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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Liliyana did not know what day it was, let alone the hour.
She was not taught to tell time by the sun. She was not her brothers. She was not Aemond.
Her husband sat behind her on his dragon as they pulled into King's Landing. She refused to speak to him on their journey. She was not sure she could ever speak to him again.
The dragon-keepers awaited their return with bowed heads and ready torches. They spoke High Valaryian at Vhagar. The beast remained still and let itself sit low to the ground to allow the riders exit from her back.
"Wait for me please--" Aemond was cut short by his wife sliding down Vhagar's saddle. She fell into waiting arms and quickly recovered. "Liliyana!"
She kept walking.
"I do not wish to speak to you!"
He grabbed hold of her flailing wrist, stopping her. "It was an accident."
Liliyana flung herself out of his hold and turned. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. "An accident?" she echoed. "You are the most careful and calculated man I have ever known. Aemond Targaryen does not accidentally kill a child."
"You must believe me."
"I don't." She stepped back. Aemond's face fell further. "And I mean it. I don't want to speak to you."
With her back to him, Aemond tried one last time to stop her, to make her see reason. His gentle, sweet, innocent beloved. And maybe that was why he did not see her hand come down on him to slap him in the face.
The sound echoed off the walls. The dragon-keepers stood still as statues, waiting for Aemond One-Eye Targaryen to punish his lady wife.
Liliyana too waited.Her stomach dropped to the floor. Her palm stung. She stared at the red skin. Then at her husband's inflamed cheek. She did not know what came over her. She just wanted him to leave her alone!
"My prince," a soft voice called. The gold-cloak watched the scene unfold and kept his hand on his sword's hilt in case the prince decided to send his insolent wife to a cell. "The council has demanded your and your wife's presence.
"Of course," Aemond told him, quietly. He had not recovered from the blow to his face. He was not a man touched in a battle, even ones he was unprepared for. He looked to his wife. Liliyana remained looking at her trembling hand. Fear overtook her form. Her actions meant losing a hand. "Lead the way."
Liliyana closed her hand and let the sting spread through her wrist. She noticed the gold-cloak for the first time and nodded. "Y-yes. Let us go."
✾
The council doors opened and in walked Aemond and his wife. The woman's usual pristine blonde hair was windswept and dry from the seasalt and wind.
Her hunched shoulders brought Alicent's attention immediately.
"We must speak," she told them.
Liliyana curtsied on wobbling knees and reached for the nearest chair at the end of the table when Aemond beat her to it. She recoiled from his form and kept to herself as she slipped into the chair with his assistance. Aemond, stoic and devout, remained silent beside her. He pressed his hands behind his back and waited.
"Trouble in paradise?" Aegon joked.
"Enough," Alicent said. "Let us begin."
"Without Tyland?" Aemond questioned. "Is he no longer on this council?"
Liliyana burned holes into her brother's empty seat. Had something happened to him? She blinked away tears that threatened to spill.
"Lord Tyland is related to Liliyana," Aegon said. "It would be a matter of...unfairness to have him here."
"I am on trial?" Liliyana asked, voice hoarse.
Alicent shook her head. "Not in a formal sense. We merely want to know what happened. It is known that you hold authority over Aemond, Liliyana. Why did you not stop him?"
Her mouth fell open. Each face on the council already decided her fate. Their bitter eyes and thin lips told her she was the reason a child was dead.
"I-I did," she told them. "He would not listen to me."
"She speaks the truth," Aemond said. "I was...blinded."
"Your impulse control is that of a child in her presence, boy," the Hand scolded.
Aegon smiled, evil as could be. "You said it yourself, brother, at dinner. The boy nearly hurt your wife. Justice was demanded."
Liliyana looked at the table. She began to tremble. This was not her fault!
"You are excused, Liliyana," Alicent told her, unable to watch the girl sit there like a shaking kitten.
"T-thank you, your Grace." Liliyana began to stand when Aemond leaned over her like a shadow.
"Come," Aemond cooed in a whisper. "I will draw you a bath and get you comfortable."
Liliyana stood and pushed the chair so far back it nearly fell over. She slid out of his hold and raced for the door. It slammed shut while everyone in the room watched her leave.
