The seventh day of the second month, 114 AC.
A day destined for the histories.
Aegon stood in gold formalwear, Helaena and Aemond beside him.
The three gazed out over Blackwater Bay.
Soon a vast fleet appeared on the horizon.
Then a roar like muffled thunder split the sky.
Vhagar broke through the clouds, a mountain with wings.
Two more dragons followed.
One had scarlet scales, pink wing membranes, and bright copper crest, horns, and claws.
It moved with blinding speed.
The other was much smaller.
A young dragon of pale silver-grey.
“Terrifying family strength.
Wealth, a fleet, dragons.
What are you still missing?” Aegon murmured.
Viserys had promised that Rhaenyra and Laenor’s firstborn son would inherit the Iron Throne.
But he had never made clear whether that grandson would take the name Targaryen when he sat it.
That question would shape the next decade of maneuvering between Viserys and Corlys.
If Viserys died and Corlys still lived, and Rhaenyra could not control him, the Iron Throne might well pass to House Velaryon.
“The throne.” Helaena spoke softly, then turned and walked away.
Aegon said nothing more.
He followed her down.
As the king’s eldest son, he was expected to be there to receive them.
“What are you two muttering about?”
Aemond looked baffled, but his feet moved just as fast.
He caught up in a heartbeat.
The great Sea Snake eased toward the dock, the Velaryon banners snapping in the wind, announcing their arrival to King’s Landing.
Viserys stepped forward to greet Corlys.
Vhagar, Meleys, and Seasmoke did not land at the Dragonpit.
They settled outside the Red Keep instead.
Sunfyre, coiled in rest, lifted his head for a glance.
Then he tucked it back down.
The three newcomers did not interest him.
Laenor dismounted and came to his mother’s side, staring at Sunfyre with open surprise.
“He looks much bigger than Seasmoke.
But I’m sure he hatched six years later.” Laenor pointed.
Rhaenys frowned.
She had heard of Sunfyre.
They said this dragon was the most splendid and magnificent ever seen, with a growth rate twice that of an ordinary dragon.
“Perhaps he’ll surpass Balerion the Black Dread.
What do you think?” Rhaenys smiled.
She did not take Sunfyre seriously.
Her Meleys was the swiftest dragon alive.
Even against Vhagar, she had a chance.
A young dragon was nothing.
Laena joined them.
“A beautiful dragon.
Though Seasmoke is beautiful too.”
She clapped Laenor on the shoulder and pulled him toward the king.
His future good-father.
Corlys had explained that Rhaenys, Laena, and Laenor had insisted on arriving by dragon because true dragon blood ran in their veins.
They also wanted the world to see the union of Targaryen and Velaryon blood.
A show of stability for the realm.
A warning to those with ill intent.
Aegon nearly laughed out loud.
The art of speech.
A naked display of family power, dressed up as concern for the kingdom.
And that phrase.
“A warning to those with ill intent.”
The whole time Corlys said it, his eyes never left Alicent.
He might as well have pointed at her and cursed.
“If Grandfather were still Hand, he’d have thrown it right back at him.
Look at that arrogance.” Aegon muttered under his breath.
Alicent’s face darkened.
She squeezed his hand hard, twice.
A signal to keep his mouth shut.
Times had changed.
Rhaenyra’s marriage to Laenor marked the peak of the blacks’ power.
Behind Laenor stood House Velaryon.
Three dragons.
One of them was Vhagar, among the three dragons that had conquered Westeros.
And Meleys, the Red Queen, was formidable in her own right.
Even Seasmoke, the weakest, had hatched in 96 AC and fought in the Stepstones.
No novice.
Corlys finished his pleasantries with Viserys and came to greet Alicent.
“Lord Corlys, welcome.
I am certain Ser Laenor will make a fine husband.”
Alicent wore a look of warm approval, but her words carried an edge.
Everyone knew Laenor preferred men.
“Marrying the princess is his honor.
And I am equally certain Her Grace will be a devoted wife.
And a worthy queen.”
Corlys was too old and sharp to miss the thrust.
He returned it at once, reminding her that Rhaenyra would be the next to sit the Iron Throne.
“And Lady Rhaenys?
It has been so long since we spoke.”
“She’ll be along shortly.” Corlys chuckled.
“Meleys is swift, and Vhagar is no slower.
But Seasmoke is still young.
She may be settling him.”
Viserys felt his eyelid twitch.
Corlys was hammering the point about his family’s dragons again.
No joke.
He was certain Corlys was needling him on purpose.
“And this must be Prince Aegon.
I hear your dragon grows at an astonishing rate.
They say he may even surpass Balerion.
Remarkable.
The Black Dread himself!” New chapters come out on g.com first.
Corlys turned the conversation onto Aegon.
Aegon, whose mind had wandered, snapped back and offered a polished smile.
“Lord Corlys, please don’t jest.
No dragon can surpass the Black Dread.”
“He is a legend.
If you doubt it, ask my father.
He was the last rider of that legendary dragon.”
Aegon looked at Viserys with open admiration, as if he worshipped him.
Viserys blinked, then straightened his back.
The corner of his mouth lifted.
“True.
No dragon will ever surpass Balerion the Black Dread.
He was too vast.
Vast enough to swallow a mammoth whole.”
“Truly?” Corlys looked astonished.
“My daughter tells me Vhagar is nearly his size now.”
He paused, then feigned a look of sudden realization and apologized.
“Forgive me, Your Grace.
I meant no offense.
I am no dragonrider.
I wouldn’t know.”
A flicker of displeasure crossed Viserys’s face, but he smiled.
“None taken.
Vhagar hatched in 51 BC.
She is one hundred and sixty-five now.
She is indeed closing in on Balerion.”
He kept his tone light, but the truth stung.
He had not expected that girl Laena to claim Vhagar.
At a hundred and sixty-five, Vhagar was unquestionably the most powerful dragon alive.
And worse, House Velaryon had Meleys as well.
A she-dragon whose battle strength matched Caraxes.
And Caraxes’s rider, his own younger brother…
best not spoken of.
Viserys found his gaze drifting to Aegon.
Looking at that face so like his own, something flickered in his chest.
Hesitation.
A tremor of doubt.
What if the marriage alliance had been between Aegon and Laena instead?
Laena was much older, yes.
But not impossibly so.
Or perhaps, let Aegon simply…
Viserys drew a sharp breath and crushed the thought.
Aegon was better than Rhaenyra in every way.
He was even the firstborn son.
But Viserys could not do that to Aemma.
And he had already humiliated House Velaryon once, insisting on marrying Alicent Hightower against all counsel.
If he did it again, Corlys might truly turn against him.
He had inherited a kingdom at peace, rich and whole.
He would not let that peace and that wealth die by his own hand.