RED QUEEN | DAEMON TARGARYEN

CHAPTER THIRTY

Choking on his own blood, the man fell to his knees, the spear still pierced in his neck. Foot against his chest, Valyria kicked him back while tugging the spear backwards, making blood spray out of the wound in his throat. However, Valyria could not waste any time thinking about that.

She continued the search for a way up on the roof and eventually realised there was a ladder leaning against the wall. Dropping her cloak on the ground – knowing it could hinder her ability to climb – Valyria climbed up the ladder as quickly and quietly as she could whilst holding a spear. When she neared the top she slowed down and peeked over the edge, making sure she didn't get attacked the moment she got up.

Not seeing anyone, Valyria climbed over the edge one leg at the time. Across the rooftop hung washing lines with greying sheets that probably had been drying in the sun all day. Slowly, she ducked under and zig-zagged between the sheets that both shielded her from the sight of the man with a crossbow and made it difficult for her to actually find the man.

Peeking between two sheets, Valyria spotted the man by the edge of the roof, leaning his crossbow against the edge. The distance between her and him – a space without anything for her to hide behind – was at least ten metres. Sneaking up on him would be risky. If she rushed forward, he'd likely hear her and have time to prepare before she reached him.

Another arrow shot through the air, down to the ground below. Valyria realised she didn't have time to consider her options. One thing Cassian taught her during their training sessions was to throw a spear at a target. Valyria could not claim to be particularly good at it – at least not from a long distance – but it was unfortunately the best option.

Raising her arm with the spare, Valyria gathered the courage and then acted on instinct. The moment she stepped out into view, Valyria threw the spare with all the force she had and it pierced through the air. Not being overly confident, she opted for aiming at his back since it provided a wider target and luckily the spear lodged itself into the man's shoulder.

A scream rang through the air as the crossbow fell out of his grasp and down on the ground below. When he was momentarily distracted, Valyria ran forward with a dagger she always wore in her belt. The beast of a man somehow stood up despite the spear lodged into his shoulder. In the process of standing up, however, he managed to knock down his sword as well.

Due to the man's slightly crouched Valyria couldn't act quickly enough to stab her dagger through the man's throat – an instant death. Instead she aimed for his heart only to meet resistance. A hand collided with her cheek, sending her stumbling backwards but she managed to remain on her feet. Quickly considering her options, Valyria realised that she wouldn't win this fight in hand to hand combat when all she had was a dagger.

Quickly she retreated back to hide in-between the dry sheets. If she wanted to kill him, she needed to outsmart him. In the distance she heard the man grumble something in a foreign language – bastard Valyrian it sounded like – and judging by the clang against the ground she guessed he removed the spear.

Valyria tried to be as quiet as possible, listening to her attackers approach. All of her senses were on high alert and the smell of smoke entered her nostrils. An image of the torch next to the man with a crossbow flashed before her eyes.

Was he trying to smoke her out?

Focusing on the sound of his heavy steps instead, Valyria tried to constantly move in the opposite direction. Only it became more and more challenging as the crackling of the growing fire made it difficult to hear anything else. The flames spread quickly across the washing lines and Valyria suddenly found herself backed up into the middle of the inferno. Orange flames surrounded her and she could feel the heat licking against her skin. It didn't burn – it actually felt quite nice. Like a warm blanket protecting her from the rest of the world.