Surviving

Chapter 48: The Girl With A Secret

"We have every guard out searching as we speak, Your Grace. I assure you, they will not get far." Lord Jasper Wylde slowly spoke with caution as he watched the false king's eyes twitching with rage. Hardly a drop of wine had found its way into Aegon's cup since he'd heard the news of his remaining son's disappearance. It made every last one of them more nervous than the next.

Except for Cole, who seemed relatively calm, almost as if he'd misheard the news and everyone was just being dramatic. For he knew the truth and that it didn't matter if Aegon's sole heir went missing. Cole would have another to fill the throne soon enough.

Aegon glared from each of his men around the table, not saying a single word. Though he could feel he was at a loss for what to do. Normally his mother would be there beside him, suggesting the next course of action, but she was tending to his hysterical sister-wife. News of Alleras' death sent Helaena right over the edge, and Aegon reveled in it.

He was thrilled to see the look on Helaena's face upon seeing her foreign lover, cold and covered in his own blood. He knew she wouldn't dare to step out on their marriage again after she saw what he did to Alleras, all with a smile on his face. But when news of Maelor's disappearance interrupted them, he noticed something odd about Helaena.

She'd gone from hysterically crying and screaming her head off to complete silence. It was unsettling for the usurper to say the least. All she did was sit down in front of Alleras' body, holding his hand as she rocked back and forth, mumbling the same thing over and over to herself.

One from the ashes, one of the ashes.

The Red Keep was in shambles throughout the night with guards running rampant through the halls, searching every corner high and low. Their king's one and only heir was stolen undetected. Servants were sharply questioned left and right for anything they might've seen or missed, but still nothing came to any of them.

To make matters worse for the usurper, the Dornish princesses had vanished as well without a trace. Every last guard was out searching for all of them, assuming the princesses had stolen the little princeling from them. It would be the next best thing to revenge for them. It had to have been them behind this. That's what the council had concluded.

But they couldn't have been more wrong.

The doors swung open with everyone turning their heads to see Daeron strutting in casually with a half smile and bow of his head to his older brother. "Your Grace."

"Brother." Aegon mumbled, slightly nodding his head in return before he rubbed at his eyes with a groan.

"Hmph, I see at least one of my brothers is glad to see me." Daeron huffed sarcastically as he plopped down in a seat at the end of the table.

Aegon scrunched his face with confusion. "What are you on about?"

Daeron scoffed as he snatched the goblet of wine across from him. "Our brother couldn't even be bothered to stop to say hello before he disappeared on his precious Vhagar."

"Vhagar? He hasn't flown since..." Aegon's face soured for a moment, but then the doors flew wide open once more, but this time with a fuming Aemond bursting through.

"Do you plan on protecting any of your children?!" Aemond shouted with his fists tightly balled at his sides and Daeron's face fell instantly as he looked over at their older brother for answers.

"Has something happened to Maelor, brother?" Daeron asked curiously, but Aegon's spiteful gaze never pulled from Aemond.

Aemond was livid beyond belief when he woke to hear his nephew had been stolen. The only thing stopping him from lunging across the table at Aegon were the men in his way. A strained sighed left through Aemond's flared nostrils as he gritted through his teeth. "Our nephew is missing and our brother has yet again failed in keeping our sister's children safe."