Daenerys swept her gaze across the hall, trying to read the masked faces and guess at the calculations behind every pair of eyes.
After receiving the news from Myr, she had summoned the great lords of Volantis to the Hall of Power.
Though Viserys's loyal and courageous men stood guard all around her, the worry and anxiety in her heart only grew sharper with every passing moment.
Since the Targaryens had taken control of Volantis, they had never faced a test this severe.
And now, at the very moment when the brother who had always known how to steady her was far away, she had to make the decisions alone.
The girl prayed silently to the gods for strength, then rose from her seat.
"Triarch Weymond Dorya's army has suffered a catastrophic defeat in battle against the Golden Company and the Myr militia."
By custom, the one who called the meeting spoke first. Daenerys had no choice but to fulfill the bitter duty.
"Five thousand men dead!"
"Including Triarch Dorya himself, every survivor has been taken prisoner. Only a handful escaped. Every wagon carrying loot was lost."
Before her sat the Council—the gathering of every great lord and lady who held real power in the city.
They represented the class that had a voice in public affairs. Their opinions could not formally bind the Triarchs, but to defy the Council too often was a grave danger to both position and life.
At the same time, this was the place where the city's highest rulers delivered their will.
In its purpose, the council chamber came closest to the Small Council of the Seven Kingdoms.
"This is the first crushing defeat we have suffered in our war against the Three Daughters."
"Weymond's reckless decision to cross the Dead River brought this tragedy upon us." The girl spoke with quiet gravity, then paused before continuing. "But we are still alive, and the war is far from over. In the name of my lawful husband, Triarch Viserys Targaryen of the Black Stone Throne, I declare this meeting of the Council open."
Roughly forty people sat in the carved chairs before her.
Lords and ladies of every faction and every age, bound together by rich clothing and the same tense silence.
That silence shattered in an instant.
The moment she signaled that discussion could begin, the Hall of Power exploded.
Men and women alike were swept up in raw emotion and cast aside every trace of courtesy. Some shouted, some whispered, some cursed with the vilest words, and others fought to be heard first…
At last, when the first wave of fear and outrage had spent itself, one of the informal leaders of the elephant party rose slowly from his seat.
"I, Jaehaerys Qatigar, move that we send a message to the city's protector at once," the old elephant lord said. "In the name of the Council, the Old Blood, and all the people of Volantis, we ask him to open immediate peace talks with the leaders of the Three Daughters.
This war will only bring greater losses. Triarch Weymond's disastrous expedition has left our borders dangerously exposed.
We cannot take any more risks!
I call on the Council to begin immediate discussion of acceptable and workable peace terms with the enemy alliance."
By custom, Daenerys should have remained silent.
She had delivered the news. Now it was their turn to speak.
But the old man's words filled her with fury.
One defeat, and they wanted to kneel and run?
She forced the anger down and made herself think clearly.
Clearly these lords saw her as nothing but a hot-tempered, inexperienced girl. They saw Renigar as a man who would bend with every wind. And they had never truly accepted Vamar Natarys, the man who had taken Weymond's place on the White Wood Throne, as a ruler in his own right.
These Old Blood nobles trusted in ancient custom and knew that Viserys, for all his ruthlessness, was far away.
Very well. Let them speak their minds.
Let the cowards and traitors expose themselves.
The cleverest among them would stay quiet and offer only empty, high-sounding phrases.
But most would tear off their masks right now, sensing weakness while Viserys's co-ruler was absent, and stir up trouble.
That would make the reckoning later far easier.
Next, Hilra Ogeneris rose to speak. As this half-year's patron of the Temple of Syrax, she had every right to address the Council.
"I believe opening peace talks now would be a grave mistake," the lady in soft white silk replied. "We have lost only one battle, not the war. Lys and all its wealth remain in our hands. Admiral Goneris is on the verge of taking the Stepstones. I have every faith that our protector will avenge the fallen…"
"You simply refuse to understand, Lady Hilra!" the old elephant shouted, throwing his hands toward the ceiling. "We have lost the decisive battle! Our glorious Triarch of Volantis has been captured and our finest soldiers are dead! Stop talking of swords when you know nothing of war…"
"A disgrace of the highest order!"
"You seem to understand it all too well…"
"Triarchs have been captured before," the elderly Keeper of the Foundation said uneasily. "During the Century of Blood, Triarchs chose to drink poison rather than surrender to the enemy…"
"Dorya should have killed himself like a true Volantene! Instead he has brought shame on himself and on all the Old Blood!"
'So you can replace him with someone more convenient while my husband is gone—someone you can stab in the back later. How very convenient for you…'
Daenerys's thoughts dripped with scorn.
When the uproar finally died down a little, a young elephant lord named Menys Tarlyar rose from his seat.
He was handsome, smooth, and wore a pleasant smile.
"I believe the city's protector should open peace negotiations—not surrender, by the gods, not that.
His achievements and glory are beyond question… but whether we still have the strength to continue the war is another matter.
Our finest troops have been destroyed. We cannot raise a new army in time, and the treasury cannot rely on Lys's gold forever…" He gave Daenerys a meaningless smile and continued. "Lady Hilra is right—we have not yet lost the war. So why wait until we truly are defeated? Better to negotiate now, while both sides are evenly matched…"
"Evenly matched? Our Triarch has been captured!"
"Exactly evenly matched… We still hold Lys!"
"Evenly matched," Tarlyar said, his voice strong and clear. "Such a balance favors negotiation and peace. We can make concessions in some areas, and they will make concessions in others."
"And what do you plan to give up?" a man his own age asked sharply, the red dragon embroidered on his chest. "All our territory, or only two-thirds?"
"Let's not exaggerate," Menys said with a shrug, feeling the approving looks of his elephant colleagues. "I am only suggesting we sign a treaty, nothing more. We can return to the state before the fighting began. Let the Three Daughters return our prisoners and abandon their absurd demands. We keep the gold and slaves we have already taken and withdraw from Lys…"
At that moment the pale-faced Menyx Renigar finally spoke.
He could feel the seat he had only just taken as Triarch beginning to rock beneath him.
"Withdraw from Lys after Viserys so gloriously took the city?
Withdraw from the Stepstones when the campaign is reaching its decisive stage?!
My lords and ladies, this is worse than a crime. It is a complete and utter mistake!
We cannot abandon everything because of one distant defeat.
Remember, in a war of this scale there has never been victory without loss.
You speak as though the Golden Company has already marched through the Black Wall…"
He spoke the truth, but under the focused, hungry stares of his former allies he lost his composure.
And hungry beasts could always smell weakness.
It was no surprise that Menyx's words were met with a storm of opposition.
"Our finest soldiers are dead—there is no saving the situation now!"
"We have no time or gold to raise a new army…"
"We demand negotiations…"
"We must find a realistic way out instead of clinging to foolish dreams…"
"Peace talks!"
One thing worked in Daenerys's favor: in all the shouting, no one paid any attention to the quiet exchange between two people.
And that was exactly what she wanted.
"Menyx," Daenerys whispered to him. "You are right about everything… but let me finish this. This is the Hall of Power. While my husband is away, the guards answer to me. I summoned these cowards and traitors. I can just as easily silence them or end the meeting."