The Skies Above the Gods Eye.
The sky above Harrenhal was filled with heavy, stagnant grey clouds.
The blackened remains of the Kingspyre Tower, scorched centuries ago by the dragonfire of Balerion the Black Dread, pointed like a jagged finger toward the heavens.
Crows circled the ruins of the half-destroyed fortress, their caws piercing the air.
But today, the sky belonged to the living.
Whoosh.
Each beat of Vhagar's wings whipped the air into a hurricane-like gale.
The nearly two-hundred-year-old dragon rarely flew with such intensity, but today she seemed to be enjoying herself.
Aemond Targaryen lay prone against the base of her neck; he wasn't sitting.
He hadn't fastened a single strap of his saddle; he wasn't even holding the basic reins.
His legs were spread wide, braced firmly within the gaps of the dragon's coarse scales, his upper body following the rhythm of Vhagar's flight as naturally as a sailor stands upon a pitching deck.
His violet eye was half-lidded, not to shield it from the wind, but in a state of pure exhilaration.
He was savoring the speed, the height, and the thrill of dangling his life by a thread.
This absolute sense of control was maintained solely by his own physical strength and iron will.
A short distance to his left, Helaena rode Dreamfyre.
The silver-blue she-dragon, nearly eighty meters long, was half the size of Vhagar and far more graceful in flight.
Helaena sat properly in her saddle, every safety line secured, both hands gripping the reins.
As Dreamfyre pierced through a thin veil of mist, Helaena glanced at Aemond, and her eyes widened in horror.
"Aemond!"
Her shout was scattered by the wind, but her mouthing was clear: "Are you mad?!"
Aemond heard her. He turned his head and offered Helaena a smile.
He opened his arms wide, not to maintain balance, but in a gesture of embracing the sky itself.
Vhagar, sensing her rider's mood, let out a deafening roar that shook the forests of the Gods Eye below, startling thousands of birds into the air.
Then, Aemond did something even more insane.
He commanded Vhagar to close the distance.
The two dragons had been maintaining a safe gap, but Vhagar began to bank, her colossal frame carving an arc through the sky as she bore down on Dreamfyre.
Helaena's heart leaped into her throat.
Bringing two dragons this close in the air was a recipe for catastrophe; wings could collide, and the air currents could destabilize the smaller beast.
"Aemond! Watch out!" she screamed.
Vhagar ascended until she was flying wing-to-wing with Dreamfyre.
The silver dragon hissed uneasily, instinctively wanting to distance herself from the ancient apex predator, but Helaena fought back her terror to soothe her mount.
Five meters.
At this range, Helaena could see every battle scar on Vhagar's hide and feel the scorching heat of the old dragon's breath.
She saw Aemond crouch low, not because he was slipping, but as a man coiling his strength.
"No..." Helaena realized his intent.
He jumped.
It wasn't a hesitant hop; it was a full-powered leap. His silhouette traced an arc through the dizzying heights.
Helaena's scream died in her throat. Time seemed to slow. She saw Aemond's body stretch through the air, his robes whipped by the wind.
Thump.
He slammed onto Dreamfyre's back.
He landed directly behind Helaena.
Dreamfyre let out an uneasy shriek, and Helaena instinctively gripped the reins tighter. Aemond's arms wrapped around her.
"It's alright, Dreamfyre! It's alright!" she shouted in High Valyrian.
The dragon struggled for several seconds before steadying herself.
Vhagar drifted away, maintaining a parallel flight.
Helaena gasped for air, her heart pounding. She turned her head to find Aemond sitting right behind her, his hands naturally encircling her waist, that same smile still on his face.
"You..." Helaena's voice shook.
"You're insane... how could you dare..."
"This is just my usual training," Aemond said matter-of-factly, tightening his grip and pulling their bodies closer against the dragon's back.
"Training?!" Helaena was near tears.
"With no protection? No safety measures? If Dreamfyre had bucked you off, if Vhagar hadn't controlled the distance, if, "
"There are no 'ifs," Aemond interrupted, resting his chin on her shoulder, his lips brushing her ear.
"I only know that I can do it."
Helaena was speechless. She felt a mix of fury and lingering fear, but also a bizarre sense of admiration.
Perhaps only Aemond was capable of such a feat. Only he would gamble his life as a stake and treat the open sky as a training ground.
At that moment, Morghul roared as he approached.
The small black dragon had been following them and now flew closer.
Aemond signaled to him. The young dragon accelerated to Dreamfyre's side and extended a foreclaw, not in aggression, but as a landing platform.
"I'm going," Aemond whispered.
He rose again. This time, it wasn't a jump but a fluid roll. He gripped the edge of Dreamfyre's saddle with one hand, his body dangling over the abyss, while he reached out for Morghul's claw.
Aemond caught it.
He was now hanging entirely from Morghul's grip, hundreds of meters above the Gods Eye.
Helaena held her breath as Morghul began a steady, circling descent.
Eventually, Morghul touched down in a clearing within the forest.
Aemond dropped lightly to the ground without a single stumble. Dreamfyre landed moments later.
Helaena practically threw herself off her dragon, rushing to Aemond and hammering her fists against his chest, not hard, but with desperate emotion.
"You're mad! Absolutely mad! How could you do that?! If Morghul hadn't caught you, if Dreamfyre had thrown you..."
"But I did it," Aemond said, catching her wrists to stop the bombardment.
"And it wasn't the first time. I've trained this many times with Vhagar and Morghul at the Gods Eye."
Helaena's eyes widened.
"Many times?"
"Since Morghul was large enough to carry a man," Aemond admitted.
"It started with short distances and low altitudes. Then I increased the difficulty. Vhagar is too old for such delicate maneuvers, but Morghul is clever. He learns fast."
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