You and I, We're the Same

Chapter Six

The Dragonkeepers stand off to the side, watching with unveiled curiosity as Daemon and I prepare Syrax and Caraxes for the short ride to Dragonstone. He takes my hand, leading me over to the Blood Wyrm, my stomach fluttering with nerves. Caraxes had always felt formidable to me, long in length and made fearsome from battle, but as Daemon presses my hand against his red scales, the dragon purrs in acceptance.

"He feels as I feel," He says, and I smile, running my hand along Caraxes' long neck. I hear the Dragonkeepers whispering behind us, most likely noting the proximity in which we stand together, his hand resting on my lower back. Daemon follows me over to Syrax, where he greets her in a similar fashion. She nudges her nose into his palm, emitting a low, pleasant roar and we look at each other, grinning.

"Well that was simple enough," I say, and to my surprise, Daemon puts his hands on my hips and lifts me up for a kiss, my feet leaving the ground as my arms wrap around his neck. I smile against his lips as both dragons rumble contentedly. I hear a gasp come from one of the Dragonkeepers, as they see speculation and rumor turn to fact before them.

"Let them talk," Daemon growls against my mouth. "Let them tell the world that you are mine." The High Valyrian makes my body ache for a pleasure only he can provide, and I'm suddenly grateful Dragonstone is just a short flight from here.

We take to the skies on our dragons, soaring in spirals around each other, laughing as the strong winds blow my hair into my face. I tilt my head so the strands billow out behind me, and I look back at Daemon and grin. He howls gleefully, urging Caraxes to fly higher, and I goad Syrax to follow. My heart warms as I realize Daemon belongs in the sky, where he can be wild and reckless and free.

Soon we're above the clouds, rain and dragon-smoke mixing together to create my favorite smell in the world, and I close my eyes in bliss. I open them to find Daemon staring over at me, and my body ignites to see pure adoration etched across his face. Feeling daring, I pat Syrax to fly higher, moving in front of Caraxes, thinking of a trick I taught her a few years prior. I look over my shoulder and grin at the slight confusion on Daemon's face.

"Inkot, Syrax!" I yell the word for "backward" in High Valyrian, and suddenly, Syrax flips upward, until we're flying upside down, Caraxes and Daemon directly below us. I shout in delight, reaching above my head and down to Daemon's outstretched arm, our fingers grazing as we pass one another. We finish the loop and fly up next to them once more, and I grin at the astonished look on Daemon's face. We laugh, the dragons letting out elated roars, as we continue our flight towards the tall, black towers now visible in the distance.

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"I don't remember a lot about the castle," I admit, walking alongside Daemon on the main bridge, staring up at the dark towers before us. The salty air mixes with smoke from the Dragonmont and swirls around us, the smell of brimstone wafting in the breeze.

"Then it's time you learn, Princess," Daemon replies, reaching out to lace his fingers with mine.

We walk in silence for a few moments before I say, "The last time I was here was quite memorable." I know we're now both recalling the day I came to retrieve Baelon's egg from him.

"Ah. 'So, do it. And be done with all this bother,'" Daemon repeats the words I said to him years ago, when I had challenged him to kill me. I flush that he remembers such detail, and he brings my hand up to his lips and kisses it tenderly. "The blood of the dragon runs thick," he grins. "And now, here we are again, together," he murmurs, his mouth pressing against the pulse point on my wrist, warmth spreading throughout my body as I watch him.

If it weren't for the members of the Kingsguard behind us, I'd stop and have him right here on this bridge; my breath hitches imagining it. Daemon tenses next to me, smirking at my expression, and I want to hit him and kiss him at the same time. I hear Caraxes and Syrax both roar as they circle above us, mirroring our emotions.

After passing between giant statues of dragons, we enter the Stone Drum, the largest of the towers that serves as the Central Keep. We walk through a large mouth of stone teeth and into the Great Hall, smoke and heat venting from the kitchen through what appears to be a sculpted Dragon nose, jutting out from the wall. I stare in awe at the intricate scale patterns and dragon reliefs carved into almost every surface around us.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Daemon asks, looking around. He nods a quick dismissal at the Kingsguard and they reluctantly stay behind as he pulls me to the stairs. "Come on, I'd like to show you something."

We climb for what feels like ages, my calves burning a bit by the time we reach the top floor. Passing by several closed doors, we finally enter the last room in the corridor, and I gasp at the enormity of the table before me.

Grinning, Daemon leans against the door and watches me as I walk up to Aegon's infamous painted table, reverently tracing the lines of Westeros with my fingertips, the surface warm to the touch. Sunlight streams into the room through four tall windows, and a large fireplace takes up most of the wall at the opposite end from where I stand. I walk slowly around the table, my hand trailing over King's Landing, followed by Storm's End to the South. I look across and see Casterly Rock and Lannisport, and I roll my eyes at the thought of the insufferable Jason Lannister.

"You will rule all of this," Daemon says with pride, a hint of lust in his voice. He comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, and I lean back into him, still looking at the map and feeling overwhelmed. "My Queen," he whispers. My body thrums in response and he starts tracing circles with his tongue against the sensitive skin below my ear.

"Daemon," I say, my breath hitching as he runs his hands over my curves, pulling me tighter against him. I grind back against the hardness I feel at my waist and he groans, biting down on my shoulder. I spin around, needing his mouth on mine, and then we're kissing, a hungry clash of lips and tongues, his fingers threading through my hair, the adrenaline from our flight still coursing through our bodies.

He backs me up against the table and hastily pulls up my skirts, bunching them around my hips, his teeth catching my bottom lip deliciously. I moan, reaching to undo his belt, and he grunts against my mouth as I start stroking him slowly, his forehead resting against mine.

"Rhaenyra," he pants, lifting me onto the table. I immediately wrap my legs around him, pulling him closer, and we both cry out as he rubs up against me. He looks at me, a question, the dark desire evident in his eyes.

"Seven hells, please," I beg, and he pushes me down onto the table. Roughly gripping my hips, he pulls me to the edge, hooks my legs over his shoulders, and in one quick thrust, he's deep inside me. We both moan loudly as he starts to move, my eyes watering at the intensity.

"You almost don't fit this way," I gasp, his fingertips pressing harder into my thighs as he thrusts even deeper at my words. It doesn't take long for the pleasure to start spiraling within me, and I cry out, arching my back, as waves of release ripple across my body. He groans, thrusting faster, and then whispers my name as his own release takes him, his body shuddering at the sensation.

A moment later, he climbs up onto the table with me, his body blanketing mine, capturing a moan with his mouth. He sucks at my bottom lip before he pulls away to look down at me, elation and wonder in his eyes. I grin, reaching up to finger-comb the hair from his forehead, sweat shimmering on his skin.

"You know," I say, as he places a kiss on my collarbone, "I'm honestly not sure if this is what Aegon the Conquerer had in mind when he built this table," I laugh.

"His loss, I suppose," Daemon grins, looking at the map surrounding us. "Shall we tour the realm, then?" He asks wickedly, his finger running along the top of my corset. I groan in agreement and we laugh as he rolls over, pulling me on top of him, and I lean down for another kiss.