Chapter 27: One last City

Tyrion's POV

I watched as a few ships burned the woods, turning them black as night, while a mix of black, green, and gold-colored flames danced along the water.

Black smoke choked the light from the sun and concealed the ships in a cloud of darkness. But as the flames mixed, they created beautiful colors, even as the scent of burning flesh tainted the sight.

Even from the pyramid in Meereen, I could smell the stench of death wafting from the boats. Drogon, the largest of the Queen's dragons, began to make his way over the balcony. He seemed to have grown even larger since I last saw him as we passed Old Valyria.

"Beautiful and dangerous, if only she were mine," the wistful tone of Quentyn Martell forced me to turn to him. His adoration filled the air, but his features were nothing like his handsome uncle's. Just thinking about Oberyn filled my heart with pain, and my body ached at the memory of his screams as the Mountain gouged his eyes out. Just the thought of it made me sick.

This boy was nothing like his uncle. Oberyn had been strong, with eyes as intense and deadly as a viper. Dangerous in every way, he didn't play well with others. He swore vengeance for his sister.

I wondered if he knew about this plan, would he have thrown his life away for me? I sucked in a heavy breath at the thought. Why would he? He sought justice for his dead sister and her children from those with Lannister's name.

"Why isn't she? I thought your father had sent you here to marry her and bring back fire and blood for Dorne?" I turned to look at Quentyn Martell as he studied me for a moment, his almond-shaped eyes cold as he stared at my scarred face. I had to crane my neck to look up at him, but the sight was welcome compared to the death that was happening just below us.

"The Queen was betrothed to someone else. I took too long to get here, and she had to cement her rule in Meereen. But who knows, now that we have the ships and are about to leave, she will have to cement her relations in Westeros."

With a sly smile, I suppressed my laughter. He had no chance with her. She was as willful as the dragon she was riding, and there was no way she would ever marry someone so weak, not a Dornishman who wasn't even the heir to Dorne. Nevertheless, I let him have his dream with a nod.

I felt a third person behind me. "We have visitors. Where is the queen?" Jorah's cool words made me turn around on my wheels. Who could make it through the siege line?

"Who?" Doubt filled me as I watched Ser Jorah's face, along with the hatred that burned in his eyes, made me think of an enemy.

"Greyjoys," he said with a sneer. Right, the Greyjoys had no love for the Northerners, and that was before they stabbed the Starks in the back.

But all I could think was, what could the Greyjoys want with Queen Daenerys? I didn't like this. They never knew how to stay loyal to anyone but themselves, and even then, they couldn't be trusted, not even by their men.

But all I could do was give him a sharp nod before making my way out to the balcony. I knew the queen would want to meet with the Ironborn. They might be a bunch of backstabbing fools, but they had the best naval power in all of Westeros.

As I made my way to the throne room, the throne remained empty, but I could see Ser Barristan glaring coldly at me. I could understand his lack of trust. After all, my nephew had stripped him of his rank and honor.

With a sad shake of my head, I sat to the right of the throne. Thunderous flaps of dragon wings filled the air.

No sooner had the queen walked out onto the balcony, dressed in her Dothraki garb with a cool expression on her face, than her eyes sparkled in soft lilac. They lost their fierceness the moment she left the battlefield.

"Your grace, the Greyjoys from the Iron Islands are here to see you." I watched for a moment as her nose lifted slightly before she finally nodded her head.

She began to walk up the steps to her throne, tucking one leg under the other as she usually did when she spent the whole day on the throne. But something about the position made her reconsider, and she placed both her arms on the arms of the throne while putting both of her feet on the ground.

Jorah spoke in Dothraki as the doors began to open, and two people entered. Theon Greyjoy, the hostage and ward of Eddard Stark, didn't look as confident and cocky as before. I remembered the last time I saw him; he had an arrogant look on his face. His once daring and bold eyes were now lowered to the ground, and doubt flickered in his gaze as he spoke to the Dragon Queen.

I could see the way he held himself; he looked so weak and pitiful that it was almost laughable. But the woman next to him exuded power.

Sure, she didn't have the high blood like the Queen, but her chin was jutted out in pure defiance, her face hard and cold. Her blue eyes burned with fury and determination as she stood before the queen. Her brown hair fell into her face as she bowed before the queen, and Theon did the same, kneeling, which seemed natural to him. He almost appeared relieved to kneel, and his face grew blank, but for a moment, I thought I might have seen his lips trembling.

"Rise and tell me why you have come," her voice was gentle yet stern as she watched them both for a moment. My eyes shifted from Theon to the men next to him, and I could see some resemblance between the two.

"I'm Theon Greyjoy, and this is my sister Yara. We are here to ask you to support her claim to the Salt Throne, and she would support you by giving you the Iron Fleet for your cause," he said, his voice no longer boisterous and loud.

