Born to Die

Chapter 17

Rhaenyra met her daughter in the front hall of Dragonstone with Jace trailing closely behind her. Jace wrinkled his nose slightly at the sight of Aemeryn covered in blood, and Aemeryn smirked at her younger brother. He was always squeamish at the sight of blood even though he would never willingly admit it.

"Oh thank the Gods!" Rhaenyra cried in relief as she pulled her daughter to her in a hug. She didn't mind the gore that coated her skin. She was simply relieved that she hadn't lost another child.

"We won," Aemeryn mumbled against Rhaenyra's shoulder. Rhaenyra pulled away to look at her daughter in surprise, but she kept her hands firmly grasping her forearms. "We lost almost all of our men, but we won."

"Daemon?"

"Alive, along with Lord Strong."

Jace frowned and walked up so he was beside Rhaenyra. He had never seen his sister look so tired before in his entire life. She was swaying gently, and her eyes looked almost glassed over. His dark eyes caught her lilac, and Aemeryn smiled softly at him. She held her helmet loosely in one hand, but had her other hand clenched tightly in a fist. Jace reached out and took her helmet before she dropped it. He fought back a gag when he saw blood and what appeared to be flecks of bone on it.

"Where's our grandmother?" He asked as he kept his gaze on the helmet.

Aemeryn stayed silent for a moment. Jace finally met her gaze again and saw the sorrow in her eyes. "She fell in battle with Melys, Jace. Our grandmother is dead."

It was Jace's turn to fall silent. He couldn't properly mourn a woman he didn't know, but he knew Baela and Rhaena would be devastated. "I'll tell Baela and Rhaena."

Rhaenyra and Aemeryn watched Jace walk off before Rhaenyra spoke up. "How?"

"I couldn't say. She was fighting Sunfyre when I flew in."

Rhaenyra's violet eyes grew impossibly large. "Aegon was there?"

"And Aemond," Aemeryn muttered softly. She opened her mother's hand and dropped the hand pendant into it. "And Otto."

"You killed Otto Hightower?" Aemeryn nodded as she finally walked around her mother to fully enter the castle. Wails echoed from upstairs, and they both knew that Jace had broken the news of Rhaenys' death. "Aemond was there?"

Aemeryn stopped walking again and looked at her mother before nodding. "He helped me kill Aegon's men." Aemeryn walked away from her mother before she could stop her again and left Rhaenyra standing there dumbfounded.

Aemeryn found a steaming bath awaiting her when she reached her chambers. Jace must have stopped a maid before he went to Baela and Rhaena. She smiled and quickly stripped out of her armor. It landed with a loud clunk against the stone, and Aemeryn climbed into the tub quickly. The water felt amazing against her sore muscles, and she let out a sigh.

She didn't want to confront Daemon about the murder of Jaehaerys. Did her mother know about it? Aemeryn figured she had to have by now, which meant that they were keeping it from her. She washed her hair and body thoroughly and scrubbed her skin hard until it turned a shade of red.

Aemeryn quickly climbed out of the now red water and dried off quickly. She couldn't stop the dread filling her heart. Daemon was supposed to be her hero; how could he have done this? What else about her father didn't she know? She knew that he loved her mother and had been with her either right before or on her wedding night- Aemeryn herself was proof of that. She knew he had been married to her Aunt Laena and lived in Pentos for the first eight years of her life. She knew about his heroic battle in the Stepstones. But everything else? Aemeryn had no clue. No one would ever tell her why her grandsire would get so angry with his own brother. Aemeryn had gotten mad at Jace and Luke plenty of times, but not to the level Viserys had. Aemeryn laid on her bed and closed her eyes as thoughts ran rampant through her mind.