When Vermithor’s pupil — larger than a man’s head — filled Baelon’s vision, he swallowed hard.
Steadying himself, he raised his blood-covered right hand and pressed it firmly against the skin just below Vermithor’s eye.
“I’m sorry, Vermithor.”
Vermithor didn’t seem to mind.
Instead he closed his eyes, as if enjoying the touch.
When he opened them again, Ignir’s image appeared in his pupils.
Vermithor let out a low, displeased whine, turned, and walked away, as if saying, You already have a dragon.
Why are you bothering me?
Baelon watched the massive bronze dragon disappear into the darkness and let out a long, shaky breath of relief.
At that moment, a low, suppressed roar echoed from deep within the dragonpit — Ignir’s voice.
Baelon’s expression changed.
He called out anxiously, “Ignir!”
Ignir responded immediately.
Sensing his rider’s worry, he flew straight over and landed beside the platform.
Compared to Vermithor, Ignir looked tiny.
He didn’t even take up a third of the dragonmounting platform.
He nuzzled Baelon’s chest affectionately, his voice filled with joy and excitement.
Baelon stroked him with his clean left hand.
“How do you feel, partner? Any discomfort?”
“Ignir!”
The bright, energetic cry told Baelon that Ignir was better than ever — full of strength, with magic flowing through his body.
Seeing Ignir so full of life eased Baelon’s worry.
He patted the dragon’s head.
“I’ll be busy for a while. Make sure you get outside and get some fresh air every day.”
Ignir gave one last happy call, then turned and flew back into the darkness.
Outside the doors, Auris had been listening.
He carefully pushed one door open a crack.
Once he was sure both dragons were gone, he slipped inside.
“Did it work? Where did you put the blood?”
“Below Vermithor’s eye. That spot won’t rub off easily.”
Auris pushed the wheelchair toward the exit. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Then we’re fine. From now on your dragon’s appetite will increase sharply and his energy will be high. You’ll be able to see his growth with your own eyes.”
“But tell the dragonkeepers to increase his food supply. Every day he should get at least one-twentieth of his body weight in food.”
Baelon nodded.
“Come with me tomorrow to check on Ignir. Help me confirm his condition. I’m still a little worried.”
The next day, well into the warrior’s hour, Baelon woke from sleep to find Auris already waiting outside his door.
Baelon had the servants bring two bowls of egg custard and a piece of honey cake.
He invited Auris to sit and eat with him.
Just as Auris reached for his bowl, Baelon sprinkled a small packet of white powder into it right in front of him.
Meeting Auris’s confused gaze, Baelon smiled.
“It’s the antidote for the toxin in your body. If you don’t take it, you’ll itch all over until you go mad and die scratching yourself to death.”
Auris stared at Baelon’s harmless-looking face, his right hand unconsciously moving to his stomach.
Baelon continued calmly, “Auris, let’s be honest with each other. Our deal involves Ignir’s growth and my health. I added a little insurance to your food yesterday — just to be safe.”
Auris went pale.
His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
He looked like he had been betrayed by the entire world.
Baelon spoke in a soothing tone.
“You don’t need to worry. As long as you have no ill intentions toward me, you’ll receive the antidote on schedule. Once our deal is complete, I’ll completely remove the toxin from your body.”
“Of course, if you do have bad intentions, tell me now and help me fix the problem. I’ll still let you leave alive.”
“How could you do this?!”
Auris roared with all his strength, his eyes burning with fury.
Baelon calmly raised the repeating crossbow he had kept hidden.
Servants rushed in from outside and restrained the raging Auris.
Auris tried to keep shouting.
Baelon spoke first to the guards.
“Gag him. Keep him quiet for now. Wait until Cole arrives.”
“Auris, this is for your own good. Keep talking and things will get out of hand.”
Auris fell silent.
Baelon returned to eating his egg custard, not sparing him another glance.
Cole arrived quickly, longsword already in hand, ready to strike Auris down.
“You worthless piece of shit! How dare you offend Prince Baelon!”
“Cole, stop. This man is still useful to me.”
“Your Grace, you’ve been wronged because I was careless. Please punish me. I’ll resign as castellan at once and return to serving you personally.”
Baelon smiled at him.
“Cole, do you really think I’m the kind of person who gets wronged easily?”
“Relax. Put the sword away. Dragonstone still needs you to handle everything. You’re my hands and feet.”
Cole sheathed his sword with obvious reluctance.
“Your Grace, what should we do with this man?”
“Take him back to his room. Tie him to the bed so he can’t hurt himself. Once the stranger’s hour is halfway over, feed him this bowl of egg custard, then bring him to see me.”
Cole didn’t fully understand, but he obeyed.
He had the guards drag Auris back to his room, bind him to the bed, and leave the custard on the bedside table.
After dealing with Auris, Cole returned to Baelon’s side, guilt clear on his face.
“Your Grace, I’ll train replacements as fast as I can and come back to you.”
“Cole, this isn’t your fault. Stop blaming yourself for everything. I’ve told you before — the prince’s hands and feet aren’t meant to keep doing servant work forever. Focus on the important tasks. Don’t worry about me.”
“Go tell the dragonkeepers to prepare live sheep equal to one-tenth of Ignir’s body weight and bring them to the castle courtyard. I want to see how much he can eat now.”
“Today I’ll have to trouble you to stay with me. We should also talk about how we’re going to clean up Dragonstone going forward.”
Ignir currently weighed around five tons.
The dragonkeepers drove ten full-grown sheep into the courtyard.
(Westerosi sheep averaged about 60 kg each.)
The moment the sheep saw Ignir’s massive body, they panicked and tried to flee, but the ropes held them in place.
Baelon patted Ignir’s head.
“Go on, partner. Eat until you’re full. Let me see what your appetite is like now.”
Ignir gave an excited rumble and breathed a stream of dragonfire that roasted all ten sheep at once.
Before the flames had even died down, he lunged forward and began devouring them.
He ate six sheep in one go before finally stopping.
Cole stared in amazement.
“Ignir’s appetite exploded since we got to Dragonstone. He used to be fine with just two sheep a day.”
Baelon didn’t answer the question directly.
He simply smiled.
“From now on, have the dragonkeepers prepare food equal to one-fourteenth of his body weight every day. My partner is about to start growing fast.”
“As for the four sheep that are left, share them with the Gold Cloaks squad that came with us. We’ll have lunch together and get to know each other better. They’re going to be an important force for us from now on.”