✦ New Faith ✦ Aegon Targaryen

○ fifty six ○

○

I had been told Rhaenyra would arrive at sundown, likely bringing every dragon from Dragonstone—Syrax, Caraxes, and Moondancer. The thought churned in my mind as I sat alone in my chambers, Maiarys resting in her bassinet beside me. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the dim light, so starkly different from Vearys’s. He had been pale like me, but not with the ghostly, otherworldly pallor of a Targaryen.

I stared at her, my vision blurring. Suddenly, I wasn’t looking at Maiarys anymore. The bassinet seemed to shimmer, and it was Vearys’s lilac eyes staring back at me, his soft, familiar features replacing hers.

“My baby,” I whispered, a twisted smile breaking across my face as tears spilled down my cheeks. I reached for her—or him. “My sweet boy. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. Cheese… I killed him. I killed him for you. I’m so sorry, Vearys. Forgive me, my love. Forgive me.”

Maiarys stirred under my touch, her pale blue eyes suddenly piercing the haze of my delusion. They met my own dark blue ones, and the vision shattered. I froze, holding her too tightly for a moment, before my trembling hands placed her back in the bassinet.

“Gods,” I whispered, stepping away as my breath caught in my throat. The room swayed.

Walking toward the window, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. I barely recognized the woman staring back at me. My once-glorious blonde hair was a tangled nest, with strands sticking out wildly from where the braids had come undone. My cheeks, once full and flushed, had hollowed, and the red-rimmed whites of my eyes betrayed sleeplessness and sorrow.

“Rhaenyra will not see me like this,” I said aloud, perhaps to Maiarys, perhaps only to myself. My voice cracked on her name.

The handmaidens entered, bustling around me, their whispers a background hum as they dressed me. The gown was a deep green and gold, its rich fabric whispering against my skin as they cinched it tightly. They worked swiftly, braiding and twisting my hair until it resembled the queenly crown I had once worn proudly. Yet when I glanced at my reflection again, I still looked like a stranger.

The door creaked open, and Aegon entered. His steps were heavy, dragging slightly, his gaze unfocused. The faint smell of wine wafted toward me, but I didn’t care. I didn’t mind his vices—not anymore. He was mine, and I loved him, even in his darkest moments.

“Husband,” I said, my voice cracking with a thread of hysteria. “Rhaenyra will be here soon. What shall we do with Maiarys?”

He blinked, as if pulling himself out of a fog, and his lips twitched in thought. “We’ll keep her in the sept,” he slurred. “With some of the Kingsguard. She’ll be safe.”

He swayed slightly before steadying himself, his hands fumbling behind his back. “But first,” he added, his voice softening. “I brought something for you.”

From behind him, he produced a crown. It was a simple gold band, studded with gleaming emeralds and green jewels that caught the light.

I tilted my head, studying it, before bowing slightly. Aegon stepped closer and placed it atop my head, his hands lingering as he lowered them to cup my cheek. His fingers were cold against my skin, a stark contrast to the warmth radiating from his palm.

“What have they done to you?” he murmured, his voice barely audible.

I couldn’t speak. I leaned forward until my forehead pressed against his, and we stayed like that, the moment heavy with unspoken grief, anger, and desperation.

“Together,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

“Together,” he echoed, the word trembling with both madness and conviction.

The war loomed over us like a storm cloud, dark and relentless. But in that moment, with Aegon’s hand on my cheek and the weight of his crown on my head, I felt something close to clarity. Together, we would destroy her. Together, we would avenge our son.

And together, we would burn the world if we had to.