Ice-cold pain.
Then came a burning agony, as if countless needles were driven into his back at once, and every breath scraped against his flesh.
Lucerys Velaryon opened his eyes in the darkness.
His vision was blurred at first, gradually sharpening to reveal the transparent black stone ceiling, consistent with the architectural style of Dragonstone.
He tried to turn his neck, and a sharper pain forced a groan from him.
"Don't move."
A low voice came from beside him.
Lucerys struggled to turn his head and saw a cold face — Ser Robert Caene, acting Lord of Dragonstone, one of his mother's most trusted old knights.
Robert wiped his brow with a damp cloth; his eyes were heavy with concern.
"You were in a coma for two days," Robert said calmly.
"Floated in from the sea, back arched. Your leather armor is half-melted and clings to your skin."
Memories surged back to Lucerys like a tide.
The fire in the dragon's lair, Joffrey's scream, the horror of Tyraxes being torn apart by the black demon Lathron.
Icy water. And the last thing he saw — his own dragon, Arrax, being bitten and torn by Vhagar…
"Where is Jacaerys?" he croaked.
Robert hesitated for a few seconds, trembling slightly. "His head… along with Joffrey's, was hung on the outer wall of the Red Keep two days ago."
"The ravens carrying messages arrived last night."
"The Greens… they broke into the dragon's lair, set fire to the raptor, were caught, and demanded immediate surrender."
Lucerys closed his eyes.
Tears ran from the corners of his eyes, mixing with the bandages on his burned face.
He wanted to cry aloud, scream, tear everything apart, but the pain in his back kept him from even drawing a deep breath.
The door burst open.
Two girls rushed in — Rhaena and Baela, daughters of Prince Daemon, his cousins.
Both were in leather armor for mobility and looked pale.
"Lucerys awake?" Baela spoke first, hurrying to the bed to see him awake.
"Seven Gods above, thank the Seven… you're alive."
"Cousin Lucerys," Rhaena's voice was steadier, but her eyes were red.
"How do you feel?"
Lucerys did not answer, simply opening his eyes to look at them.
Robert rose, approached the window to survey the dark sky beyond, then turned with a swift and serious expression.
"Listen, boy, we don't have time. The Greens killed Jacaerys and Joffrey, displaying their heads — and this is already war."
"The Greens are not fools. They will strike first, without hesitation."
Robert tapped a finger on the map spread across the table.
"Dragonstone and Chaotou Isle."
"That will be their main objective."
"You three must leave immediately."
"There's a clipper at the harbor that can sail to Teloxy at any moment."
"You'll leave when the tide rises tonight."
"Rhaena, Baela, you and Lucerys, return to your father and Princess Rhaenys."
Baela bit her lip and looked at Robert. "And you, Ser?"
Robert smiled with quiet confidence.
"Since Princess Rhaenys has entrusted Dragonstone to my watch, my duty is to stand firm, to protect the dragons on the island. I will not leave."
"You'll die," Lucerys croaked.
"Every knight knows why he wields a sword," Robert said, returning to the bed to look down at Lucerys.
"I have served your princess for nearly thirty years, watched her grow from a little girl into heir.
Now someone has killed her son and wants to take her home.
Perhaps I am too old to ride, but I can still stand in this castle with my sword and tell those Green pups that if they want Dragonstone, they will have to step over my body."
Silence filled the room.
The three children stared at the resolve in the old knight's eyes.
At that moment, there was a hurried knock at the door.
Before Ser Robert could answer, the door was thrown open.
First came Sara, the illegitimate daughter of Saera, her silver hair and violet eyes pale, tears swelling in her red eyes, one hand unconsciously protecting her lower abdomen.
Behind her followed two youths with similar silver hair — Varos and Mirax, both in simple but neat leather armor, looking nervous.
And behind them, more than a dozen men and women, all with silver hair and violet eyes to varying degrees — a sign of dragonblood, though some had lighter hair and bluish eyes.
Two leaders stood out.
One was a silver-haired, sturdy man, nearly forty, almost two meters tall, with broad shoulders and thick back, muscles straining against rough cloth.
A scar ran from his brow to the corner of his mouth, marring an otherwise handsome face.
The other was the complete opposite — a black-haired girl, at most twelve or thirteen, with brown eyes, rough skin, freckles, and ordinary features that might even be called plain, standing beside the strong man.
Robert's face fell, suppressing anger as he stared at Sara and the others.
"Bastard? Who let you in?!"
"And you, Sara! How many times have I said, without my permission…"
"No one may enter the inner fort!"
"You should be fortifying the castle, not interrupting the prince's recovery!"
Sara shrugged but did not retreat.
Instead, she stepped forward, one hand still protecting her lower abdomen, the other raised toward her slightly swollen belly, her voice trembling.
"Your Excellency,"
"I am with child by Lord Jacaerys…"
A deadly silence fell over the room.
Lucerys' eyes widened as he stared at Sara's belly.
Rhaena and Baela were equally stunned.
Robert's face shifted from anger to shock, then to a fiercer rage.
"What did you say?!"
"Three months have passed…"
Sara's voice dropped, her face red, but she forced herself to lift her eyes to Lucerys on the bed.
"Lord Jacaerys… he said he would marry me in the future.
He said his child would be a Targaryen."
As she spoke, she suddenly sank to her knees.
Immediately, Varos and Mirax also knelt.
The group of illegitimate children behind them exchanged glances: some knelt, some hesitated, looking at the silver-haired strong man ahead.
The strong man remained silent and knelt on one knee.
The black-haired girl, stunned, awkwardly lowered herself to her knees.
Over a dozen people knelt on the floor in the center of the room.
Sara raised her head, tears finally streaming:
"Your Excellency, Prince Lucerys…
We are not here to provoke.
We… have urgent news."
Robert's face was pale, hand gripping the sword hilt.
"What could be more important than battle readiness?"
"If you have come to mourn Lord Jacaerys, I understand. But now…"
"We have tamed a dragon."
Sara interrupted him.
The words struck like lightning, sending shock through everyone in the room.
Robert's hand froze on the hilt of his sword.
Rhaena and Baela cried out simultaneously.
Lucerys even forgot the pain in his back, trying to sit, then leaning back with a muted groan of agony.