✦ New Faith ✦ Aegon Targaryen

○ nine ○

○

As we descended the stairs toward the Sept, the weight of my father's words settled on my shoulders like a cloak I couldn't remove. The quiet of the castle deepened, and with each step, my heart seemed to beat louder in my chest. The Sept loomed ahead, its doors wide open, the flicker of candlelight casting long shadows inside.

The moment we entered, the cool air of the Sept washed over me, mingling with the faint scent of incense. The vast space was imposing, the towering statues of the Seven watching us with silent judgment. Their gazes, cold and unmoving, made me feel small, insignificant, and yet I knew I needed them now more than ever. The echo of our footsteps on the stone floor seemed to whisper back to me, as if the Sept itself had secrets it wished to share.

My mother knelt first before the statue of the Crone, bowing her head in prayer. My father followed, his expression unreadable, his movements as precise and calculated as always. I knelt between them, folding my hands in my lap, though the words I whispered to the gods felt thin, hollow. I repeated them because it was expected of me, because it was all I could think to do.

Crone, grant me wisdom. Mother, give me strength.

The words rolled over in my mind, but my heart was still heavy with uncertainty. My marriage to Aegon loomed over me, like a storm cloud I could not avoid. I had never met him, yet soon, he would be my husband, my future. The thought tightened in my chest, and for a moment, I felt as if I could not breathe.

It was then that I sensed another presence behind me.

I turned my head slightly and saw Prince Aemond standing just inside the Sept, his face cast in shadow. His tall, imposing figure seemed out of place in the sacred space, yet there he was, watching us. One hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword, the other hanging by his side as if he belonged nowhere and everywhere at once.

He stepped forward, his eye fixed on me as if he could see through the surface, into the confusion and fear that churned beneath. His expression, however, gave nothing away. He moved quietly, coming to kneel just to my right, but kept a distance that felt deliberate.

We remained in silence for a moment, only the sound of the flickering candles breaking the stillness. Then, in a voice low and calm, he spoke, his words barely above a whisper.

"Pray for strength, Lady Tanda. You will need it."

I turned my head to meet his gaze, a flicker of confusion and unease sparking within me. There was something in his tone, something veiled beneath the surface.

He bowed his head, as if in prayer, but his next words sent a chill down my spine. "My brother... Aegon... he is not a man easily understood." His eye slid to mine, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, though it wasn't a smile of kindness. "Be wary. Your marriage to him will be... challenging."

I swallowed hard, my fingers trembling slightly in my lap. His warning was vague, yet it felt sharp, like a blade hidden in silk.

He rose to his feet before I could respond, giving a brief nod to my father before turning to leave. His long strides echoed as he exited the Sept, disappearing into the shadows beyond the doorway.

The words he left behind lingered in the air, settling heavily in the pit of my stomach.

Challenging. What could that mean?

I felt my mother's hand on mine, pulling me from my thoughts. "We will pray more at the Sept later, Tanda," she whispered, her voice steady but distant. "The gods will guide you."

But even as I nodded and we stood to leave, I couldn't shake the unease that Aemond's words had stirred within me.