labour.

xxxiii.



Her heart had never hammered as hard as it did in that moment, time freezing around them as Aemond's words finally hit her. Marry him. He was asking her to marry him. Nyra grasped his hands like a lifeline, desperately pulling them towards her as her eyes sparkled up at him. Marry him. It didn't feel real.

She needed to make sure she heard him correctly, that this wasn't a trick of her mind desperately trying to make things right for her. “Marry you?” She asked breathlessly.

He only nodded, a certainty falling across his face as his own hands locked around her. “I have thought about it enough in these years of absence, and you told me I could have anything I want. This is what I want, Naenyra.”

She should have said no, Nyra knew she should have shoved him away and said no but the word didn't come from her lips. She could never say it to him. “Tonight.” She muttered, nodding. “It has to be tonight.”

Aemond frowned. “It doesn't have to be so quick. We can speak to mother, get it arranged.”

Nyra shook her head. “No.” She said quickly. “It has to be tonight; I don't want to wait any longer.” She affirmed. She couldn’t let him know what made her push him, not until it was too late for anything to be done about it.

Aemond nodded. “I think there’s a sept on Maegor’s passing, if we get there before the gates close, the Septon will be able to help us. I know it’s not the great Sept but… if it’s okay with you, it’s okay with me.”

She nodded. “Let me go get dressed.” She uttered, reaching for him again before pressing a kiss to his lips. “I’ll meet you at the panel.” Aemond nodded before smiling, his face filling with joy as he let her go.

With a new giddiness, Nyra rushed from his room, laughter slipping from her as she closed the door. She couldn’t believe they were doing this. Her heart hammered in her ears as she headed towards her room. Nyra knew that she should worry about what her mother and grandsire would say but by then, it would be too late - even with an annulment, the King had agreed to letting her be happy. They could do nothing all the time he lived.

Nyra turned the corner before pausing. Helaena stood like a ghost, overlooking the open courtyard below. The moon had given her an eerie glow, her hair alight like stardust around her figure. “You’re making a mistake.” She said without even turning, only bending to lean against the railings.

Nyra knew that Helaena knew what she was up to, what had sent her hurrying for her room - and Nyra knew that’s why Helaena was standing there. She sighed, her shoulders slumping as she approached her sister. “Don’t do this to me, Helaena, please.” She begged, shaking her head.

“You know what path you have to take - you’ve already been told.” Nyra shook her head, closing her eyes. She hung her head in shame, teeth digging into her bottom lip.

“I have a right to choose my path.” Nyra muttered dejectedly. “I should have some say in my future.” In her happiness.

Helaena turned towards her. “It is your duty in life to stay on the path that has been set before you. We are pieces, parts in a story much bigger than you or I.” Nyra wanted to reject what she was saying but even she knew that whatever Helaena had seen, whatever had fueled her dreams for years, was all leading up to something much bigger. “If you marry him, could you live with the consequences of those actions?”

Nyra dropped her gaze. “What consequences?” She asked.

Helaena was silent, contemplative. “A fate far worse than death.” She whispered. “He harbours too much hate in his heart, his temper...” Nyra's heart skipped a beat, her insides freezing as she clutched her chest. “Even with you at his side and the crown on his head, he'll never be fulfilled.” That day at Driftmark changed him, the time apart only twisting him into something she couldn't recognise. The boy was still in there, she knew he was, but if war was to break out - would he shed that last part of him?