"
The camp exploded into motion behind him.
Lyonel sprinted through the trees with the septa over his shoulder.
Branches whipped against him.
Men shouted behind him.
Boots thundered through the forest.
They were gaining.
One bandit rushed beside him, swinging a sword wildly.
Lyonel reacted instantly.
Adder's Fang flashed.
The man tried to block—
But Valyrian steel cut partly through the blade itself before slicing across the bandit's face.
Steel shattered.
Blood sprayed.
The man screamed and collapsed, clutching what remained of his jaw.
Lyonel didn't stop running.
He couldn't.
The septa clung weakly to him while the forest blurred around them.
Then—
CAWWWWWW!
Lyonel looked upward.
Cloud.
The Thunderbird circled above the trees.
Relief flooded through him.
"CLOUD!" Lyonel shouted desperately. "ATTACK THEM!"
Cloud answered with a mighty screech.
Then descended like lightning.
The bird slammed into the pursuing men viciously.
One outlaw screamed as claws ripped into his eyes.
Another stumbled backward as Cloud struck his face with beating wings.
Panic spread through the pursuit immediately.
"It's back!"
"The demon bird!"
"Kill it!"
Lyonel kept running.
Faster.
Harder.
Until finally—
The trees began thinning.
Moonlight opened ahead.
The road.
And near the great tree where he had left him—
Thunder.
The horse lifted his head immediately.
"THUNDER!" Lyonel roared. "COME HERE!"
Thunder charged toward him without hesitation.
Good horse.
The moment the stallion reached him, Lyonel shoved the septa onto Thunder's back as carefully as he could.
Then he mounted behind her.
Behind him, the bandits burst from the forest edge.
And above them—
Cloud flew straight toward Lyonel.
The Thunderbird landed atop his shoulder just as the bandits closed in.
Lyonel kicked Thunder hard.
"GO!"
Thunder surged forward down the dirt road at full speed.
The wind roared past them.
Behind them, angry screams faded into the distance.
But Lyonel did not slow.
Not even once.
If you can, please read my novel (THE LAST LIGHT OF THE LIVING SUN) AND MAYBE EVEN A COLLECTION.