We Are Dragons (Daemon Targaryen)

Chapter Five

By the time dawn rose, Caraxes was in the air, flying away. I could see his two riders from my balcony. One was a man of silver hair. Another was a woman... with dark hair.

A whore.

He left without coming to me. Without explaining himself.

He abandoned me.

There was a knock at my doors. I said nothing, but they opened anyway, and I heard footsteps. I recognized the path of Viserys, and let him get within a few feet of me.

"That's far enough." I said coldly, and he stopped.

"We need to speak."

"I have nothing to say to you." I replied. I was cold, calm. Empty, even.

"Maeka. I had to make a choice. To lose both, or try to save one-"

"You made your choice when you kept forcing a babe into her belly to satisfy your own ends." I snapped, and there was a long stretch of silence between us. I still didn't turn. "I will never tell Rhaenyra what I saw. I will never tell a soul. But I will never look at you the same again, and I will never trust you."

I turned around to face him, my back straight. I held my head high, my steel blue eyes boring intensely into his emotional violet ones. He seemed to shrink under my gaze, heartbreak evident in his face.

"I will not marry." I said firmly, leaving no room for argument. "If you try to force me, so help the gods I will throw myself from the tower and you can clean my body off the pavement." I added, and his eyes met mine widely. "I know you're thinking 'she wouldn't. I wouldn't be so confident with yourself. I have nothing left to live for. Only Rhaenyra. And I will not let anyone take her from me." I stepped closer to him, getting in his face.

I felt power radiating from me.

He finally saw me.

He finally saw what I was.

What I could be.

But it was too late.

"Have I made myself clear?" I asked lowly, and he nodded, averting his eyes. "Good." I moved around him and headed towards my bed. "If that's all, it's time for you to leave."

"That's not all." Viserys finally spoke up, and I turned to see him drawing his dagger slowly. He offered it to me. I hesitantly took it.

"What am I to do with this?" I asked.

"Hold it over the flame." He instructed, and I turned to the candle that was set on my table, holding the Valyrian steel over the flame. "What does it say?" He asked. I read the High Valyrian that the fire revealed was etched into the dagger's blade.

"From my blood will come the prince or princess that was promised, and his will be the song of ice and fire." I read aloud.

"What?" He asked, stepping forward.

"The noun. It's non-specific. It simply means prince or princess." I looked over at him. I spent my days studying languages and poisons. I always wanted to sharpen my mind.

"It speaks of a prophecy. One that Aegon had. A-"

"A song of ice and fire." I whispered, staring down at the blade. I felt Viserys' stunned gaze on me and closed my eyes, remembering the faint dreams that had haunted me my entire life. "When the snow falls and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Blue eyes. Blue dragon flames. Winterfell set ablaze." I murmured.

Viserys stepped closer to me, but I moved away from him, gripping the dagger defensively. He stopped moving.

"This means you are a dreamer, like Aegon was. Listen to me, Maeka." He implored seriously. "Whatever ill will you hold towards me, put that aside, and listen to my words. You must protect our family. Do you understand?"