“Augh,” Aegon groaned as he dismounted from his horse to think and look at the refugees.
Because he didn’t want to knock the girl down with his leg, he landed hard, groaning in pain.
“I think you’ll agree, Ser Tyland, that you should give yourself up,” Larys said after some thought.
Tyland looked at him as if he were insane.
“She will flay me alive.”
“No doubt,” Larys agreed.
“But once Mooton has you in hand, he will turn toward King’s Landing, and we may slip past.”
“No,” Aegon said as he turned to face them.
“No one will be surrendered to that whore or her oathbreakers, especially not Tyland. Go where you will, both of you. Take the girls with you. But as for me, there will be no more running. It’s the Stranger, he is finally calling my name. This is it. It’s the end of the line for me, but not for you. Go preserve your own skins.”
“If you do not run, Your Grace, you will die,” Tyland warned as he looked at Aegon.
“Then I will die,” Aegon said.
“But as a fugitive, unknown and covered in dust. Not with an arrow in my back, or trapped like a fox in a hole.”
“This is absurd,” Larys laughed.
“Ser Tyland, I entreat you to reason with His Grace.”
“I will make my stand here,” Aegon said, reaching into the satchel at his waist and taking out the Conqueror’s circlet, tracing its rough edges.
“And be buried a king with my dragon. I will not have history say I was slain in ignominy by my own brother. No one will stain my brother with such lies.”
Tyland looked at Aegon’s back, and then at Larys.
“If my King wishes to remain, then… I shall remain with him. I cannot leave him to face an army meant for me.”
“You’ve resolved on this then,” Larys spoke in astonishment as he stared at Aegon’s back.
Aegon didn’t answer.
“Then, my lords, it seems there is only one thing left for me to do.” With that, Larys bowed his head slightly and placed a hand over his heart.
“May the Seven be ever on your side.”
“You would abandon your liege?” Tyland asked, shocked.
Just as Larys was about to speak, Aegon’s voice cut through.
“Then the gods be with you, Larys,” Aegon said as he limped toward Larys and offered his burnt trembling hand.
“You have served me well at my lowest. Without you, I wouldn’t have survived and would have died in ignominy. I am sorry I have no gold to give you today. No lands, no titles. I have nothing left to offer but my thanks. But if the Stranger spares me, and if we ever meet again in this life… I will reward you as a king should. You have my word.” Get faster updates on novelping . com.
Larys looked at Aegon’s hand for a moment, then took it in his own.
“You have a rare talent, Aegon,” Larys whispered softly.
“You make the grave look entirely too inviting. If the Stranger takes you today… If you fall here, the war goes on. I will make my way back to King’s Landing. If there is a way to get the Queen out of the Red Keep, I will find it. If not, I will look to Prince Aemond and Prince Daeron. Your brothers will have my counsel, such as it is. I won’t let your cause die in these woods.”
Larys bowed his head to both of them, took the reins of his horse, and signaled for the girls to follow.
“May the Seven watch over you,” Larys said before turning away into the trees.
Soon Tyland and Aegon moved on until night settled and they set up camp, or rather, Tyland did, while Aegon did nothing.
Staring into the crackling fire, neither said a word until Aegon broke the silence.
“Are you married, Ser Tyland?” Aegon asked absent-mindedly.
“No, Your Grace. I never married,” Tyland said, letting out a small smile.
“Though I famously vied for your sister’s hand and was rejected.”
“Why did you never marry?” Aegon asked again.
“Well, Your Grace, I am, as you know, a second son. I had no lands or titles to offer in marriage, and I thought that after my service on the Small Council for you and your father, I might one day earn myself some land,” Tyland said, not hiding his ambition.
“Well, before the war there were no castles or lands to give. But after, and if we win, there will be many to choose from, Ser Tyland.”
“You honor me, Your Grace,” Tyland said.
He stayed silent for a moment, thinking, before he spoke again.
“Though I must say… Lord Corlys’s granddaughters…”
“Don’t even think about it,” Aegon interrupted him.
“They will slit your throat in your sleep. And if I could, I would wed them. They are my cousins and they are a work of art.”
Tyland rose as the sudden glare of torches flickered through the trees ahead of them.
Dozens, no, hundreds, were advancing toward their small campsite.
Tyland unsheathed his sword, the steel ringing softly in the night air.
Aegon forced himself to his feet, gritting his teeth against the agony in his leg.
“A final stand then, Ser Tyland,” Aegon said, staring into the sea of torchlight.
“Your Grace,” Tyland murmured, looking at him and bowing his head one last time.
Soon, the vanguard of the Mooton host burst into the clearing and came to a halt.
“Throw down your arms and prepare to swear fealty!”
Lord Mooton rode to the front, his eyes scanning the two men before locking onto tyland.
“Is that you, Tyland Lannister?” Mooton asked.
“Your Queen has been searching for you. Tell us where the gold is, and you will die with your ears still attached.”
Aegon reached into his satchel and withdrew the ruby-studded crown of Aegon the Conqueror.
Slowly, he placed the circlet onto his head.
He limped forward into the full view of the army.
“BEHOLD ME NOW!” Aegon roared.
“I AM AEGON TARGARYEN! VISERYS’S TRUE HEIR, THE SECOND OF HIS NAME, KING OF THE ANDALS, THE RHOYNAR, AND THE FIRST MEN! I WAS ANOINTED BY THE HIGH SEPTON IN THE LIGHT OF THE SEVEN, AND IT IS IN THEIR LIGHT THAT I STAND BEFORE YOU NOW!”
A wave of nervous murmurs and restless movement rippled through the host.
Men looked at one another in sudden dread, realizing who stood before them, a king in rags, but a crowned king nonetheless.
Who among them dared strike down an anointed monarch and bear the curse of a kingslayer?
“STRIKE ME DOWN AND THE STRANGER WILL TAKE RETRIBUTION, YOU OATHBREAKERS AND TURNCLOAKS!” Aegon screamed into the darkness.
“THE WARRIOR’S SWORD WILL BE JUDGMENT UPON YOU!”
The warhorses began to whinny nervously, rearing and backing away.
The entire host swayed in confusion.
Then, behind Aegon and Tyland, a sudden sound shattered the woods, trees snapping and crashing to the earth like brittle twigs.
Tyland, unable to believe the army was truly backing down, heard the sound first.
He turned around, his breath catching as a massive shadow forged through the canopy, knocking down towering pines as it moved toward them.
“YES! YES, COWARDS!” Aegon taunted, raising his arms.
“OATHBREAKERS! TURNCLOAKS! YOU MIGHT WELL RETREAT! FOR NOW YOU SEE ME AS I TRULY AM, DREADFUL IN VENGEANCE, RIGHTEOUS, AND GLORIOUS!”
A low, deep rumble vibrated through the earth beneath his boots.
A breath washed over the back of Aegon’s neck.
Slowly, Aegon turned around.
“Sunfyre…” Aegon breathed.
Aegon turned back to face the trembling Mooton host, a fierce, terrifying smile splitting his face.
“Dracarys.”