She reached out and stroked the cold throne beneath her, forged from countless swords, the symbol of power over the Seven Kingdoms. Her fingers brushed the blades jutting from its surface.
An unwitting press of her fingers caught them on a sharp point. Blood seeped from the cut and dripped onto the black Iron Throne, staining it a startling scarlet.
Not long after The Hound and the others left, the doors were pushed open again.
This time, however, those entering were not men of House Lannister, but the commander of the Valyrian Freehold's army, Duke Clinton. Fully armed soldiers of the Golden Company followed behind him.
As he entered, he looked at Cersei, who sat laughing on the Iron Throne, his face expressionless.
"Cersei Lannister." Duke Clinton's voice was steady and cold, though his bearing still betrayed his excitement. "His Majesty Viserys has taken the Red Keep. King's Landing now belongs to House Targaryen. Give up your futile resistance and come with us."
Cersei's laughter stopped abruptly. She slowly raised her head. Her green eyes, once filled with pride and calculation, were now bloodshot and wild with defiance.
She stared hard at Clinton as he entered. "You're that useless Hand of the King whom the Mad King exiled overseas, the Earl of Griffin's Roost, Jon Connington? I remember you. So you've stopped being Rhaegar's lapdog and become Viserys's instead."
Clinton ignored Cersei's taunts and waved a hand. The soldiers behind him advanced, intending to drag her off the Iron Throne.
She rose from the Iron Throne and shouted fiercely, "You want me to go with you? Where? To see that inbred Targaryen bastard? I am the queen mother of the Seven Kingdoms, the roaring lioness of House Lannister. You traitors will never make me submit!"
Watching the soldiers close in,