Born to Die

Chapter 26

Two long weeks had passed since the death of Corlys and the near death of Jace. Aemond had watched as Aemeryn retreated further and further into herself, and he felt helpless. He knew that Rhaenyra had to have some idea of what was happening to her, but he could never get her alone. She was either with Daemon, her children, or her council trying to figure out how to reclaim her throne.

He believed he had his moment when he watched Daemon walk away from their chambers and Rhaenyra slip inside. Rhaenyra was standing in front of the fireplace reaching into the small box that she kept on the mantle.

"Rhaenyra." She jumped and turned. Aemond let out a small laugh when she put her hand over her heart to calm herself. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"What can I help you with, Aemond?"

Aemond frowned and walked further into the room. Rhaenyra motioned for him to sit across from her and sat down in a vacant chair. She was fiddling with whatever it was she had gotten from the box, and Aemond finally caught a glimpse of it. It was a small gold ring with an oval emerald set in the middle with two smaller rubies on the sides. He was almost positive he had seen a similar ring at some point in his life, but he couldn't place where he had seen it.

"I'm worried about Em."

Rhaenyra's eyes widened slightly in alarm. "Is she okay? Is it the babe?"

"As far as we know, the babe is fine. It's how she's acting right now that's concerning me. I've never seen her so withdrawn, so....sad."

"She's grieving." Aemond and Rhaenyra both turned to look at Daemon. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Aemond. "My daughter has been through quite a bit these past few months."

Aemond kept his gaze on Daemon as he stalked into the room to sit next to Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra sighed and looked at Aemond. She knew Daemon was right, but she could tell that Aemond was actually worried.

"Em feels loss deeply, Aemond. It affects her differently than us."

"Different how, Rhae?" Both Aemond and Rhaenyra paused at his slip up. Aemond hadn't called her Rhae since he learned how to properly say her name when he was four. She briefly remembered teaching all of her siblings how to say her name. Aegon and Helaena both called her Nyra, but Aemond was the only one to ever call her Rhae.

"Her sadness will engulf her at points. She won't eat. She won't sleep. She won't leave her chambers." Daemon rubbed Rhaenyra's back as she spoke to Aemond. He knew that Rhaenyra still felt a deep shame at how Aemeryn had become after Driftmark, but he also knew that it wasn't Rhaenyra's fault.

"She's not doing any of that," Aemond whispered as he furrowed his brow. She could be worse?

"Now," Daemon muttered as he looked at the wall behind Aemond's head. Aemond jerked his gaze to Daemon.

"What, exactly, does that mean?"

Rhaenyra let out another sigh and glared at Daemon. He wasn't making this any easier on her, and she was about to kick him out.

"She did that after she learned of Luke's death. Well, she cried and stopped eating. Em knew she had to leave her room because of the war."

"Daemon, that's enough," Rhaenyra barked out as she lifted her hand to shut him up. Daemon shrugged and pressed his lips together. "Like I said, Aemond, Em feels loss deeply. She cried for an entire year when we first moved here before she let her rage come out."

Aemond frowned and looked down at the table he was sitting at. She had cried while he had been thirty minutes away on an island no one knew existed? "After Driftmark?"