Jaime burst into the throne room with Brienne on his right and Podrick on his left. His eyes immediately went to Cersei, standing before the window surrounded by guards and flanked by Euron and the Mountain. Cersei's eyes traveled over the three of them, lingering on Brienne.

The corners of her mouth curled as she looked back to Jaime. "Hello, my stupid brother," she said.

Jaime spoke urgently. "Cersei. I'm begging you to surrender. No harm will come to you, I swear it on my life."

"Looks like you're outnumbered." Cersei stood regally, calm and unperturbed. "Why should I surrender to you?"

"Danaerys and the Northern soldiers are storming the city as we speak." Jaime did not know whether it was true, but he said it anyway. "Even if you kill us, they'll kill you. I'm here to save you. I'll make them promise not to harm you. We can live in the countryside and raise our child together." His gut twisted at the thought of the rest of his life, alone in the mountains, surrounded every day by her hate.

Cersei read the look on his face, and her voice and eyes laughed mockingly at him. Damn, Jaime thought grimly.

"And what does she have to say about that?" Cersei turned to Brienne and said simply, "You love him." For a fraction of a second, her expression was pained and puzzled as she locked eyes with him again. "I'll never understand how you came to prefer that lumbering beast of a woman."

She's not. . . . Jaime opened his mouth, then caught himself. Cersei's mouth curved wider, and the glittering hate settled back into her eyes. Jaime tensed, facing the hopelessness of reasoning with his enraged sister. "Cersei, please. You don't have to die. We're not here to fight you." His words sounded dull and leaden even in his own ears, and still he held his breath. Cersei's sneering eyes were locked on his wide ones. She has all the power.

She regarded him for a long moment. Then she spoke, relishing each word. "Take my brother alive, but kill the other two."

Cold dread filled Jaime's stomach as they were surrounded by the queensguard. To his right, he saw Brienne step forward, between himself and the approaching Mountain. He's going to kill her. He began to instinctively step forward, then stopped himself. She's a great fighter. I have to trust her. He looked around and counted six guards. If I can take three and Podrick takes three. . . .

Footsteps echoed in the hall. To his relief, Jaime immediately recognized the familiar sound of Sandor's footsteps as he leaped into the room and growled, "Brother, time to put you out of your misery." Quickly, Jaime caught Brienne's eye and saw her flick her head towards Cersei. He gratefully nodded.

As blades and armor clashed around them, Cersei swept out of the room with her robes billowing behind her, and Jaime followed, calling after her. "Cersei stop!" He sprinted through a door, then an arch, then rounded the corner, where he abruptly froze midstep -

Jaime gasped as he looked down at the knife protruding from his side. He slowly turned his head to see Cersei, flat against the wall where she stood waiting, with a second dagger held up to his throat.

"Please, Cersei, stop the war and the madness," Jaime begged, as his blood began to drip around the knife. "Do it for our child. . . ."

"You really are the stupidest Lannister." Cersei's voice was cold. "Did you really think I would believe you? That you would live in the countryside with me, after you went north for her? I told you before: no one walks away from me."

"I am a Lannister," Jaime said, fighting to stay standing. "My family will always come first."

"And what do you think will happen to our child?" Cersei continued. "There is no love for the children of overthrown queens. Perhaps our baby will be murdered like my beloved Myrcella. Or made a feast for the dragon."

"No," Jaime gasped. "I'll take care of the baby. I'll protect you both."

"As you protected Myrcella." Cersei's lips curled into a sneer. "Did you know I was ready to poison Tommen, at the battle of the Blackwater? Better to die, falling gently asleep, than tortured by our enemies."

"Look how you protected Tommen," Jaime replied bitterly. "He took his own life, heartbroken. You made our Tommen a victim of your lust for power."

Cersei didn't blink, and her eyes were cruel. "I'll protect our child now, just as I'll protect you. We'll leave this world together, the way we entered it. Move!" She pushed Jaime down a stairwell, her dagger still at his throat. "We'll die together, you and me and our child. The only ones who matter!"

Cold fear flowed through Jaime as he recognized the tunnels. The Wildfire. "No," he repeated. "Death is not protection. Our child deserves the chance to live!" But she doesn't intend to live, Jaime realized. She won't save herself, and she won't save our baby. The hall ahead was filled with barrels.

"There is no life for us outside the throne." Cersei reached for a torch. "We'll burn them all."

Jaime's mind raced. "Then kiss me one more time," he begged. His blood pounded in his ears as Cersei stopped in her tracks. "One last kiss before we die together. You and me." His voice was soft, coaxing and pleading. "My most beloved sister. Your lips will be the last thing I taste and the last thought I hold."

Cersei turned him to face her as a slow smile spread across her face. "All right then, my dear brother," she whispered. Her dagger still held at his throat, she leaned her face towards his. She touched her lips briefly against his. She began to pull away, and he leaned after her, warmly returning the kiss. She drew closer and began to press against him.

Abruptly, Jaime's left hand flew up to grab her wrist, wrenching her arm away from his throat, twisting it behind her back and spinning her around. He wrapped his right arm around her neck as his left hand pried the dagger from her grasp. She writhed uselessly and gagged as he held her in place.

"No, my dear sister," Jaime said firmly, eyes glittering. "I'm not yours, and I'm not ready to die. I have someone else to live for."

A flicker of movement caught his eye. Jaime glanced down the dim hall and saw Qyburn, standing at the end of the hall next to the barrels, just as Cersei gasped out. "Burn them all!" Qyburn raised a torch in the air.

Jaime's eyes widened. He was too far away. "Qyburn, STOP!" he yelled as the torch descended, as if in slow motion. Cersei's cackles filled the air.

He heard a twang by his head, and suddenly Qyburn was falling backwards with an arrow in his chest and a shocked expression on his face. The torch clattered to the floor and fizzled out.

Jaime jerked around. Behind him stood Bronn with his crossbow raised. Cersei's laughter died away as Jaime stood speechless.

Bronn lowered his crossbow and grinned at Jaime. "Aren't you going to thank me?" He asked sardonically.

"What are you doing here?" Jaime finally said.

"You each promised me a castle," he answered. "I can't collect if we're all dead."