Breakbones and the Dragonrider

Chapter 27

Harwin and Laenor walked down the tunnels of the Dragonpit, their path lit by the torch that Harwin held aloft. The dragonmaster Grizha led them to Syrax's enclosure, where her first clutch was being stored. Harwin might have felt out of place in the Dragonpit without Rhaenyra present any other time, but he was still riding the euphoria of seeing his son born. Nothing could deter him from this task.

The three of them entered the enclosure, revealing Syrax resting. Her golden eyes opened, and she sighed lazily before tucking her head into her wing.

"She was in distress all day," Grizha said in his heavy, Valyrian accent, looking to Laenor. "When she settled, I knew the prince had come at last."

Grizha went to the far side of the enclosure, and opened a large wooden chest, intricately carved with a dragon motif. After tearing their gaze away from Syrax, the two men followed, and looked down at the clutch of eggs, carefully nestled in the chest.

"We will prepare the brazier while you choose, Ser Laenor," Grizha said, leaving Harwin and Laenor alone with the eggs.

Laenor wordlessly took the torch from Harwin, and hung it on the wall beside the chest. They looked down at the chest of eggs, the torchlight showing their magnificent colors. Harwin had dreamt of this moment for months. He had thought about how he would choose the egg meant for his child. He had hoped that when the time came, he would know which one belonged to his son or daughter.

And there, as he stared at the five eggs Syrax had laid all those months ago, a deep, emerald green egg conjured an image in his mind that was hard to shake. The green mirrored that of the forest floor in the godswood at Harrenhal. He couldn't explain it, but it felt like this one was meant to be his son's dragon.

With his bare hand, Harwin reached forward and picked the egg up. It was heavier than it looked.

"It's perfect," Laenor said with a half smile. He held his hand out, and after a moment Harwin placed the egg in Laenor's hand. Just after the egg had been handed over, Grizha reappeared in the entrance, carrying one side of the brazier, his son carrying the other.

"We are happy to take the brazier to—" Grizha started.

"No," Laenor said, placing the egg in the center of the red-hot coals. "Commander Strong and I will take it ourselves, Master Grizha. Thank you."

Grizha nodded, and soon Laenor and Harwin were walking out of the Dragonpit with the egg. They walked in silence for some time, and when they reached the Red Keep, Harwin finally asked Laenor about how hatching a dragon egg would work.

"The egg will spend the next day in the coals," Laenor said, reinforcing his grip on the handle he held. "And then the egg will be placed in the crib next to Jacaerys."

"And it just... hatches in the crib?" Harwin asked, and Laenor chuckled.

"Eventually," Laenor said. "That could be weeks or months."

Harwin nodded, and the two carried the brazier the rest of the way in silence. Along the way, many nobles congratulated Laenor on the birth of the prince, expressing how eager they were to see the baby. Laenor beamed with pride, but tempered his smile when the two men finally reached the halls of Rhaenyra's quarters.

As they crossed the threshold into Rhaenyra and Laenor's shared quarters, the faces of Rhaenyra, Lord Corlys, Rhaenys, Viserys, and Alicent turned to where Laenor and Harwin stood with the brazier. Rhaenyra sat with Viserys as he held baby Jace, and the others either stood or sat around the common room, drinking wine as they visited Rhaenyra and the baby.

"There's your dragon," Viserys whispered to Jace, who was bundled in Viserys's arms. He resumed muttering loving words in High Valyrian to Jace that only Rhaenyra could hear.