Heir of Fire

chapter one

The streets of Kings Landing were a world unto themselves. A chaotic symphony of noise, movement, and heat greeted Serena as she and Tessa slipped past the city's towering gates.

The ten-year-old girl had never seen anything like it. The buildings were stacked high, leaning in as though whispering secrets to each other. The air was thick with the smell of salt from Blackwater Bay, mingled with the stench of too many bodies crammed into too small a place. For a brief moment, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

But she didn't dare stop.

Tessa's hand held hers tightly, pulling her forward as they wove through the bustling crowd. The woman, dressed plainly in a servant's cloak, kept her hood low, but Serena could still see the edges of her grim expression. They had been walking for hours, days even. Each step had taken them further away from the only home Serena had ever known. From Castamere.

From the ruin and blood.

Serena's legs were trembling beneath her, though she could not tell if it was from exhaustion or the terror that still clung to her like a shadow. She could feel the weight of it, pressing against her chest, reminding her of the screams she had heard as they fled. The walls of Castamere had been strong once. She had thought them unbreakable. But they had crumbled beneath the might of House Lannister.

Her father, Lord Roger Reyne, had always spoken of power, of how the Reynes stood as proud lions in the Westerlands. Yet in the end, it had been her mother's face - pale, cold, and filled dread - that Serena remembered the most. She hadn't been there to see what Tywin Lannister had done to her father, but she didn't need to be. Castamere had fallen, and with it, House Reyne had been buried beneath the weight of red gold and water.

Serena shivered despite the warmth in the air.

"Keep your hood up, child," Tessa murmured, her voice a low whisper. She had pulled Serena into the shadow of a stall, away from the main flow of people. Her eyes flickered around, sharp, scanning for any sign of danger.

"They don't know we're here," Serena said softly, though she wasn't sure if it was true. She had spent every moment of the past few days looking over her shoulder, convinced that any moment she'd see the red-and-gold banners of House Lannister. But there was only the sea of strangers here, none of whom cared for a small girl in a dusty cloak.

"Not yet," Tessa replied, "but Tywin Lannister's reach is long. We cannot be too careful."

Serena nodded, feeling her stomach twist. She had once been taught that the name Reyne commanded respect, but now it was a death sentence. No one could know who she really was. To the world, the Reynes were gone - extinguished, crushed, and forgotten.

"Are we safe now?" Serena asked, her voice barely more than a breath.

"We're safer than we were," Tessa answered, though her tone was cautious. "But not safe. Not yet."

The servant reached into the small pouch slung over her shoulder and pulled out a coin, pressing it into Serena's hand. "You'll need to stay quiet. Stay close. We need to find a place to sleep tonight. After that, I'll look for someone who can help."

Serena clutched the coin tightly, her thumb running over the cool surface. She didn't ask who Tessa meant by "someone". The only people she knew were back at Castamere, buried beneath the rubble and drowned halls. Her mother. Her father.

All gone. All dead.

Serena swallowed the lump rising in her throat. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream for them, to demand that this was all some terrible nightmare and that she would wake up in her bed with the morning sun spilling through her windows. But she had cried all the tears she had during their flight. Now, she had only silence.

Tessa's grip on her arm tightened as they moved again, weaving deeper into the streets of Kings Landing. Serena kept her head down, her cloak pulled low over her face. The capital was far from the Lannister's reach, but her heart still beat too fast, and every sound made her flinch.

The city seemed to stretch on forever, and endless maze of alleys and crowded marketplaces. Eventually, Tessa led her to a small inn tucked away in the narrow streets of Flea Bottom. The innkeeper eyed them suspiciously but took the coin without question. Tessa hurried Serena inside, her fingers still gripping the young girl's shoulder protectively.

Upstairs, in a small room barely large enough for a straw mattress, Serena finally let out a shaky breath. Her body ached, and the weight of exhaustion pulled her down. Tessa drew the shutters closed and knelt in front of her.

"Rest, Serena. We'll figure out what to do next come morning."

Serena nodded, though her thoughts were still far from this place. She turned towards the small window, catching a glimpse of the Red Keep in the distance, its towering presence like a shadow looming over the city.

She didn't belong here. She wasn't supposed to be here. Her place was with her family, in the Westerlands, where the golden lions roamed. But Castamere was gone. Her family was gone.

Serena Reyne was the last of her name.

And no one could know.

Her fingers trembled as she reached for the thin blanket Tessa had draped over her. As she lay down on the small bed, she pressed her cheek against the rough fabric and tried to imagine the soft linens of Castamere. But all she could see was water - dark, cold, and endless. Water that had filled the halls and drowned the last cries of House Reyne. A shudder ran through her. She couldn't escape the memory. Couldn't escape the guilt of surviving when everyone else had perished.

She was ten-years-old, a girl displaced from her home and heritage. Her name was a ghost, a whisper that would get her killed if spoken aloud.

As the sounds of the inn quieted, Serena closed her eyes, whispering a prayer she wasn't even sure anyone would hear.

And for the first time since the fall of Castamere, she let herself cry.