Chapter 155 — Then Let Us Hurt Each Other
"Even if we can't hold Dragonstone, we will not hand it over intact to that Targaryen girl!"
Cersei Lannister snapped, her pent-up frustration finally erupting.
"Send orders—withdraw the garrison and burn Dragonstone to the ground. I want her to gain nothing!"
The moment the words left her lips—
Varys's eyes snapped open.
Shock flashed across his face.
Around the chamber, the councillors stared at Cersei in disbelief. Even Jaime Lannister instinctively stepped forward.
Only Euron Greyjoy remained lounging in his seat, utterly unconcerned.
Kevan Lannister hesitated before speaking, his tone cautious.
"Your Grace… Dragonstone has been the ancestral seat of House Targaryen since they came to Westeros. If we burn it… we risk provoking Daenerys's fury. And when that happens—King's Landing may—"
"Are you saying," Cersei cut him off sharply, "that the capital of the Seven Kingdoms should cower before her army and her dragons—and politely hand over Dragonstone?"
The respect she had shown her uncle moments earlier was gone, replaced by open irritation.
Kevan fell silent.
If not for the dragons, surrendering Dragonstone would never even be considered.
But without scorpions—
They had no real alternative.
Turning his head aside, he refused to answer further.
Cersei scanned the rest of the council.
Not a single voice supported her.
Her jaw tightened.
"…Then order Paxter to abandon Dragonstone and return to King's Landing."
With that, she swept out of the chamber, her sleeves snapping behind her.
The moment she was gone, a collective breath escaped the room.
No one wanted to face dragonfire—
Not in anger.
Pentos — The Governor's Palace
After a day of rest, Daenerys Targaryen was speaking with Illyrio Mopatis when a guard entered and handed over a sealed letter.
Illyrio glanced at the seal—
Then immediately passed it to her.
Daenerys knew what it was.
The news she had been waiting for.
She had barely read a few lines when fury surged through her.
"If Cersei dares to burn Dragonstone—" she said coldly,
"then I will burn King's Landing."
The sheer hostility in her voice startled Illyrio.
Even Barristan Selmy and Tyrion Lannister were taken aback.
Perched on her shoulder, Drogon had been dozing.
The killing intent in her voice jolted him awake.
He caught the last part—
burn King's Landing?
Turning toward the letter, he quickly understood.
Cersei had intended to burn Dragonstone before retreating—
Only abandoning the plan because no one supported it.
Drogon could already picture it—
Daenerys arriving at her ancestral seat…
Only to find it reduced to ash.
The rage that would follow—
Not just hers.
His.
If that had happened, he wouldn't hesitate.
He would carry her straight to King's Landing—
And unleash dragonfire.
Perhaps not enough to reduce the entire city to ruin…
But the Red Keep?
It would not survive.
---
Even after finishing the letter and learning Cersei had backed down, Daenerys's anger didn't fade.
Her eyes burned.
Her chest rose and fell with barely restrained fury.
Passing the letter along, the others quickly grasped the situation.
Cersei had nearly burned Dragonstone—
The ancestral home of House Targaryen.
For a moment, silence fell.
Then unease.
Even Tyrion frowned deeply.
He knew his sister's nature—
But even he hadn't expected such recklessness.
She was provoking a queen who commanded three dragons.
A queen they already believed unstoppable.
Now, for the first time—
They began to worry not about victory…
But about the fate of King's Landing.
With confirmation from Varys's intelligence, Daenerys wasted no time.
She ordered the fleet forward—
Straight toward Dragonstone.
As the ships left Pentos behind, her emotions gradually settled.
Ahead lay the place she had dreamed of countless times—
Her ancestral home.
She longed to mount Drogon and fly there immediately.
But she held herself back.
Because now—
All eyes were on her.
Not just her advisers and soldiers…
But the lords of Westeros.
And a queen—
Could not afford to appear impatient.
___
At dawn the next day, Dragonstone finally appeared on the horizon.
Even from afar, the outline of its dragon-shaped castle could already be seen.
The soldiers aboard the warships, knowing they were nearing their destination, poured onto the decks, craning their necks toward the distant island.
Dragonstone itself was not large—
But with that towering, dragon-forged fortress looming over it, the island seemed anything but ordinary.
From a distance, one could already make out the drum towers carved like dragon heads, the eight massive wing-like walls guarding them, and the long stone causeway stretching down toward the shore like a dragon's tail.
A sharp roar split the air.
The massive shadows of Rhaegal and Viserion swept over the flagship, soaring straight toward the castle above.
Daenerys was not the only one stirred by the sight.
Shireen Baratheon, who had been born and raised on Dragonstone, felt her heart tighten.
She hadn't expected to return so soon after being taken away by Drogon.
But now—
The island stood empty.
Memories of her father and mother surfaced, and her small face dimmed with quiet sorrow.
Sensing her mood, Drogon leapt from Daenerys's shoulder and landed gently on Shireen's hand, nudging her arm in silent comfort.
Only then did Daenerys remember—
Dragonstone was not just her ancestral home.
It had also been Shireen's.
After Robert Baratheon took the Iron Throne, he had granted Dragonstone to his brother Stannis Baratheon as his seat.
Shireen had grown up here.
Daenerys stepped closer, taking Shireen's small hand.
Together, they looked toward the looming castle.
As the fleet approached the shallows, it halted in formation.
Daenerys and her companions transferred to smaller boats and made their way to shore.
The moment her feet touched the soft sand—
A strange sense of fulfillment washed over her.
She lifted her gaze to the dragon-shaped fortress above—
Then began to climb.
Behind her, Tyrion Lannister and the others followed in silence.
Everywhere within Dragonstone, dragons were carved into stone.
Towering dragon-head drum towers.
Armories beneath wing-shaped walls.
Smaller details—dragon-headed statues, claw-shaped torch stands.
Even the gates bore their likeness.
Pushing open the half-closed doors, Daenerys passed through the great hall and moved deeper inside, guided by the descriptions once told to her by Viserys Targaryen.
Step by step, she climbed—
Until she reached the top of the drum tower.
There, a long chamber awaited.
To the north lay a wide balcony supported by stone pillars, open to the sea.
At the center of the room stood a massive wooden table—
Carved with a complete map of Westeros.
Three hundred years ago,
Aegon I Targaryen had stood before this very table…
And planned the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms.
And now—
Daenerys Targaryen stood in his place.
Her war for the Iron Throne—
Began here.