Love Is The Death Of Duty • Aemond Targaryen

27.

The Cannibal lets out a deafening roar as they take off into the stormy sky. Maegor's mind races, his heart pounding with fear and desperation. He needs to find them before it's too late. The storm clouds swirl around them, visibility near zero. Lightning flashes, briefly illuminating the dark, tumultuous sky.

"No... no, no, no." Maegor mumbles under his breath, his grip tight on the dragon's chains.

The dragon responds with a growl and powerful wing beats, cutting through the storm with sheer determination. Maegor's eyes strain to see through the rain and darkness. He pushes Saagael harder, feeling the tension in his own muscles as they navigate the fierce winds.

The familiar flicker of an orange light suddenly appears in the distance through the thick clouds. It can't be anything else other than dragonfire. 

"Daor Arrax! Rȳbās!" A faint, strangled cry of his brother is carried out by the wind to his ears.

Through the tempest, Maegor barely discerns the scene for a split moment. The familiar form of Vhagar, her massive wings slicing through the storm. Aemond's dragon is chasing a much smaller figure – Arrax, with Lucerys clinging desperately to his saddle and reins. 

Then, the pearlescent dragon attacks Vhagar in his fear and desperation to flee. He dives from her side, spitting dragonfire at her face, which does nothing more than anger the monstrous beast even further.

"Aemond!" Maegor yells his lungs out into the wind, though he knows his voice is lost in the storm's fury.

Sensing the torrent of emotions running rampant in him, Saagael mirrors his restlessness, tensing up the closer he gets to the other two. Maegor spurs the Cannibal on, urging the dragon to go faster. The beast is swift, but it's still not enough. The gap between them and the pursuing dragons slowly closes, but not quickly as Maegor wishes. 

Suddenly he loses them both out of his sight and his stomach sinks into a bottomless pit. But thankfully, the Cannibal doesn't need sight alone, seasoned after decades of life and hunting, he picks up the scent trail with ease, even in this weather. Maegor has to lay flat against the tar scales, fingers painfully wrapped around the chains as the black dragon takes a sudden turn and starts flying vertically, gaining attitude to reach above the storm clouds.

"Dohaerās Vhagar! No! Daor!" Aemond voice echoes followed by the furious roar of his dragon.

The heart pounds out of Maegor's chest, eyes squinting, battered by the rain and wind. Until Saagael reaches right above the tempest and the sudden sunshine blinds the Prince momentarily.

The dark, tumultuous sky gives way to a serene, sunlit expanse. A pinkish hue paints the clouds while the storm rages below, but up here, it's calm and peaceful. The contrast is jarring.

A sickening crunch quickly breaks the illusion.

Maegor watches in horror as Vhagar's massive jaws snap shut around Arrax and the smaller dragon is ripped out clean in half. Lucerys's scream is cut short as he falls along with the dismembered pieces of his mount, disappearing into the storm below.

"No!" Maegor's scream is one of pure anguish, his heart shattering at the sight.

The Cannibal roars in fury, riled up by his rider's pain. He veers into Vhagar, hitting against her side as Maegor gets Saagael to dive back into the tempest, leather wings tightly wrapped around the massive body as they both plummet down.

Shaken by the impact of the other dragon, Aemond gets slammed with his chest against his saddle, wind getting knocked out of his lungs for a few moments. Then the harsh reality sets in.