THE SOUL'S EXCHANGE

Shadows of the Dragon

Viserys gripped the arms of his chair, forcing himself to breathe slowly, to keep his face neutral. The murmurs in the hall were dying down, but he could feel the scandal sinking into every corner of the room, like an oil slick on water. Still, he told himself, it was nothing. Nothing that he couldn’t control, nothing that couldn’t be mended with the right words, the right gestures. Rhaenyra had always been headstrong, bold—he could almost convince himself this was just another of her outbursts, an unfortunate display of her fire, a trait he had once proudly likened to the dragons.

But she had lost her senses tonight, he silently admitted, glancing at her empty seat. It was the wine, surely. Yes, that was all. Even as he thought it, he clung to it, hoping the court would believe the same. Rhaenyra was young, he reasoned. A woman—no, a girl—struggling under the expectations he’d placed upon her. It was hardly surprising that she’d falter occasionally, wasn’t it? The moon tea... well, he told himself it was simply her misguided attempt at safeguarding her future.

Yet, even as he tried to dismiss her words, his mind circled back to them, gnawing away at his defenses. Her bitterness, her anger—it was as if she resented him for something far deeper than a mere reprimand. And Daemon—why had she dragged Daemon into this? The court might take her jabs as drunken folly, yes, but the connection she’d hinted at between herself and her uncle… that was dangerous. Still, he tried to push the thought aside. No one would dare to believe it, he reassured himself. They couldn’t. He would ensure they wouldn’t.

His eyes landed on Alicent, composed and serene, her expression delicately mournful as she gazed after Rhaenyra. He wanted to dismiss her presence, her role in the evening’s disaster, to blame this all on Rhaenyra’s jealousy, her temper. Surely, Alicent was merely trying to play peacekeeper, nothing more. But that ghost of a smile he’d caught on her face earlier—it scratched at the edges of his thoughts, but he brushed it aside. Alicent was loyal to him, wasn’t she? She would never seek to harm Rhaenyra. They were family.

But even as he tried to cast these reassurances over himself like a cloak, the truth prickled through. The court had seen his daughter’s outburst; they had witnessed him rebuke her. No amount of wine or jesting could erase what had happened tonight. The whispers would travel through every hall, every town, and back to the throne room, and yet…he wasn’t ready to confront it. This was only one night. One night that could be forgotten, smoothed over with carefully chosen words and promises. Rhaenyra would see reason. He’d speak to her, father to daughter, calm the storm.

For a moment, he allowed himself to believe it. He was Viserys Targaryen, after all—the king. And kings could make these things disappear, couldn’t they?

Alicent struggled to contain her laughter as Daemon escorted her from the hall, a smug look in his eye as he threw a quick glance back at Viserys. She could barely hold back her amusement, the triumph of her plan buzzing through her veins. Rhaenyra had walked right into it, she thought, fighting to keep her expression calm as they moved through the dimly lit corridor. Her dearest friend Ella had carried out her role to perfection; every insult, every carefully crafted slight had chipped away at Rhaenyra’s image. Now, Alicent would finish what she’d started, tearing her apart piece by piece if need be.

Thanatos would expect nothing less, she reminded herself. Alicent had not merely been born into her role as Queen; she was more than that—a shield of the Targaryen bloodline, entrusted by the Lord of Death himself to guard and preserve the House of the Dragon. Every threat to its stability, every risk to its legacy was her sworn enemy. And right now, that threat had a name: Rhaenyra. The so-called heir. Alicent had seen her flaws, her recklessness, her willingness to endanger the family for selfish whims. Not fit to rule, not fit to lead the Seven Kingdoms, she thought darkly. No dragonfire could burn away that truth.