The battle on the wreckage of the Laughing Lion was chaos.
Smoke hung thick over the Smoking Sea. The air stank of sulfur and burning wood. Three ships clashed around the half-sunken Lannister vessel, men screaming as they hacked at each other across blood-slick decks.
Rhaegar's small force was outnumbered and pinned.
"Protect the prince!" Myles Mouton roared, cutting down a slaver who tried to rush the cabin.
Alex Oakheart took a brutal elbow to the face and went down hard. A huge Yunkai slave grabbed him by the gorget and crotch, hoisting him up to throw him into the churning water.
"Get off him, you bastard!" Richard Lonmouth slammed into the man like a battering ram, knocking him clear.
Rhaegar fought in the narrow corridor with three of his Silver Guard. Desmond Redwyne had taken an arrow to the chest and lay bleeding in the corner, barely conscious. The enemy kept coming—Valyrian sellswords and Ghiscari slaves pouring in from the deck.
A lean Valyrian with a sapphire-inlaid sword moved like a dancer, cutting down anyone in his path. In the tight space, Rhaegar's heavy armor worked against him.
"We're trapped," Richard gritted out, sword dripping.
Rhaegar's eyes flicked toward the cabin where the dragon eggs were hidden. If they couldn't win the fight, they needed to grab the eggs and run.
Then Lyn Corbray suddenly turned and bolted toward the lower hold.
"Lyn!" Richard shouted in fury.
Lyn didn't answer. He vanished down the steps.
Rhaegar felt a cold spike of betrayal. One of his own Silver Guard had just abandoned him.
Before anyone could react, the deck shuddered under a massive impact.
A black three-masted ship slammed into the Laughing Lion's side. The iron ram tore through wood and men alike. On the prow stood a lean, one-eyed man with a wild grin, kraken banners snapping behind him.
"Euron Greyjoy's here, you cunts!" the man howled with mad laughter.
The collision threw Rhaegar off his feet. He hit the railing hard, armor and all, and went over the side into the cold, sulfurous water.
He sank fast. Blood from a head wound clouded his vision. Through the haze he thought he saw something moving in the smoke above—two red points of light, like eyes.
Then darkness took him.
---
Rhaegar woke on wet sand.
His head throbbed. Saltwater burned his throat. For a moment he didn't know where he was.
"Prince! Thank the gods—you're awake."
Myles Mouton was shaking him. Richard Lonmouth stood nearby, sword still in hand, watching the gray sea.
Rhaegar sat up slowly. They were on a rocky beach inside the Smoking Sea. The air was still thick with smoke and ash.
"Desmond?" he asked.
"Alive, but unconscious," Richard said. "Alex took a bad hit too. We dragged you both ashore."
Rhaegar looked around. "Where's Lyn?"
Myles' face darkened. "That craven ran. He—"
Before he could finish, a small boat scraped onto the sand. Lyn Corbray jumped out, pale and shaking, dragging two unconscious men behind him—Osmund Kettleblack and the wounded Desmond.
And a wet burlap sack.
Lyn dropped to his knees in the surf, eyes wide with fear and something else.
"Prince… I'm not a traitor. I went for the eggs. I got two of them."
He tore open the sack. Two dragon eggs rolled out onto the wet sand, still glistening with seawater.
One was a deep muddy brown with copper swirls. The other was pale green streaked with bronze.
Rhaegar stared at them, breathing hard.
For the first time since the attack began, something like hope flickered in his indigo eyes.
Lyn stayed on his knees, head bowed, waiting for judgment.
Rhaegar didn't speak right away. He just looked at the two eggs, then at the smoking horizon where the Laughing Lion had gone down.
Somewhere out there, Euron Greyjoy was still hunting.
And somewhere deeper in the smoke, Rhaegar was sure he had seen something else.
Something with red eyes.