At that moment, Vhagar landed.
The ground shook as the ancient dragon's massive body touched the earth, and dust rose into the air. Then came a low roar—not of anger, but more like a call.
For a moment, Dreamfire hesitated, then slowly moved toward Vhagar. The silver-blue dragon looked tiny before the enormous elder. She lowered her head and gave a submissive whimper: Vhagar was her mother, an instinct etched into her blood.
Vhagar nudged Dreamfire's head with her snout, her movements rarely gentle. The two dragons roared in a deep, resonant language that only dragons could understand.
Aemond watched it all.
"See," he said,
"Dragons are far simpler than humans."
"Blood. Strength. Obedience."
"No plotting, no betrayal."
Helaena's tension finally eased. She looked at Aemond, the boy who had just been playing with life in the sky, now calmly talking about the nature of dragons.
"Why do you do such training?" she asked.
"Simply… to prove that I can," he replied.
"For war," Aemond added, growing serious.
"A dragon-rider's greatest weakness is the dragon itself."
"We sit on a dragon's back, exposed in the air, no cover, no escape."
"In dragon warfare, if the rider is killed, the dragon loses command, descends into chaos, and control is lost."
He walked to Lothron and stroked the black dragon's neck.
"But everyone believes battles between dragonriders happen on dragons' backs."
"Let the dragons breathe fire on each other, let them bite each other."
Aemond turned his head.
"But if… could I do it directly, with my own hands, and kill another dragonrider?"
Helaena gasped.
"Face to face?" Aemond continued.
"No dragon can defend its rider, because the enemy is on its back."
"And the rider is strapped in…"
"Now it all depends on courage… on who is crazier."
He laughed.
"And I, Helaena, was born to master the Twin Dragons."
"I can leap from one dragon to another, move through the air, do what everyone else thinks impossible."
A chill ran down Helaena's spine. She looked at Aemond and suddenly understood: all his training, every exercise, had been for one purpose.
For a war that had not yet come, but he was certain it would.
They walked through the forest. The woods near God's Eye Lake were vast. Aemond held Helaena's hand while Vhagar and Dreamfire rested in a nearby clearing. Lothron flew overhead, scouting like a sentinel.
Helaena finally asked the question she had been holding back.
"For that day?"
"But now… the realm is at peace."
"Rhaenyra has renounced the heir."
Aemond smiled.
"Peace?"
"But according to my information, the… faction is preparing for a large-scale war, raising troops, stockpiling food, weapons, timber, and medicine."
"The shipyards on Driftmark Island work day and night."
"If this is not preparation, then what is it?"
Helaena was stunned.
"But… Princess Rhaenyra has renounced the heir, so how is she preparing for war?"
"If not for civil war," Aemond said, turning to her, hand still holding hers, "guess whom you are really fighting?"
Helaena frowned slightly. Not a civil war—so why prepare for war? Who could need a battle with this faction? Suddenly, it hit her.
"The Three-City Alliance…" she murmured.
Aemond nodded, eyes gleaming.
"Riz, Tylosi, Mill," he listed.
Helaena's breath quickened. She grabbed Aemond's hand.
"Then I'll tell Aemyn!"
"The Rogare, they are our allies, they—"
"Why tell her?" Aemond asked rhetorically.
Helaena was dumbstruck.
"Because… because the Rogare are our allies?"
"Aegon married Aemyn, and the Greens and Rogare allied through marriage."
"If the faction attacks Riz, shouldn't we help?"
Aemond smiled.
"My father agreed as well."
For Helaena, it was like a bucket of ice water poured over her head.
"What… what does that mean?"
"I mean," Aemond continued slowly, "my father's agreement with Daemon likely contains this clause."
"The faction moves against the Three-City Alliance, and Viserys maintains Green neutrality—or even yields."
"In exchange, the faction renounced the Iron Throne."
Helaena's lips trembled.
"Isn't this… betrayal of allies?"
"The Rogare family trusted us to marry their daughter."
"Trust doesn't exist, only interests," Aemond said plainly.
"My father needed the faction out of Westeros to avoid civil war."
"For that, he was willing to sacrifice relatives in the free-trade city-state to protect his family."
"And Daemon's side wants war to prove themselves, to gain territory for their supporters."
"And the Three-City Alliance… fits perfectly."
"Moreover, Aemyn does not know."
"My father hid this from all of us, or at least thought he could hide it from me."
Helaena felt dizzy.
"So… Aemyn doesn't know her clan is about to be attacked?"
"She does not know," Aemond confirmed.
"Nor do I intend to tell her."
Helaena looked at Aemond. The morning sun behind him gilded his silhouette, but his face was in shadow, expression unreadable.
"And… you don't care?" she asked.
"Regardless of the Rogare family's fate?"
Aemond stepped closer. He lifted her chin gently to meet his gaze.
"Why care?" he asked rhetorically.
"Let them fall to the Three-City Alliance."
"My father won't live long…"
"Let the faction drain their troops, finances, and dragon strength."
"When they are exhausted, when they think they have succeeded…"
"…then we will move in and take everything."
"Everything they do is only to tailor our wedding clothes."
Helaena's pupils narrowed. She understood completely.
Aemond never cared about the survival of the Three-City Alliance, the Rogare, or even his father's agreement with Daemon.
He cared about only one thing: watching the faction exhausted in the East.
Then, when ready, he would sweep in and claim it all.
"What are the Seven Kingdoms?" Aemond continued.
"What is Westeros?"
"In this world, we Targaryens must rise above all living things."
"Use dragonfire to redraw the boundaries."
"Let our blood decide everything."
"All must obey our will: Andals, First Men, Rogare, and the smug lords of Eastern city-states."
His hand slid from Helaena's chin to her cheek, holding her face.
"You are the person I trust most, Helaena," Aemond said.
"These words, these thoughts, I tell only to you."
"Because I need you to understand, I need you to stand beside me, the only one who can truly understand me."
Helaena's body trembled slightly. She remembered her dream: blood staining the ground, dragons biting each other, fire devouring all. She had always feared it might come true, and always hoped Aemond would avoid that path.
"You're going to burn it all?" she whispered.
"Only what stands in our way," Aemond replied.
"Clear all obstacles for the Targaryens."
He released her face and took her hands in his. Warm hands.
"Are you ready?" Aemond asked.
"Ready to go with me… to see the world forged in dragonfire?"
Helaena was silent for a long moment. She looked at Aemond. At this mad, dangerous young man who could drag the whole world into war.
And at the one who understood her—the only one who did not see her as fragile, and the only one who promised to protect her forever.
Finally, Helaena nodded—lightly, but firmly.
"I will always believe in you," she said.
"Wherever you go, I will follow."
"Whatever you wish to burn, I will watch it turn to ash."
Aemond smiled—truly, sincerely. He embraced Helaena tightly, as if holding the only light in the dark.