Lyonette de Trevalion

In Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series, Lyonette de la Courcel de Trevalion, known as the "Lioness of Azzalle," is the sister of King Ganelon, an ambitious and ruthless woman who seeks to place her son Baudoin on the throne of Terre d'Ange. She is twenty years younger than her brother.

Lyonette is undone by the machinations of Melisande Shahrizai and Isidore d'Aiglemort. She plots with Foclaidha of Alba and her son, planning to seize control of the regency of Terre d'Ange with the backing of Foclaidha's Alban army, and then to place her own son Baudoin on the throne. Melisande intercepts some of these letters between Lyonette and Foclaidha, and hands them over to Isidore, who wastes no time accusing House Trevalion of high treason.

At her trial, Lyonette is unrepentant and unapologetic, proudly declaring herself guilty of the charges and claiming to have acted entirely alone. She accuses Ganelon of crippling the realm by failing to get a husband for his granddaughter Ysandre, whom she names a murderess' get. The Parliament unanimously votes to sentence Lyonette to death, and Ganelon gives her three days to name the manner of her choosing. She threatens to demand a public execution, simply to make things more difficult for her brother, but in the end, her pride wins out, and she chooses to drink poison in privacy.