The castle was nearly impregnable, standing above its forbidding walls, as though taunting the sea. But the ships bearing the sigil of the Iron Islands rose to the challenge. Many of the townsfolk had retreated into the castle at Lady Calleah's request as House Devenny sought to outlast the siege from the Greyjoy forces.

"The Stark host is no more than a few days away," Maester Wavven insisted.

Cassia knew of the ravens that he had received while they looked at the maps in the past several days. Adaira had joined them as well, noting the histories of the families fighting in the rebellion.

"Let them come!" Ryen cried. "I will teach them to fight House Devenny."

"You do not wish that, Ryen," Lady Calleah insisted. "There are many unarmed here who might be injured."

"Our walls are some of the highest in Westeros," Adaira commented. "It should help us."

Her mother smiled at the youngest of her children, "Yes, my dear, one of the safest houses in the land."

"I saw our men sending fire-lit arrows towards their ships. Will that make them go away?" Cassia asked, glancing between her mother and Maester Wavven.

"Cassia, where were you to see such a thing?" Lady Calleah asked, her tone forcing the nine-year-old to bow her head.

"I am sorry, Mother. I wanted to know…"

"It is dangerous outside. I want you all to promise me that you will remain safely indoors until the Starks arrive!" Lady Devenny's voice carried a threat with her exclamation, but her eyes softened somewhat as she looked upon the faces of her youngest children. Behind Ryen's exuberance, Cassia's fascination, and Adaira's curiosity, there was a great deal of fear, and tears were never far behind anyone's eyes.

"I refuse to explain to your father why one of you is missing an eye," Lady Calleah added quickly, trying to mollify her children's expressions.

It worked as the three exchanged small smiles.

"Now, off to bed, all of you," their mother added. "And stay there. I shall get you myself in the morning."

Hurrying to their chambers, Adaira wrapped her blankets tightly around her, lighting a solitary candle as she read her latest book. Cassia, meanwhile, paced in her room, thinking of what remained outside their walls. There was little that could truly be discerned except for the occasional sound of something breaking or metal upon stone.

Just as she finally closed her eyes, a loud, rhythmic beating resounded beneath her. She could not understand what the noise was. Taking a dagger Davian had given her, Cassia slowly crept towards her door. When she opened it, she did not find guards as expected.

Instead, the hall was empty. She could hear more, though, as the beating seemed to sound from the entrance. The voices of men calling to each other reached her ears as Cassia ran towards the window nearest the ocean.

"You should be asleep!" Ryen commented, seeing his little sister arrive in the tower.

"So should you."

Cassia peered from the window nearest to the sea; her heart threatening to pierce through her chest as tears stung her eyes. Ryen stood with her in silence, watching men beat against the gates with some giant tree-like thing that eventually made a terrible splitting noise. Then, the sound of arrows releasing flew the night air followed by the screams of the men they met.

"We must find Adaira," Ryen threw himself into action. "I will find Mother. I can protect you."

Cassia's eyes widened, "Ryen…"

"We will meet in Mother's solar," he exclaimed.

Ryen ran as quickly as his legs could carry him while Cassia stood frozen in place. She deeply wanted to take a sword and join Ryen, but watching her father's men slowly collapsing to the ground below, her hopes began to dwindle as well. There was little they could do.

"We must hide, Ryen!" She cried finally, but he was far away. Though she had been instructed to go to her mother's solar, instead, her feet began to lead her to the secret room she had found with Davian.

Adaira clasped her book tightly in hand as she sat in her chamber. The cries and screams grew louder before knocking broke upon her door.

"Milady, come. I am to take you to your lady mother," instructed Ser Rendon, a member of the Devenny House Guard.

Adaira stood quickly, one arm wrapped around the heavy book, and the other clutching her thick woolen blanket around her shoulders. The knight quickly scooped the small girl up and held her close to his chest as he ran.

There was chaos all around them as people scrambled through the Keep, some shouting, some crying. When she saw the first man fall in front of her eyes, a red stain squirming from the sword in his chest to match the red kraken on the armor of the man holding the weapon, she realized fearfully that the people swarming the halls were not all Snowsanders.

Adaira wanted nothing more than to bury her face into Ser Rendon's mail-covered shoulder and cry, but she couldn't lower her eyes. Instead, she jutted out her chin bravely, just as she had seen her father do whenever he had to do something grim. Soon enough, they rounded the corner nearest to her mother's solar, but Ser Rendon stopped at the open doorway. He had only paused for a second, but that was long enough for Adaira to turn and see what was unfolding in the room before her.

"Mother, I'll protect you!" Ryen decreed, holding up the sword that was too big for him and pointing it at the Greyjoy soldier before him. Rendon had to slap a hand over Adaira's mouth to keep her from screaming as the armored man let out a laugh and swung his arm, his crude steel meeting the boy's shoulder. Ryen's sword clattered to the floor as he fell limp before his mother's feet.

Lady Calleah let out a soul-wrenching cry, sinking to her knees next to her baby boy. She gathered him in her arms and the soldier's sword fell once more. The last thing Adaira saw before Rendon pulled her back into the hallway was the tears on her mother's face and the golden glint of her hair reflecting in steel.

The knight sprinted back down the hallway but paused when he saw a little girl with long, dark locks push on a wall to move it aside and slip into the small space it revealed. When the girl peeked behind her, he immediately recognized her terrified face. Once the hidden door closed, he ran to it and placed Adaira's bare feet onto the ground.

"Milady, this is where I must take my leave. Your sister is inside this room – take care of each other, and don't come out until you haven't heard any noise for a very long time. Be careful, Lady Adaira. I will be fighting for you," he said quickly, mussing the child's hair as he pushed on the wall in the same spot Cassia had moments earlier. With one final nod, he nudged her inside. As the door closed, he drew his sword and left the girls with his prayers as he departed to defend the keep.

"Cassia?" Adaira whispered into the darkness of the passageway, her voice shaking with the tears she had been holding back.

"Is that you, Adaira?" her sister responded, peaking around the end of the channel, a candle in hand. The littlest Devenny could no longer be the strong little lady she had tried to be. She dropped her book and her blanket and ran toward her sister. The older girl caught her in a tight hug.

"They're gone, Cass. He killed Mother and Ryen. I saw him," she hiccupped, her voice thick with sobs.

"Shh, shh, little sister. We're going to get through this, you and I. Father, Davian and Torrett will be back, and we will all be safe. You'll see," Cassia tried to comfort, but even as she said them, the words rang empty in her ears. With one hand, she held rubbed her baby sister's back, and with the other, she curled her fingers tightly around the hilt of Davian's old dagger.

The sea had shattered the Devenny family, and Cassia knew that now she would have to be the one to protect the little pieces that were left behind.