The Brightest Sun

Chapter 39

Unknown Time

Rhaenys

She woke on a bed of sand, the grains falling through her fingers as Rhaenys struggled to sit up, the breath knocked out of her. Egg was lying on the floor next to her, Maia squirming in his arms as Teddy groaned in pain.

“Mama!” Maia called, the little girl crying as she searched for their mother, her knee digging into Egg’s side as she scrambled off him.

“Come here Maia,” she said, grabbing hold of her before Maia could start screaming her displeasure. “It’s okay. You’re fine.”

“Rhae, where’s Papa?”

Rhae closed her eyes, heart aching in pain for her sister – for them all – as she thought of where their father might be, what he might be dealing with.

“He’ll be here soon,” she answered firmly. She walked in small circles, seeing Egg continue to lie on the floor even as Iacomus’s hulking body nudged him, their mother standing closest to Auriga.

He had to be fine; Herakles Potter-Black was not the type to renege on his word, and Rhae had to believe that he would find them – no matter what lay in his path – that he wouldn’t remain trapped in the Wizarding World. Maia would not be left calling for a father that would not return.

“Where are we?” Teddy asked, eyes darting around their surroundings.

The sea was spread out in front of them, waves crashing softly against the sand as a cool breeze drifted across the water. Rhae tightened her hold on Maia, moving closer to Auriga’s warmth as she tucked her sister beneath her cloak.

“The Water Gardens,” Mum told them, an odd note in her tone as her eyes stared at something far off into the distance.

It was there, visible underneath the pale light of the moon that Rhae could make out the hint of a castle of some sort, pale walls glowing softly in the night.

“What now?” Rhae asked, turning to her mother.

There was no hint of fear or grief in Elia Martell’s face, nothing but the barest hint of sadness and wistfulness, and even that was covered by the steely determination in her dark eyes.

“We find a way inside,” Mum answered, a contemplative look on her face as she looked at them. Teddy was already moving, face shifting to look more like their mother’s when she shook her head.

“Keep your natural form, Teddy,” she said, and Rhae felt her brother’s hesitation.

Teddy’s face returned to the sharper image of their father’s, hair sitting in unruly curls and his skin lightening until it mimicked the lightly bronzed hue he and Aegon usually sported in the summer.

“Is it safe to go?” Rhae asked, glancing once more at the castle – palace, she corrected herself – seeing the openness to it. She could probably have Auriga bring them closer, the dragon’s scales blending in with the night, but Rhae felt uncomfortable at the thought of leaving them so exposed.

“The Water Gardens represents all of Dorne,” Mum answered softly, “and Dorne is ever loyal to her children.”

“We'll fly closer,” Rhaenys said, moving to hand Maia over to Teddy as Auriga prepared herself. Egg and Teddy would fly behind with Iacomus before sending the dragon into hiding in the mountains that lay to the west, and Auriga would join them once she had taken the three closer.

She climbed on top of Auriga, feeling the small thrill that she got each time she prepared to fly, Teddy handing her Maia as he helped their mother climb up, scrambling on behind Egg as Iacomus spread his wings.