He seemed a lot more humble now, but something in me made me think he was broken in some way. Daenerys, on the other hand, looked at Theon with intrigue in her lilac eyes, which sparkled.

"Oh, and why aren't you pushing your claim?" Her response piqued my interest.

"I'm not fit to lead; Yara is," his sister cut in before anyone could ask her brother more questions. "My uncle is on his way here right now. He murdered our father and stole a throne that is rightfully mine. Just like you, I'm trying to take back my birthright."

Even as she said the words, there was a hard edge to her voice that conveyed she would never bow to any man, especially not her uncle. Daenerys seemed to smile as she looked at the strong-willed woman below her.

"Oh, and why shouldn't I just wait for him?"

Aside from the fact that he is mad and a backstabber, I looked over at her, ready to disagree when Theon interrupted me before I could begin.

"He is coming here to give you the fleet but also his..." His eyes lowered back to the ground as fear and worry filled his wet blue eyes. His sister simply rolled her eyes at his timidity.

"He will only give you his ships if you marry him. We took the best ships in the world, and if you want the kingdom, you need the best naval power."

"She is right, your grace. When Stannis tried to take the throne from my family, he greatly outnumbered them. If it wasn't for me and my trick with wildfire and a chain, they would have stormed the castle," Barristan added his voice to mine, speaking in a calm yet serious tone. His bright blue eyes conveyed his distrust of me.

"It is true, your grace. I was there to witness it myself. The capital has no naval power to speak of. But now we would have both a navy and Tyrion's knowledge of the capital."

I felt a strange sense of pride from his comment, even if his lips twisted in disgust as he said my name. Ser Jorah clenched his jaw tightly, his hatred for the two Greyjoys in front of him is evident in his eyes. His knuckles turned white with tension.

"Jorah, what do you think?" Her tone was soft and gentle as she gave him a soft smile. Love filled her eyes, wet and glowing in the light.

"The Greyjoys have staged two rebellions with their father and another rebellion under their uncle. Even now, they are in open rebellion against the crown. This boy betrayed the Stark family who raised him and cared for him. The Greyjoys have been raiding, reaving, and attacking the North for centuries, and more than a few times, they have attacked my home island. I wouldn't trust them, but we don't have any ships, and we need them sorely."

Even as he spoke those words, I felt my body tense with each callous word he uttered. Daenerys, however, looked at the Greyjoys like she could no longer be bothered with them. After a moment, she smiled gently at Ser Jorah.

"Thank you for your counsel, Ser Jorah, Ser Barristan, Lord Tyrion. I will support your claim if you support mine, but we aren't going to Westeros just yet."

I gawked wide-eyed at her, confusion welling within me. "What?" I looked over to see Daenerys as she smiled gently at me before nodding slowly.

"I set out to free all the slaves and break the wheel that oppresses them. I'm not my father; I will not break my promise to the people. I won't fail to protect them. We are heading for Volantis, and only after we end slavery will we set sail for the west road. Now, start getting ready."

I took a deep breath as Varys entered the room. He instantly gave me a cool look. "Lord Tyrion, may I talk to you?"

I watched him for a moment as he began to make his way to the balcony. I moved as fast as I could, but with my stunted and aching legs, it wasn't a graceful sight as I walked onto the balcony.

"I hear that we are heading to Volantis," I nodded my head numbly as I watched the dragons drifting among the clouds, flashes of gold, green, and black.

"I have received word from King's Landing. They know what Daenerys has been doing. They sent a messenger ship, and it never returned. As for the Tyrells, they are with us. Mace and his mother are burning with rage over what Cersei did."

His lips formed a grim line, and his eyes were fixed on the horizon. "What did Cersei do, and was it the entire Reach or just Highgarden?"

My heart pounded in my chest as the silence lingered. "As long as the Tyrells hold onto the Reach and pledge to us, along with all the food and money that comes with it, we have an advantage. But if Cersei were to orchestrate some form of an accident, the Reach would be brought back into the fold. From what I understand, after your brother left for Essos to get the Golden Company, your sister had Mace's children murdered. Cersei hears that the Tyrells have yet to send support and have closed their borders. So, in an act of madness, she had Loras executed and gave Tommen's little queen to the Mountain. The Tyrells are burning for vengeance, so now, along with Dorne, we have Highgarden. I'm planning on telling the queen that we have one more ally, but there's a piece of information that I thought you might want to contemplate and figure out. There doesn't seem to be any information on the North. My little birds can't seem to gather a single piece of information about the Boltons in the North. It's almost as if they don't want us to know."

I sat there for a moment, taking a steady, calming breath as my mind raced. Just then, I heard the guards announcing that there were guests.