Chapter 157 — The Three Dragon Bosses
At Dragonstone, inside the Painted Table chamber, Tyrion Lannister stood before the map and addressed the gathered council.
"Now that we've secured our foothold, and with forces on Driftmark guarding the Gullet, we no longer need to worry about King's Landing fleets appearing outside Blackwater Bay."
"The Dothraki are temporarily stationed on Crackclaw Point, but they won't tolerate that for long. So our next target will be Harrenhal."
"It lies beside the Gods Eye and was once the greatest castle in the Seven Kingdoms. Though much of it has collapsed, it's still more than suitable for the Dothraki."
As he spoke, Tyrion picked up a dragon-shaped marker from Harrenhal and moved it north to The Twins.
"Once Harrenhal is secured, we can strike north at any time and seize the Twins, cutting off the Neck and preventing Ramsay Bolton from marching south to reinforce King's Landing."
"House Frey won't sit idle while we take their seat. They'll likely withdraw from Riverrun to defend it. That's when we use the Dothraki to crush them."
"The Eyrie and Riverrun are both enemies of King's Landing. Even if they don't aid us, they won't interfere. Once the Twins fall, we can divide our forces…"
After hearing the plan, the council nodded in agreement.
Perched on Daenerys Targaryen's shoulder, Drogon listened closely, silently weighing the strategy. With his limited understanding of warfare, he still tried to identify possible flaws.
He knew that in another timeline, Tyrion's plans had ended in failure. The situation now was different—but not entirely. Some conditions were still the same, and that meant hidden risks remained.
"Your Grace, I wish to take advantage of the Iron Islands' weakness and reclaim them," Yara Greyjoy suddenly said. "It would also prevent the Ironborn from landing south of the Twins and disrupting our plans."
At her words, everyone's gaze shifted to the Iron Islands on the map. With Euron Greyjoy still holding them, they were indeed an unstable factor.
Though Euron was currently in King's Landing, no one knew what arrangements he had left behind.
After a brief glance at the map, Daenerys turned to Tyrion. Seeing his slight nod, she agreed.
She knew Yara had her own motives—but the Iron Islands could not be left in Euron's hands.
[I just hope she doesn't go and never return.]
Drogon's voice echoed in her mind.
Daenerys froze for a moment.
Euron was in King's Landing. The Iron Islands were empty. Who could possibly defeat Yara?
She doubted it—but Drogon had never been wrong before. In the end, she chose caution and decided to warn Yara after the meeting.
—
On the rocky shore near Dragonstone's docks, Rhaegal and Viserion stood with their necks stretched forward, staring intently at the shifting shadow beneath the sea.
The dark shape surged closer, then burst from the water. With a violent shake of its massive head, the sea serpent flung two enormous fish—each nearly two meters long—onto the rocks.
The two dragons immediately flapped their wings and rushed forward. Snatching the fish, they tossed them into the air and unleashed streams of red dragonfire. In an instant, the fish were perfectly roasted. With a snap of their jaws, they swallowed them whole.
After delivering its catch, the sea serpent plunged back into the water, continuing its tireless task of hunting for its two masters.
When Drogon had first brought the creature back, Rhaegal and Viserion had been curious. After tasting roasted octopus, they had even eyed the serpent itself with undisguised hunger.
Only after Drogon's warning did they realize it wasn't to be eaten. Disappointed, they lost interest.
At least for a while.
But when Rhaegal later spotted the serpent hunting in the sea, things changed. After stealing its prey twice and finding it unsatisfying, she simply forced the serpent into becoming her personal fishing servant.
Before long, Viserion caught on. Just like that, the serpent gained a second master.
Now, every day, it had to feed both dragons before it could rest.
Watching from a distance, even Drogon felt a trace of pity. He had only intended to keep it as a pet—and perhaps a useful fighter—but instead, it had become the most miserable underling imaginable.
After finishing their roasted fish, the two dragons immediately quieted down when they saw Drogon arrive, suddenly as obedient as possible, unsure if he had come to drag them off for training again.
Drogon paid no attention to the two suddenly well-behaved dragons and instead turned his gaze toward the sea, where the serpent was already swimming back after catching more fish.
The sea serpent reached the shore and had just flung two large fish onto the rocks when it spotted Drogon standing there. It froze for a moment, its heart sinking.
Don't tell me… he's here to eat too?
A quiet sigh of despair rose within it.
After being captured, it had spent several days in constant fear before gradually realizing Drogon had no intention of troubling it further. Though it still wasn't fully used to leaving the boiling waters of the Smoking Sea, at least life here had been relatively free.
That peace hadn't lasted long.
Before it knew it, the other two terrifying dragons had seized it and turned it into a laborer. There was nothing it could do about it. Every day, it had to feed both dragons before it could move about on its own.
And now, seeing Drogon again, its first thought was simple—
It would have to feed yet another dragon.
Just as it turned to dive back into the sea to catch more fish, a sharp draconic hiss stopped it in place.
Drogon called out, gesturing toward it, then spread his wings and flew down, landing atop its head, clearly ordering it to follow.
Rhaegal and Viserion, knowing Drogon wouldn't compete with them for food, continued eating their roasted fish. But when they saw him leading the sea serpent toward the docks, curiosity quickly got the better of them.
After finishing their meal, the two dragons followed along.
At the docks, Daenerys was seeing Yara off, reminding her not to lower her guard during the journey and to remain cautious of any unexpected dangers.
At first, Yara thought it was nothing more than a routine farewell warning. But when Daenerys emphasized her words, she began to take it seriously, though confusion lingered. When she tried to press for details, Daenerys refused to elaborate, leaving her with unanswered questions.
Just as Yara turned to board her ship, everyone saw two dragons descending low through the sky toward the docks, while a dark shape surged through the sea below—Drogon standing atop it.
Bringing the sea serpent to the edge of the dock, Drogon pointed at it, then at Yara.
"You want it to follow me to the Iron Islands?" Yara asked, quickly understanding his meaning after spending so much time around him.
Drogon nodded.
Yara instinctively turned to look at Daenerys.
The earlier warning, now paired with Drogon's gesture, caused a flicker of unease to creep into her confidence.
Drogon then gestured firmly at the sea serpent, making it recognize Yara.
Only after that did Yara board the warship, her expression no longer relaxed, but solemn.
The voyage ahead no longer felt as certain as before.