The Web Unravels
Morning light crept through the cracked windows of Cair Volakar's war chamber. The air hung heavy with tension, thick as the smoke from the burning pyres outside.
Neron stood by the map table, fingers tracing the lines that marked the borders of Valyria's fractured dominions. His eyes were storm-dark, unreadable.
"We have a traitor," Kaerys announced, stepping from the shadows, voice cold as ice.
Neron didn't turn. "Who?"
Kaerys laid a folded letter on the table, the seal broken.
"From the Targaron camp," she said. "Someone close to us feeds them our plans."
M'Koro's dark eyes narrowed. "The spider's bite is closer than we thought."
Aelthara's Gamble
In the merchant quarter, Aelthara met with a roguish trader who offered a rare artifact—a pendant forged in the Doom's final hours, said to grant insight into the minds of dragons.
"The price?" Aelthara asked, fingers tracing the intricate runes.
"Blood," the trader whispered. "Yours or theirs."
Aelthara smiled—a slow, dangerous curve of lips. "Then I pay with theirs."
Ser Athrys Strikes
That night, under a veil of darkness, Ser Athrys led a band of assassins toward Cair Volakar's stables—where Serenthis's egg was kept.
Kaerys and Neron, alerted by M'Koro's spies, waited in the shadows.
"Let them come," Neron said, voice low and steady.
Blades flashed, fire roared, and the night erupted in chaos.
The Dragon's Roar
Amidst the battle, the cracked egg glowed fiercely—Serenthis stirring within, sensing the danger.
Aelthara raced to the chamber, her voice rising in an ancient chant.
The hatchling broke free, wings spreading wide, eyes blazing like twin suns.
A deafening roar shattered the night.
The battle had changed.
End of Chapter 20