The salt carried on the Blackwater Rush grew stronger with every passing moment.
Rhaenyra stood at the prow, the carved seahorse beneath her hand smooth and cool.
Ahead, King’s Landing began to coalesce from the haze, a jagged crown of stone and brick rising from the shore.
The Red Keep, a familiar, comforting presence, seemed to pull her forward.
Ser Criston Cole stepped beside her.
“We’ll make landfall within the hour, Princess.” She nodded, her gaze fixed on the growing city.
King’s Landing waited for her.
Alicent was now her father’s queen.
Baelon was there too.
She did not know which thought weighed more heavily upon her.
The ship cut a steady path through the water, sails full, oars dipping in unison.
The city drew closer, its distant sounds beginning to carry on the breeze—the faint toll of a bell, the distant cry of a gull.
A calm settled over the deck, the quiet anticipation of arrival.
Then the air changed.
A low vibration rolled across the deck before the sound reached them, a deep thrum that seemed to press against her ears.
Something vast was approaching.
Rhaenyra turned, her eyes scanning the northern sky.
A crimson shape burst from the clouds.
Enormous.
Wingbeats thundered overhead.
Caraxes.
The Blood Wyrm.
He was immense, his leathery wings beating the air with a force that seemed to tear at the sky.
He passed directly overhead, a roaring scarlet blur.
The downdraft slammed across the deck.
Ropes whipped free, lashing wildly.
Canvas snapped with the sound of thunder.
Sailors cried out, thrown against the mast and railings.
The ship lurched violently, pitching hard to port.
Rhaenyra stumbled, her head cracking against the thick wooden mast.
Not a full impact, but enough.
The world tilted, a dizzying swirl of sky and sea.
Criston Cole caught her arm before she struck the deck.
Caraxes roared again, a sound of pure, untamed fury that swallowed all other noise.
The crew shouted, a cacophony of fear and surprise.
Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, Caraxes was gone, a diminishing speck against the clouds.
Rhaenyra found herself on one knee, a Ser Criston Cole bending over her, his face etched with concern.
“Princess!
You all right?
Are you?”
He shouted, “Fetch the maester!” Rhaenyra raised a hand to her temple.
Her fingers came away with a small, dark smear of blood, bright against her skin.
Her fingertips came away streaked with blood.
Only a little.
Enough to sting.
She looked at it, then at the Kingsguard “I am fine, Ser” she said, her voice steady despite the lingering tremor in her limbs.
She pushed herself to her feet, refusing the sailor’s offered hand.
Above them, the shriek of Caraxes echoed once more, fading as he flew towards the distant city.
A war trumpet, sounding a return.
The ship eased into the harbor.
Sails were furled, oars dipped rhythmically, and the familiar stone of the quay drew closer.
Rhaenyra pressed a fresh cloth to her temple, the maester’s worried entreaties waved away with a dismissive gesture.
As she descended the gangplank, her gaze swept the skyline of King’s Landing.
But the direction he had come from, and the direction he had been heading, left no room for doubt.
Uncle was back.
Her face betrayed nothing.
She simply carried the thought with her as she climbed toward the castle.
The trip from the docks to the Red Keep was long, her retinue moving around her with a familiar hum of activity.
The cloth at her temple was removed before she reached the castle gates, the small wound already faded.
The Red Keep felt unusually alive.
Servants hurried through the courtyards.
Courtiers filled the galleries.
Court had already assembled.
Too many servants hurried with purpose.
She moved through the labyrinthine corridors, the familiar scent of old stone, beeswax, and incense lingered in the corridors.
Somehow, it always reminded her of her mother.
She had been eight years old when she last felt her mother’s presence in these halls.
Now, six years later the scent still remained.
Then, the great doors to the court loomed before her.
The heavy doors swung open, revealing the assembled court.
Lords and ladies, Kingsguard in their white cloaks, household officials in their livery all assembling inside, a sea of expectant faces.
At the far end, upon the Iron Throne, sat Viserys, his father.
And there, beside him, slightly to his right, stood a small, unwavering figure.
Silver-gold hair, catching the light. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Still.
She found Baelon before she found her father.
He had grown.
Nearly six now, taller than she remembered, though still small beside the adults surrounding him.
There was a steadiness to him.
Even as a babe, he had possessed it.
Now it had only grown more noticeable.
A tightness bloomed in her throat.
She had not realized how much she had missed him until she saw him standing there.
Or the profound sensation of returning to something cherished, finding it exactly when she had left it, only taller, stronger.
She began to walk forward, the path through the assembled courtiers parting slightly as she advanced.
Her gaze was fixed on Baelon, her brother, her anchor.
She was halfway across the echoing hall when a woman near her, a courtier in a gown of pale blue, leaned to her companion, her whisper cutting through the hushed air of the court.
“It’s Daemon.”
Rhaenyra stopped, her feet suddenly rooted to the polished stone.
Footsteps sounded behind her, measured and unhurried, carrying the easy confidence of a man accustomed to every eye turning toward him.
A door opened, a soft, deliberate sound that nonetheless filled the hall.
She turned.
He stood in the archway, framed by the light from the antechamber beyond.
He looked exactly as she remembered.
And yet older.
Leaner, but with the same insolent grace, the same careless power.
Dark armor still marked by travel covered his frame.
Dark Sister rested at his hip.
Around his brow sat the narrow circlet a crude crown, his silver-gold hair, a shade lighter than her own, fell almost to his shoulders, unbound.
A slow smile, predatory and familiar, stretched across his lips.
🌌 Join The Cosmos Community!
The official Discord server is now live!
Become part of the community to:
💬 Discuss the latest chapters
📖 Share your theories and predictions
🎨 Share fan art and memes
📢 Receive release notifications and creator updates
🤝 Chat with fellow readers