The Flames We Bear

Chapter 23 - Visenya

I stood by the lake, watching Aemond as he climbed out of the water, still muttering about the tumble we took. My clothes clung to my skin, cold and heavy, but all I could think about was how, for the first time, it didn't feel like a game of control between us.

I hadn't expected that. To laugh with him like that. It was unnerving.

When I'd seen him smirking at me after the fall, something in me softened. It was the first time I'd ever seen him like this—unpolished, unguarded. There was no sneer, no sharp words meant to cut. Just a moment between us, where the tension lifted, and I didn't have to fight for every breath.

It felt... easy. Almost too easy.

I could feel his gaze, the weight of it lingering longer than it should, as if he was waiting for me to say something, to break the silence that had fallen between us.

But I had no words. Not right now.

I still didn't quite know what to make of Aemond. There were moments when I hated him—truly hated him—for all the things he'd done, the cold-hearted arrogance that clung to him like a second skin. He was everything I was supposed to despise. And yet...

And yet there were moments like this, moments where he wasn't the man I thought I knew. Where he was simply Aemond, not the enemy, not the scheming prince, but someone I could talk to, even laugh with.

A soft sigh escaped me, and I glanced down at my soaked boots. Why did it have to be him? Of all the people I could have been married to, why did it have to be Aemond Targaryen?

"You're staring," he said suddenly, breaking the silence.

I blinked, startled, then quickly looked away, my cheeks warming despite the cold water still clinging to my skin. "I'm not staring," I mumbled, though the lie felt weak even to my own ears.

Aemond's smirk was back, and I could hear it in his voice when he spoke. "You were."

I shot him a look, narrowing my eyes. "Stop being so insufferable."

But he only raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching as though he found my frustration amusing. Typical. He always enjoyed getting under my skin.

"Careful, Visenya," he said softly, his tone teasing, yet there was something beneath it—something I couldn't quite place. "You might start to enjoy my company."

I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Enjoying your company would require you to be tolerable for more than five minutes."

He chuckled at that, low and deep, but didn't push further. Instead, he simply watched me, his gaze lingering, and I felt the shift between us again. The teasing banter fell away, leaving something quieter, something... different.

It unsettled me.

And to make matters worse, Aemond's horse had decided it had had enough of us and bolted. Just trotted away without so much as a backward glance.

"Perfect," I muttered under my breath, glancing sideways at Aemond, who was trudging beside me with that infuriatingly calm expression he always wore. It was as though nothing ever bothered him. Not even when we were stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no horse and only the sun starting to sink behind the hills to guide us back.

"Something on your mind, princess?" Aemond's voice cut through my thoughts, that smug tone dripping with amusement. "You look like you're planning my demise."

"I'm not planning it," I replied sweetly, eyes forward. "I'm just considering all the ways it could happen accidentally."

I could hear him snort softly, and despite myself, I felt a smirk tugging at my lips. This was what he did. He was impossible, insufferable—and yet, somehow, it was almost... fun.